The Great Troll War

The Last Dragonslayer Chronicles, Book 4

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Jane Collingwood

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

The final instalment of the Last Dragonslayer Chronicles, demonstrating that with a small band of committed followers, a large tin of resolve and steely determination, almost anything can be achieved....

Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange and her sidekick and fellow orphan Tiger Prawns have been driven to the tip of the UnUnited Kingdoms - Cornwall - by the invasion of the Trolls. Their one defence is a six-foot-wide trench full of buttons, something which the Trolls find unaccountably terrifying (it's their clickiness). 

Worse than being eaten by Trolls is the prospect of the Mighty Shandar requisitioning the Quarkbeast and using him to achieve supreme power and domination - an ambition that has been 400 years in the planning and which will ultimately leave the Earth a cold cinder, devoid of all life.

Nothing has ever looked so bleak, but Jennifer, assisted by a renegade vegan Troll, a bunch of misfit sorcerers, the Princess (or is she now the ruler?) of the UnUnited (or are they now United?) Kingdoms, and Tiger, must find a way to vanquish the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen, and along the way discover the truth about her parents, herself, and what is in the locked glovebox of her VW Beetle....

©2021 Jasper Fforde (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Rollicking good conclusion to a wonderful series

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series. Fforde is great at world building, magical systems, character development and humor. Like a combination of Piers Anthony and Brandon Sanderson. I love his work.

Great ending

The third book brought a great ending to the story that initially was quite juvenile. Applause to the author.

fell in love Thursday

I've been reading every book this author has put out there. This series was just the latest I followed. As the author did with the Thursday Next series, his character's voices are fresh and engaging. I hear myself responding the exact way his characters do. Calm, even if it's a troll discussing the best garnish for a meal of humans. Now, I've just got to wait till his next project. *looks at watch* Geeze, thought the newest book would be out by now. Definitely urge readers to dive deep into ALL the author's books.

Worth the wait

The third book seemed unfinished. This was the endcap we needed on the series. And the epilogue was <chef’s kiss>.
I could see this being optioned to Netflix or the BBC (please please)….

A Fforde classic, magnificent end to the story

This book is a wonderful cap to the Dragonslayer series, but it’s more than that… maybe one of Fforde’s best books. It has many of his trademark elements we so love: satire, humor, intrigue, , and more.

From humor reminiscent of Thursday Next to the dystopian memes similarly hued to Shades of Grey, this book sings Fforde, but to its own melody. Love it!

I love Jasper Fforde

I think I have read and loved every book he has written. This one was fun.

Seemed rushed

I think the first three books were magnificent. But here, Fforde clearly was trying to quickly wrap things up and had a hard time of it. First and last 5th of the book were disappointing. Middle is good. At first I was bummed about the new reader, but she did a good job.

Fantastic!

Great story, clever, witty and well told. Excellent conclusion to the series by a fantastic writer. I highly recommend everything by Jasper Fforde!

Another Jasper Gem

I thoroughly enjoyed this reading oh The Great Troll War. I know it was good when I’m sad it’s over.

Finally! An audio version worthy of the Jennifer Strange series!

This was extremely enjoyable; what a great wrapup to an amazing series. The narrator finally got it right! No screeching feminine voices or ridiculous masculine interpretations, I was gratified to note that reviews are noticed and taken into account.
Compared to the former books in the series, this one it hits the mark 100%, not only in story and overall writing, but performance as well.

Fun but some elements really niggle

I love so much of Jasper Fforde’s work and the quartet is a lot of fun, but occasionally the editing lets the story down and some of the more obvious plot holes are really annoying. There’s quite a few inconsistencies between the books and overall the plot feels a little bit like someone making it up as they go along. The big reveals don’t seem to be consistent with what’s gone before, for example Jenny’s beserker ancestry seems to have been entirely forgotten (except for one mention which appears to be an attempt to mask the plot hole). Fforde is clearly aware of his plot holes - see the the hole-smith in the Thursday Next series - but I’m clearly more bothered by them than he is!
I always enjoy his work but sometimes end up going away with a slightly frustrated feeling, as if I were a teacher reading a C standard essay from an A standard student who couldn’t be bothered with the extra effort. For me, his novel Shades of Grey with a more limited but fully realised world view is vastly superior.
If you’re a Fforde fan this is definitely worth a listen but don’t expect a polished quartet.

Fantastic

A brilliant last instalment of the last dragon slayer chronicles. Tissues at the ready though xxx

'Don't you start'

Epic end to a fabulous series with Ffordeian quirks and twists aplenty. But is it really the end?

Fantastic, brilliant.

I absolutely loved this book. So we'll written, such wonderful loveable characters, a superb story and a fabulous narration. It made me laugh and it made me cry. What a fabulous series!