Tooth and Blade is a collection of 3 Norse fantasy-inspired YA novellas. Dota is a girl brought up by trolls in their subterranean cave, who discovers she is in fact human. She enters the human realm and is soon drawn into clan and kingdom battles there, whilst also seeking to protect them against Grethor, her bloodthirsty troll brother. There is a sense of menace in the book, but the violence is never graphically described, and the themes of identity, loyalty and family predominate. There is also a queer subtext which is never laboured but is an integral part of the story. I found this a gripping story grounded in research (I enjoyed spotting nods to the Icelandic sagas), which kept my interest until the end. The ending of the third novella is satisfyingly complete, but leaves the door open to further installments. ( )