ALFHEIM RESURRECTIONS

In this second installment of the author’s fantasy series, teenager Timothy Brennan continues to deal with the recent discovery that he is not a human; rather, he is an elf with some talents of the sídhe, or fairies. In the previous entry, Timothy learned of the existence of elves and his place in their society—he is the seventh son of a seventh son in the lineage of Tuathla (Timothy’s grandmother), the recently deceased ruler of the elves. In addition to his grandmother, Timothy has also lost Aenya, the sídhe who helped him adapt to Sídhlin, the elf world, in the previous book. Aenya was apparently killed by Cadwaladr, an elf who is attempting to take over Sídhlin and was in cahoots with Timothy’s now dead uncle. Cadwaladr enlists the help of a sinister sídhe, Siofra, who infiltrates Sídhlin to assassinate Timothy and any elf elders who stand in his way. But unbeknownst to anyone, Aenya survived in Slaíne, which in human legends was referred to as Eden. The author succeeds at catching readers up with the story so far without resorting to excessive exposition dumps; not everything referenced is explained in detail, but he provides enough information to prevent readers from getting lost. Nilsen writes with a gritty sense of realism and excels at conveying fast-paced action in descriptions of battles and in other set pieces throughout the novel. Timothy is an amusing protagonist; despite his sad backstory, he keeps a sense of humor, often teasing his elf friends by using phrases (like “What up?”) that they do not understand. Still, he has a lot of characteristics stereotypical of a protagonist in a male power fantasy: Before he knew he was an elf, he was “a video game playing, high school geek,” yet he secretly has great power and manages to woo a beautiful sídhe. Still, fans of action-oriented fantasy will find the prose and plot compelling.