Guardians of the Sampo trilogy
In the Finnish national epic the Kalevala, the hero Väinämöinen and the witch Louhi fight over the magical device the Sampo, and their struggle ends in the talisman’s destruction. The shards of the Sampo scatter, and Väinämöinen hides the two largest pieces in order to spread prosperity across the entire world. All is well, until …
​Fifth-graders Ilmari and Ahti are performing at their primary school graduation. Ahti is playing an instrument Ilmari has tuned: an electric kantele, based on the ancient Finnish instrument. As Ahti starts to play, strange things begin to happen: the principal sinks into the earth! There is something magical about the kantele, and before long everyone wants to get their hands on it.
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But Ilmari and Ahti aren’t your average fifth-grade boys, and the disappearance of the boys’ fathers is no coincidence. To their surprise, the boys are heirs to an important role passed down from their fathers: they are guardians of the Sampo. It is the duty of the guardians of the Sampo to protect the Sampo from the forces of evil. And it is no surprise that Louhi, the powerful witch of the North, yearns to claim the Sampo for herself, threatening the entire world.
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Fireblade won the Topelius prize in 2007.
After having lost their first batttle, the battered band of the Guardians of the Sampo make their way northwards. One of the shards of the Sampo that Väinämöinen has hidden is still missing, and the race is on to recover it. The stakes are high: whoever finds it first will rule the world. The journey is a perilous one, as Louhi’s lackeys are nipping at the party’s heels. The little band nevertheless receives a surprising reinforcement: Tiera, a skilled and loyal soldier.
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Things aren’t made any easier by the fact that Ilmari’s best friend Ahti is still being held prisoner in Tuonela, the land of the dead, by the wicked enchantress Loviatar. To save him, the band must face the greatest of sages, the terrifying Antero Vipunen…
The party seeks out the mystical, hidden realm of the north: Pohjola. Their mission is to destroy the Sampo, the wondrous machine that the witch of the Pohjola is constructing to claim all of the world’s wealth and natural resources for herself. The brave band knows that in order to reach Pohjola, they must cross the river of fire, pass by the giant eagle, wolf, and bear that guard it, as well as scale an iron fence that reaches up to the heavens. But where does this hidden kingdom of frost exist?
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The third book in the trilogy peels back the surface of the earth, revealing a cave in the depths of which lies the Sampo, which blows away the adventurers – and readers, too.
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Parvela knows how to write engagingly for young readers who read little or avoid books. There is nothing superfluous, and the plot never stalls for a moment.
Jutta Heeß
Deutschlandradio Kultur, Germany
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Breathless, reckless and visually exceptionally stylishly executed adventure that with its sudden twists and turns will delight boys in particular but isn’t off limits to girls either.
Books From Finland
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Parvela joins the ranks for the interpreters of the Sampo, in a fun way. Folklorists hum and haw, whereas Parvela solves the mystery with author’s freedom to speculate. The narrative weaves won- derfully between present and mythological past.