ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

This Norwegian import artfully reimagines a classic folktale of monsters, valor, and a clever young prince. The youngest of seven brothers, Prince Fred is left behind after his brothers and their wives are captured by a troll and turned to stone. With nothing but a small pack and an opinionated horse, Fred journeys to the troll's lair, where he meets a beautiful princess who helps Fred track down the troll's heart, which Fred must destroy to free his brothers. Though the story isn't groundbreaking, Torseter's lively, atmospheric artwork is a stunner. Moomin-like Fred traipses through a landscape of jumbled stacks of forest and rubble, and the troll's lair itself is composed of gravity-defying rooms cobbled together from lumber and bones. In sharp contrast to the cartoonish quality of most of the pages, the troll is frightfully detailed, rendered in fine lines and smudged shadows, and his dialogue appears in an oversize, angrily scribbled font. With anachronistic details and gaze-worthy illustrations, this expressionistic graphic novel is perfect for readers who like their folktales on the offbeat side.

Kirkus Reviews

A dark, old tale recast in a lighter vein, featuring a young prince, a captive princess, and a troll with a hidden heart.Setting out to find his six brothers and their brides, who have been turned to stone by an evil troll, Prince Fred gets help along the way from his nervous talking horse and a chance-met elephant, tricks a hungry wolf (rather than give it the horse in trade, as in the original), and enlists a willing princess to lie down with the troll (in pajamas) to winkle out just where the giant has hidden his heart. Said organ turns out to be stashed in a magically sealed jar at the bottom of a filing cabinet guarded by a giant octopus-an ill-considered plan, since octopuses are particularly good at opening jars (this is true). Following a prose opening, Torseter presents the tale in a mix of panels and larger scenes, all drawn as thin-lined cartoons with color highlights. Fred and his clan recall the Moomins; the princesses are all human but too stylized to determine ethnic identity (they are diversely garbed, though); and the troll is a particularly hideous, hulking figure. Come the denouement, off ride Fred and "his" capable but never-named princess to a "more or less" happily-ever-after. No, the princess doesn't really get her due-but at least the horse survives. (source note) (Graphic folk tale. 8-11)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Torseter (Why Dogs Have Wet Noses) builds this marvelous graphic novel on the scaffolding of a traditional fairy tale in which a king loses six of his seven sons to an evil troll and reluctantly sends the seventh out to search for them. Readers join Prince Fred as he sets off in a floppy hat astride an unwilling horse. -Goodbye, father!- Prince Fred cries. -Do we really have to go?- murmurs the horse. -I-m sure they can find their own way home.- Prince Fred makes his way deep into the troll-s lair, littered with skulls and bones, and discovers a cool-headed princess being held against her will. The two defeat the troll with a smooth team effort that involves-among other things-distracting an octopus with a saxophone. The delicate, spidery lines and dark landscapes of Torseter-s panels combine the energy of Ralph Steadman, the effervescence of Jules Feiffer, and the charm of the Moomintrolls. Mordant grotesquerie (a broken table leg replaced with a femur) vies with hilarity as Prince Fred is shown perched miserably on the rim of the troll-s gigantic, bone-filled commode. Dickson-s translation shines as well. Ages 10-up. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Gr 4-7 Inspired by the Norwegian folktale "The Troll with No Heart in His Body," which will probably be unfamiliar to most U.S. readers, this graphic novel is the story of how a king's youngest son leaves home to attempt to rescue his brothers. Along the way he encounters different animals and tries to save a princess from a huge troll. Prince Fred keeps up his spirits and maintains his sense of humor throughout, and the narrative is fast-paced and fun. Cartoon sketches are mostly in black-and-white but also contain frequent splashes of color to add energy and action to the story. The book is oversize, which will appeal to readers who want to lose themselves in the illustrations but will make it more difficult to carry. The tale is filled with humor and adventure, and readers will enjoy Prince Fred's witty banter with his reluctant horse, the hungry wolf, the spirited princess, and the evil troll. VERDICT A cute and charming option for fans of fairy tales. Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library