THE PRODIGAL TROLL

In Finlay's meandering first novel, a heroic quest fantasy, loyal retainers spirit the human infant Claye away from his home, a castle under siege, but they die before they can bring him to safety. Adopted by a troll and renamed Maggot, Claye grows up among the trolls, who regard him as weak and puny but smart. Eventually realizing that he has to find his destiny among his own kind, Maggot first befriends humans in a clan culture, who involve him in their impossible war, fought against a far superior army. Next, he seeks to learn more about the marauders, a decadent city folk. Throughout, he keeps his eye on an elusive prize—Portia, a woman of the marauders, who falls in love with Maggot after a brief meeting. The narrative strives to be both funny and moving, but the humor tends to the slapstick and clashes with the tone of the rest of the book. Despite the emphasis on matriarchal societies, all we see are men doing warlike things (or trolls being spectacularly stupid). Still, Maggot's distance from humans and his role as the ultimate outsider ring true. Since Maggot never really completes his quest, a sequel seems in the offing. Agent, Matt Bialer. (June 7)