THE
HUMANS AND OTHER CREATURES YOU WILL MEET IN
THIS BOOK
The
humans
Samuel
Blink
A twelve-year-old boy who once had a very
normal life, with normal friends, doing normal
things. That was before his parents got crushed
to death by a falling log. And before he moved
to Norway, and before he met a family of trolls,
and before he had found out his Uncle Henrik
had spent many years as a dog. But now, the
day before starting a new school, life is
back to being boring again. Until he hears
a strange noise coming from under his bed.
Martha
Blink
Samuel’s ten-year-old sister. The winner
of the World’s Worst Keeper of Secrets
Award, if such a prize existed. She loves:
making friends, talking about her time in
the forest, eating pickles. She hates: thinking
about the day her parents died.
Aunt
Eda
Sister of Martha and Samuel’s mother,
Liv Blink. She’s a bit old-fashioned,
and can be a little bit strict. A tall lady,
who always wears her hair in a bun, she tends
to worry a lot. But if your husband had turned
into a dog, then so might you.
Uncle
Henrik
Uncle to Samuel and Martha. Husband to Eda.
Former ski-jumper, goat-farmer, cheese-maker
and dog. A Norwegian Elkhound, to be precise.
Now spends most of his time as a kind human
uncle, except when he’s having one of
his ‘funny turns’.
Cornelia
Myklebust
Spoilt brat. Fluent in numerous languages.
Owns more ponies than you’ve got fingers.
Oh, and if she tries to make friends with
you, run away. Fast.
Mr
Myklebust
Cornelia’s father. Richest man in Flåm.
And the fattest. Has hated Uncle Henrik ever
since he . . . No, I won’t tell you
that. Not just yet.
Mrs
Myklebust
Cornelia’s mother. Former beauty queen.
Finds her husband repulsive, but will never
leave him. He’s got too much money.
The
trolls
Troll-Son
A young troll who lives with his family in
the village of Trollhelm. He has to share
the family’s one eyeball with his parents
and sister, which he doesn’t mind. What
he does mind is his mother telling him off
for everything. Especially when she decides
he has to be sent to the Betterer (see below).
Secretly, he wishes he was a human, with a
proper name, rather like Samuel Blink.
Troll-Mother
Troll-Son’s mother is a particularly
ugly woman, with wild and tatty black hair,
a bulbous red nose, hairy nostrils, and five
wonky grey teeth. She has been very crotchety
since the Troll family lost their eyeball.
She spends far too much time clouting Troll-Son
around the head and worrying about what the
neighbours think to realise that, underneath
it all, she is actually quite nice.
Troll-Father
One of the friendliest and most humble trolls
there is, although if he has a weakness it
is that he rarely dares stand up to Troll-Mother.
Mind you, if you’d ever had one of her
clouts around the head, then neither would
you.
Troll-Daughter
Troll-Son’s younger sister. Fast becoming
Troll-Mother’s favourite child. Has
an annoying habit of repeating her favourite
words over and over again. Ignore her. She’s
just seeking attention.
The
Betterer
The nastiest creature in the whole of troll
history. He hates trolls and hates being one,
which probably explains why he gains great
pleasure from ‘bettering’ troll
children. This involves boiling hot sessions
in the Dunking Cage, seven-hour maths lessons
and numerous other forms of torture. All of
which takes place in his home, the Bettering
Tower.
Troll-the-Left
and Troll-the-Right
Two heads of the same troll, who hate each
other’s guts (which, technically speaking,
they share). They were recently separated
after a rather nasty incident involving a
prison guard’s sword which caused Troll-the-Right
to lose his head.
Troll-the-Wisest
Leader of the troll council. Judged to be
the wisest troll in Shadow Forest on account
of having the longest beard. In truth, he
is one of the most stupid there is. And as
most trolls believe the moon is a hole cut
out in the sky, this is quite some achievement.
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