Children's Books · Hardback

Spellbound

Norwegian title: Underbyen: Bergtatt

Aleksander Kirkwood Brown

What do you do when you find out that Huldra, The Nix and goblins are not urban legends invented to scare children, but actual creatures who live in the shadows of Oslo’s streets?

Peter and his mum have just moved into grandpa’s apartment in Oslo after he’s sent to a care home. Peter is unhappy because he knows they will be moving again soon. Then he meets an unusual girl. She’s invisible to everyone else, but Peter can see her. And she’s not the only underground creature that walks around underground in Oslo…

When a little girl next door is kidnapped – by the Draugr – Peter is pulled into a reality and a part of Oslo he didn’t know existed. But why can Peter see the underground creatures? And what does his grandpa know, but isn’t able to tell him?

Spellbound is an action-packed and original urban fantasy-graphic novel for young adults. It’s the first title in a trilogy.REVIEWS«Aleksander Kirkwood Brown and Luis Guaragna have created an enchanting new series based on Norwegian folklore.»Bok365, six/six starsOslo’s shady sides«Aleksander Kirkwood Brown has established himself as one of fantasy literature’s foremost frontrunners in Norway, with particular consideration for children and teens. (…) At least I want to keep on reading the next book.»D2«That Kirkwood Brown with his background in fairy tales and Guaranga with his background in metal-like aesthetic meets in an Oslo-based emo-elf-like universe seems both brilliant and right.»EMPIRIX.COM

«And it’s… really solid? Structure wise, it does all the things that a story like this is supposed to: It’s very professional. But there’s plenty of originality in the elements the book uses (instead of just copying monsters from Tolkien and Sandman, it uses Norwegian supernatural beings), and it’s surprisingly moving.

Well done.»LARS.INGEBRIGTSEN.NO

«… it [feels] as if I have opened the door and is standing on the threshold of a new and exciting world when I read this story. I cannot wait to see where they will go on from here, and to be better acquainted with Oslo’s ‘underground’.»SERIENETT.NO