Phenomena is a series of Norwegian Young Adult fantasy books written by Ruben Eliassen. The series follows the elf boy Alk and his twin sister Ilke, which according to an old prophecy has the power to defeat Tarkan, the fürst of darkness, and by that free their world from his evil regime.
The series takes place in Aldra, a country in the world Erda, controlled by the Sherpa, the Dark Lord and his evil forces. The elves are slaves by Tarkan's servants the mortoks but two elves, Harti and Khiri, manages to bring their newborn children out of captivity and to the wise vizard Sha-ra's Castle. Here will the children, the twins Alk and Ilke, raised in freedom. It turns out that Sha-ra knows an ancient prophecy, recorded in the Phenomena; the book of visdom. The prophecy says that two elf children will rise up and fight Tarkan on the Gredom fields. These two children are Alk and Ilke, and they go out to fulfil prophecy and defeat evil.
Throughout the series, we follow Alk and Ilke and their adventures leading up to the unavoidable battle that will decide the fate of the world. In addition to the twins, we also get to know their adoptive father Sha-ra, their big brother figure Arol, Jolsah the mortok prince, Azur an escaped slave, and Millian who have been transported to Aldra from our own world and many others.
Official site is here
, official facebook page is here, and a fan club on DeviantArt here. Some has been translated professionally here by Gyldendal, but it has not been updated in a long time including but calling a Good Bad Translation would be too kind due to the fact it's not very good. It has been translated into Italian, Danish, Swedish, Finish and German. Has a Live Action TV-series in development by Filmed Imagination, which you can read about on IMDb and their own pages here, the episode writer is open for both questions and sugestions on twitter. Some fans hope it'll see the same fate as Deltora Quest did in Japan which got an anime, a manga and a game.
- Phenomena, the 2002-2011 book series currently consisting of 7 novels and so far 12 spinoffs:
- Phenomena 1: The Prophecy's Chosen Ones(2002)
- Phenomena 2: Parados' Eye(2003)
- Phenomena 3: The Lost Heart(2004)
- Phenomena 4: Exodus(2006)
- Phenomena 5: Enigma(2007)
- Phenomena 6: The Wizard(2009)
- Phenomena 7: Frost's Daugher(2011)(Cover illustrated by Olve Askim).
- Phenomena: Azur (6 books)(illustrated by Øystein Runde)
- Phenomena: Jolsah(6 books)(same as above)
- Phenomena The Battle For Aldra board game.(Illustrated by Franz Vohwinkel)
Phenomena provides examples of:
- Always Save the Girl: Subverted, as Alk didn't know that Mijam and her people where taken away in the first place.
- Artifact of Doom: King Veha's heart, it might keep Sherpa from going to kill everyone in Aldra, however, he still torments them. Also Kheiko in some way since it uses the wielder to kill.
- Art Evolution: See here◊, wherever it was an evolution however, is up to you.
- Badass Family: Alk, Ilke, Sha-ra and Arol is kinda this. Alk and Ilke are the chosens, Alk wields Kheiko while Ike controls the ice. Sha-ra is an badass sorcerer, who was the first dragonknight and Arol is a badass winterbear!
- Pregnant Badass: Khiri, and how!
- Barbarian Tribe: The mortoks, who keeps he elves as their slaves.
- Berserk Button: have slaves and Ilke will kick your ass, hurt Ilke and Alk will kick your ass...
- Brother–Sister Team: Alk and Ilke that also are twins.
- Big Brother Mentor: Arol is this to Alk and Ilke. Teaching them different things, like how to fight without weapons.
- Big Fancy Castle: Sha-ra has one.
- Blind Seer: They meet one on their travels.
- Blue Means Cold: Ilke has blue skin, and in some artwork she's depicted with blue hair, because the frost spirit Hish blew some of his powers into her, making her become a frost child with power over everything cold.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: Played for Drama, if they had come earlier would Ilke have survived.
