World Famous Comics: Northlander (Tales of the Borderlands)
Northlander (Tales of the Borderlands)
By: Meg Burden Publisher: Brown Barn Books Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Brown Barn Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 252 Publication Date: October 24, 2007 Reading Level: Ages 9-12
The debut novel of a young American writer creates a world of fantasy, where the land is divided into two-- the Northlands and the Southlands.
Ellin, a girl from the Southland, is forced to go with her physician father to heal the Northland king, even though Southlanders are despised and feared throughout the cold country. Ellin must find a way to battle both the people from the North and then her own people, the Southlanders, to survive in a icy and hostile land.
A great debut novel of a land in sometimes magical combat.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too The Southling Ellin has been summoned with her father to the Northland kingdom. In a land where they are despised for their red hair and feared for their magic, their hand in the healing of the Northland king is a secret. However, the healing powers that have been banned by law may be the only thing that can save the ailing king.
On a crucial night, Ellin must fight against the prejudice that threatens to keep her from fulfilling the oaths that her father, as a healer, took, and that she will take on the day she is of age. Her determination manages to pull the monarch through the worst, but, while she learns that the potential for peace among individual Northlands and Southlings exists, she and her father are forbidden to return to their homeland until the king regains consciousness.
The friendships that she forges will bring her through a time when all she once understood about her life is destroyed, and she must find a way to come to terms with the power she's inherited and the truth she has grown to understand before a war sweeps away everything she has left.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and recommend it to all who have found themselves on both sides of a drawn line. The characters are easy to identify with, and the plot rich and relevant. I will be keeping an eager eye out for Book Two.
Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose
A gripping tale
Ellin is the sixteen-year-old daughter of the best healer in Southland. Though forbidden, her father is asked to help heal the dying king of Northland. This is the same king who made laws to forbid the use use of "witchcraft." The penalty for doing this is death. After being refused entry to the city, a kind guard lets her stay in a gatehouse, where the youngest king's son finds her. He takes her to his father after she tells him she can help him. Later after she helps save the king's life she finds out she has another gift. A gift her father fears. It's only when they go back to Southland does she find out the reason for her father's fears. Ellin is one of the 'tainted', someone even her own people fear. Now it's up to Ellin to find out more about her gift and what she needs to do in order to not fall into the hands of the Guardians, who want her dead.
This is an engaging tale. I couldn't put it down! I was fascinated in Ellin's ability to heal and also her telepathic ability. Also this story shows how hatred is only ignorance of what is unknown. The author does a great job showing how Ellin feels when she discovers her gift and how it feels to be different and feared by others. I can't wait for the sequel!
Fantastic novel by a brand-new author! I heard about this book through the grapevine, and bought it on Amazon as soon as it came out. I just finished reading it last night (a marathon reading session of 12 hours, once I started, I couldn't put it down) and I can't wait for the sequel! The characters are loveable and detailed, complex, three-dimensional, and interesting. The world Meg Burden has created is truly mysterious. I loved every moment of this book, even the sad parts, and I hope Meg writes the sequel SOON!
Awesome author! Reviewed by Emily Judah (age 13) for Reader Views (11/07)
When I first received "Northlander" I thought that it would be a history book about some place called Northland. But boy was I wrong. "Northlander" is an exciting book full of adventure and uncertainty. Ms. Burden is skilled at making you feel like you are actually "in" the book. I immediately fell in love with the characters and felt like I was with them during their good and bad times.
"Northlander" is about Ellin, the sixteen-year-old daughter of one of the best healers in Southland. Northland, the hated neighbor of Southland, is grieving over their soon-to-die king, King Allard the Prudent. The Northland physicians know nothing whatsoever of how to help their beloved King. In fact they are only making things worse for him by making him swallow horrible brews made of the most disgusting ingredients. Finally one of the king's physicians decides that the King's only chance at life is the skilled healers of Southland. If they can find a healer willing to come secretly to Northland and teach them how to make their brews full of fresh herbs and flowers, their King might have a chance. So he invites Master healer Rowan Fisher to come and teach the Northlanders how to treat their King. Healer Rowan agrees and travels with Ellin his daughter to move temporarily to Northland and heal the king.
Ellin is extremely unhappy in Northland. She has no friends to talk to, no familiar faces. She and her father must carry papers around and show them to the guards every time they go in and out of the city gates. They are treated like animals by the locals and are always given nasty looks on the street. One night she loses track of time while picking herbs for her father and the gates to the city close. She is left pleading to the guard to let her in; he refuses and she is left to face the bitter cold and wild animals of Northland alone. The guard then has pity on her and lets her stay in the abandoned guard house outside the city gates. While huddled in the corner trying to stay warm, a young blonde-haired guard rushes in without noticing her and sobs uncontrollably at the table. She decides that he is probably hurt, so she stands up to see what she can do. She learns that he is not hurt but he is the youngest son of the King and that if her father doesn't help the King now it will be too late.
I'm not going to go on with the story because I don't want to spoil it for you but I have to say that "Northlander" is a great book that I will put on my favorite list for sure. Ms. Burden is an awesome author that knows how to "pull" you into the story with the first paragraph o
Riveting action and great characters from first-time novellist Northlander arrived in the mail today, and I immediately sat down on the front porch and started reading. And I didn't stop for three hours except for the ten minutes while I ate supper.
Now, I'd already been lucky enough to read the first few chapters online a couple months ago, so I knew some of the characters already. I can't begin to tell you how much I LOVE these characters. The five Northland princes, Ellin the Southland 'witch-girl', Ellin's wonderful, loving father. The relationship between Ellin and her father was so great, it made me think about my own relationship with my father.
The plot is exciting, and each time I started thinking, "Oh, I see where this is going", I was proved wrong. Not that I thought that very often, anyway.
I don't want to talk too much about it, because I don't want to spoil you at all for the story. Let's just say that in the Northlands, all Southlanders are reviled. They're seen as lower than low because of their red hair and their predisposition to the healing arts. They're required to carry papers, and if a Southlander wears clothes, they're fit for nothing but burning afterwards. Yet Southlander Ellin and her father are the only people who have the ability to save the life of the Northlander king, and as healers, they feel compelled to try, even if they endanger themselves by breaking the law to do so. Because of Ellin's bravery, momentous events are set into motion, and danger threatens from several sources. She has to rely on her wits and the new talents that are awakening inside her to keep her alive--and she can't tell who to trust.
It's a riveting story, and I found it both emotionally moving and engaging.
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