Stallo book review

Author: Stefan Spjut

Genre: Horror

It's been a long time since I've read a proper horror story, but this was very effective. I can only approach trolls with the knowledge gained from the Norwegian film Troll Hunter. And as everyone knows, it's what you don't know that is scary. Stefan Spjut takes his time building up tension & mythology, but gets some early chills in to get you hooked. The story is told from the point of view of 3 characters; Susso the unlikely troll hunter & heroine; Gudrun, Susso's mother who is more world weary & a foil to Susso's hypotheses; and Seved who lives on a remote farm where humans are (inexplicably) the custodians of trolls & other beasts. Sometimes you can see where a book is going, but there are a couple of moments when you have no idea how it's going to play out. And it doesn't quite reach a complete resolution, with characters or mythology. Which is fine by me as it leaves plenty of room for a sequel.