- Child Soldier: Turns out in the end that Alk and Ilke weren't chosen, King Veha just needed someone to free the elves for him.
- Coming of Age Story: Follows Alk and Ilke from they are born until they're around 18.
- Dub Name Change: In the german translation Alk is Alak, Sha-ra is Scha-ra and Arol is Arul. The only understandable is Arul since the german u is the norwegian o.
- Elemental Embodiment: Hisj and the other season spirits are this, but only Hisj's powers are told of thus far.
- Elemental Hair Colors: Ilke has icy light blue hair that almost looks like icicles. It's a case of Power Dyes Your Hair. However the germans did an Adaptation Dye-Job and gave her black or very dark blue.
- Evil Is Deathly Cold: averted strongly. The heroine Ilke is a frost child, Hisj is a
Chaotic Neutral at worst, and the coldest place revealed so far is the place where the winter bears live. - Extreme Omnivore: the terraquses.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Alk, Ilke and Millian pretty much when they travel alone.
- Gamer Chick: Millian likes World of Warcraft, and wants Ilke to try it.
- Giant Flyer: Alk, Ilke and Jolsah sees one in the beginning of the 2nd book.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Ponjak and Melka becomes this.
- Horse of a Different Color: the Ahmel◊ is used much, as well as dragons(but only by the Dragon Knight order), wolves by the Wolf Rider tribe and sometimes horses.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Alk and Ilke has this with many, including Millian, Azur, Arol, Mentor and more.
- Jeanne d'Archétype: Ilke, She even dies in the end, but seems to have woken up from the dead. If one like Phenomena's facebook page Ruben Eliassen will write her ultimate fate.
- Mage in Manhattan: Where both Alk and Ilke goes when they are teleported to our world and the hideout for some evil wizards. The wizards hide in Nidarosdomen. Where ever this was meant to be Take That! to christianity or not is not told, might be because the 1st book was awarded The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Church Affair First Book Prize.
- Man Hug: Alk and Jolsah does this in the 7th book, and Ilke claims she loves seeing guys hug.
- Master Race: The mortoks see themselves as this over the elves.
- Medieval European Fantasy: subverted, if one pay attention is it more like the 19th century if compared to Earth, and Amyrst's dress looks more like it's from the 18th century. There is Fantasy Gun Control, probably because there's magic and the population's extreme fear of the unknown. It is pretty feudal, but there's one king.
- Mordor: Sherpa controls a country called "nothern country" or "country in the north" by the story and the charcters, it's never described in much detail.
- No Periods, Period: although it is hinted that Ilke and Millian talk about it once.
- Pelts of the Barbarian: What the mortoks wear in the spin-off, they are fond of them in the main books too, but not to such an extent.
- Quicksand Sucks: Early in the 2nd book Alk and Ilke are Separated from the Adults. Then they are dragged into the sand. It's actually because terraqus'es are dragging them down.
- River of Insanity: Quite early in the 1st book, Sha-ra jumps of the raft trying to stop it.
- Shout-Out: Millian loves coming with them since she grew up here on earth. Some to ElfQuest, which first came out when Eliassen was 11. This was never specified in forewords, although it might be because he wanted to avoid a Captain Obious Reveal.
- Slasher Smile: Azur on the cover 6th book of his spin-off.
- Slave Race: Elves are kept as this by the mortoks. The plot is about freeing them.
- The Smurfette Principle: Ilke was the only girl in the main group until book 3.
- Spring Is Late: during most of Alk and Ilke's childhood, because Hish wants to kidnap them, or as he says, play with them, so he sticks around the castle until he can't anymore.
- Take Up My Sword: Sha-ra wants Mentor to take up the Phenomena after his death.
- Trapped in Another World: Alk and Ilke are trapped in our world in the 3rd book.
- The Three Faces of Eve: Ilke is childlike and innocent, Mijam is sensible and capable, Millian is Hotter and Sexier.
