The Fantasy Guide to Top Viking Historical Books
This guide was written by Rebecca Wilson who also goes by the creative nickname valkyrie1008. She has a growing passion for all things vikingy, their history, people, culture and mythology.
If you are fascinated by the subject of Vikings you should check out her blog at: http://www.soulchaserbecky.blogspot.com/
Top Viking Historical Books:
• Raven: Blood Eye by Giles Kristian (Age 16+)
Giles leads readers into the grim yet fascinating world of middle age England through the character of Osric, a young man with no memory of his past apart from a blood ruined eye. His world is disturbed by the appearance of a group of Norse traders unsettling him and his common folk. Yet the peace is further disturbed when the local priest tried to poison the Jarl Sigurd and Osric forewarns the Jarl of this trick. A fight ensues and men are killed yet Osric is spared only by the quickness of his tongue in saving the Jarl's life. He is taken away from the land he knows of has home with the war band and so begins another new way of life for him, of praying to the old gods to calm the seas as he is brought up upon the long ships, to hunger after treasure of silver and jewels but most of all the importance of the bond men as warriors forge and the fatal penalty due when any man breaks such an bond as the fellowship of Norsemen.
A definite must buy and read ASAP for any fans of Robert Low and Bernard Cornwell. Giles Kristian is a new kid on the block in this genre and he is definitely as talented for telling a good saga of sword brothers as Low and Cornwell who've been masters for years.• Sons of Thunder: Second Raven Adventure by Giles Kristian
Sons of Thunder: The Second Raven Adventure
This book really does triumph as a sequel to Raven: Blood Eye. There's more drama, tension, surprises, battle and death as well a nice dollop of cunning in the new series of adventures experiences by Raven and his fellowship of Sigurd the Lucky. There's even a bit of love thrown in for Raven but it has turned tainted and sour by the end of the book. And one character meets his ill-fated death by the hand of no Norseman which is one of the many satisfying twists and turns Gile's weaves into his fine thrilling saga. All lovers of Viking historical fiction should read this and take note of the amazing new young blooded talent that brings the lives of Vikings once more into the fore of our imaginations.
Look out for the third in the Raven trilogy Odin's Wolves due to be released in the UK in April 2011!
• Feasting the Wolf by Susan Price (Age 12+)
A very good portrayal of Viking life - very suitable for age 10+. Enjoyed it even though I'm an adult. A tale of two best friends growing up on the Shetland Islands off the northern coast of Britain during the dark ages. Their Viking ancestors settled on the island many years ago yet Viking exploration and raiding is still a major attraction to one of the two friends. Eventually the other is persuaded away from his farming family on an adventure with a local raiding ship that passed by on its way to help the invasion into England. Yet even when they land on foreign soil difficulties and differences begin to split their relationship apart as both seek respect and acceptance in a world where it is only gaining by earning honour in battle or death.
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Will's Additional Pick. I have read some Viking themed novels and I want to add this book. It is one of my favorite books in any fantasy genre. It is one of those terrific novels that is not well known but has a bit of a following. You should check out the amazon ratings on this book. It can be difficult to get and you usually have to buy it used - but it is well worth the effort
Bran Snorrison, a young Irish Viking bard, journeys through the turbulence and uncertainty of his eighth-century world, as a confrontation erupts between the old magic and the rise of the new Christian religion.
