Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway & Denmark

annis
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 4585
Joined: August 2008

Post by annis » Wed December 28th, 2011, 6:38 pm

Hi Keny- I think Long Ships is pretty well known amongst those who enjoy historical adventures. It's the original whale road trip novel, with plenty of action and tongue-in-cheek sardonic Viking humour. Still fresh, lively and sharp as a tack despite having been written in the 1940s - deservedly a classic.

User avatar
Ludmilla
Bibliophile
Posts: 1346
Joined: September 2008
Location: Georgia USA

Post by Ludmilla » Thu December 29th, 2011, 1:40 pm

[quote=""Kveto from Prague""]Hey. Anybody ever read "the Long Ships" by Frans Bengtsson (translated by Micheal Meyer). Every review Ive read on it seems to consider it a true jem that few outside scandinavia know of.
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2010 ... ong-ships/

I only know the film fom the 60s with Sydney Poiter sporting an outrageous accent, mostly forgettable.

But the book iteslf sounds to be a real hoot.[/quote]

I finally read this over the summer and really enjoyed it (it's available as a Kindle in the US now). I think if you enjoy books like Lamb's Cossack tales, you'll enjoy this.

I've only seen bits and pieces of the film, and only when I was very young. I was under the impression that the film only deals with a section of the book. The book is a true saga covering twenty years of adventures that take the characters from Denmark to Spain to Kievan Rus and back to Scandinavia (roughly spanning the years 980-1010).
Last edited by Ludmilla on Thu December 29th, 2011, 2:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
The Czar
Reader
Posts: 137
Joined: May 2011
Location: Nashville TN

Post by The Czar » Sat January 28th, 2012, 1:26 am

I loved the Long Ships! That was a great read.

Also, I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but 2 of the 3 of Jan Guillou's Crusade's trilogy are set in scandinavia. Its about a scandinavian lad who is trained to be a baddie and is ultimately sent to the holy land on crusade as a templar. But as I said, the first and third books are set entriely in scandinavia. I enjoyed them very much.
Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
_______________________________________________
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

Mejeritskaya
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: April 2016
Location: New Jersey, United States

Re: Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway & Denmark

Post by Mejeritskaya » Sun April 24th, 2016, 5:08 pm

Hi everyone,
Are any of these book appropriate for a 12 year old? I am planning a trip to Sweden with my daughter this summer and would like for her to have some historical foundation to make our trip more meaningful. Thanks!

User avatar
MLE (Emily Cotton)
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 3566
Joined: August 2008
Interest in HF: started in childhood with the classics, which, IMHO are HF even if they were contemporary when written.
Favourite HF book: Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
Preferred HF: Currently prefer 1600 and earlier, but I'll read anything that keeps me turning the page.
Location: California Bay Area

Re: Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway & Denmark

Post by MLE (Emily Cotton) » Sun April 24th, 2016, 8:40 pm


Post Reply

Return to “By Country/Continent”