Beast Quest 21 – Rashouk the Cave Troll

Adam Blade's Rashouk the Cave Troll is a Beast Quest adventure for 7 year olds about a troll whose claws can turn you to stone.

What happens

Tom's father, Taladon, has been turned into a ghost by the Dark Wizard Malvel. To bring him back, Tom has to find six pieces of a broken amulet, each one guarded by a Ghost Beast that can switch between solid and see-through whenever it likes. Rashouk guards the third piece, high up on the Dead Peaks.

Here's the clever twist. Every time Tom wins a piece back, he loses one of his magic powers. So the big question isn't only whether Tom can beat this Beast. It's whether he can do it as plain old Tom.

He's not so sure. When a starving bear charges at him, he freezes! Elenna saves the day, then chucks a branch at his head to prove he can still use a sword (she's a very good friend).

Rashouk himself is revolting. He's five times as wide as a man, with droopy ears, a huge sniffing nose and long yellow nails. He can't see well, so he hunts by smelling fear. That leads to a brilliant plan involving mud, stinky leaves and a very unimpressed mountain goat.

It's a lovely book about friendship as much as fighting. Elenna and Tom tease each other and look after each other. And Storm and Silver get their moments too.

It's darker than some of the series, though. In the opening pages two miners are turned to stone, and Tom gets hurt quite badly in the cave (a broken ankle and a cut head, both healed with magic). The troll's cave is properly spooky.

For a reader who likes a scare they can handle, it's just right. A child who gets very worried about injuries might want you nearby for the fight scenes.

What to read next

If your reader is new to Tom, go right back to the very first Beast Quest, Ferno the Fire Dragon. There Tom is a blacksmith's apprentice practising sword moves with a poker, and dreaming about the father who left when he was a baby.