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10th Century / Viking Age Tales

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Wulfric of Mercia
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10th Century / Viking Age Tales

Post by Wulfric of Mercia » Mon April 26th, 2010, 5:25 pm

Greeting folks. Glad to have found this section of the forum. I am a die-hard fan of Viking sagas and essentially any historical fiction set in this time period. There are not a wealth of books for the dark ages in Britain but a few authors like Bernard Cornwell have succeeded in bringing this 'dark' era to life again.

I recently wrote my first novel, a historical fiction piece set in the early 900s in Britain. Its the story of a blood feud, something very common in Anglo Saxon/Viking England. The research was painstaking, primarily because source material for this period is so scant. It was quite a challenge and took over two years to complete. The result is a 460 page novel and only the first in a series I will write to tell the full story.

More on the book here

There have been a few non-fiction books that have come out in recent years that aim to re-evaluate the dark ages. There is some contention that they were not as grim as perceived by us. However, I am of the opinion that they were wrought with hardship and mired in endemic warfare. You really don't start to see scholarship and enlightenment to any appreciable degree until the start of the fourteenth century. I think part of the problem, primarily in England, were the Viking invasions that destroyed monasticism, which is where most of the learned peoples were to be found.

If anyone has any recommendations on good reads from this period I am eager to hear them.

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lindymc
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Post by lindymc » Mon April 26th, 2010, 8:24 pm

Like you, I have enjoyed the Bernard Cornwall books. Another Dark Ages triligy that I would recommend is by Joan Wolf - Road to Avalon (King Arthur) - Born of the Sun (King Ceawlin) - The Edge of Light (Alfred the Great)
Helen Hollick has also written a King Arthur trilogy. So far I have read and really liked the first one, The Kingmaking.
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain. (1873) -- Louisa May Alcott

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Post by parthianbow » Mon April 26th, 2010, 9:03 pm

[quote=""Wulfric of Mercia""] If anyone has any recommendations on good reads from this period I am eager to hear them.[/quote]

Hi there, Wulfric/Christopher!

Viking novels are hot property at the moment on this side of the pond.
I can personally recommend the excellent (see the quotes on his site) quartet of Oathsworn novels by Viking reenactor and former journalist Robert Low. the first one is The Whale Road.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whale-Road-Oath ... 493&sr=8-4

Giles Kristian Raven series are meant to be excellent as well, although I haven't (yet) read them.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raven-Blood-Eye ... 531&sr=1-3

The last recent ones I know of are by Tim Severin, the former explorer/adventurer (Brendan Voyage etc.). He wrote the Viking trilogy, which starts with Odinn's Child. I gave up on this first one after about 10 pages, but it has had some good reviews.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Viking-Odinns-C ... 648&sr=1-1

There's also the older book The Golden Warrior, by Hope Muntz, which is highly regarded by many, and is in my TBR pile.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Warrior- ... 837&sr=1-5

And The King of Vinland's Saga by Stuart Mirsky, which I enjoyed, but didn't manage to finish (mainly because I was on a book deadline; it is still in my TBR pile).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0738 ... r_asin_lnk

I look forward to reading an excerpt from your novel. Good luck!
Last edited by parthianbow on Mon April 26th, 2010, 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by annis » Mon April 26th, 2010, 10:39 pm

Hi Wulfric- good to see you on the forum. I'm a fan of fiction set in the "Dark Ages" and have a real weakness for Viking novels. I love Robert Low's "Oathsworn" series and am dismayed by the news that the latest, "Prow Beast", is probably the last.

I've also been enjoying Giles Kristian's "Raven" books ( here's a review of his latest, "Sons of Thunder" which I posted at Margaret Donsbach's Historical Novels Info website.) Robert Low has immersed himself for years in the Viking sagas and Kristian's novels don't have the same depth, but are written with a raw energy which is also appealing.

Like Ben, I bailed on Tim Severin's Viking books which I found totally tedious, despite really enjoying his non-ficction work.

Two old favourites
"The Long Ships", by Frans Gunnar Bengtsson--a terrific adventure full of sardonic Viking humour.

"Byzantium", by Michael Ennis, the story of the last great Viking leader, Harald Hardrada, focusing on the years he spent with the Varangian Guard .
Last edited by annis on Mon April 26th, 2010, 10:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Kasthu » Mon April 26th, 2010, 11:04 pm

I haven't read it, but there's also Jorvik, by Sheelagh Kelly--reviews of the book seem to be few and far between.

I've also heard good things about The King's Daughter, by Penny Ingham.

There's also The Sea Road, by Margaret Elphinstone, set around the 11th century Viking exploration of North America.

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Post by annis » Tue April 27th, 2010, 12:00 am

Jorvik is very hard to come by these days, which is probably why you're having trouble finding reviews of it. It's the dark story of a young Norse boy whose psyche becomes twisted by the desire for vengeance when all his family except his embittered mother are murdered during the St Brice's Day massacre of Danes instigated by English king Ehelred the Unready in 1002.

Far from driving the Danes out of England, it has the opposite effect, with Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard's fury leading to his invasion of England in 1003–04. His persecution of the country eventually sees Ethelred flee to Normandy with Forkbeard's final invasion of 1013–14. Sweyn is crowned King of England at this point, although he dies within months, and, despite the efforts of both Ethelred and Edmund Ironside, England is reinvaded and ruled by Sweyn's son, King Canute.

Jorvik covers the violent period of the Danish kings up to the reinstatement in 1042 of the English claimant Edward, later known as the Confessor.

There was a thread earlier on the Battle of Hastings which mentions quite a few books set in 10th/11th century England.
http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/ ... e+hastings

And for a great read set in the earlier period of the 7th century, Carla Nayland's novel based on the life of King Edward of Northumbria, called "Paths of Exile". It's currently our Book of the Month
Last edited by annis on Thu April 29th, 2010, 7:33 pm, edited 10 times in total.

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Post by annis » Tue April 27th, 2010, 12:41 am

Just thought I'd add the blurb from my copy of Jorvik here:

Spurred on by his mother, Ragnhild, Sigurd Einarsson’s exiled upbringing in Norway is dominated by a consuming hatred for King Ethelred- who butchered his father and siblings- and a determination that never again will a descendant of Ethelred wear the English crown.

A powerful ally is King Cnut, but Sigurd does not share Cnut’s desire for peace and cannot abandon his Viking ways. On a raid into Ireland he captures the enigmatic Úna, and besotted, plans to marry her. But Ragnhild intervenes with her own choice of bride, and so begins a tragedy that will alter Sigurd’s life forever… And when a son of the hated Ethelred is appointed King, Sigurd, grown old in battle, must decide whether he is Englishman or Viking…

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Wulfric of Mercia
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Post by Wulfric of Mercia » Wed April 28th, 2010, 4:49 pm

Great suggestions all! As if my reading queue was not already backed up enough! I need to start writing my follow up to my first novel so its going to take some time getting through all this. :)

I am currently reading the Robert Low novels. He definitely has a unique talent and definitive style of writing.

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Post by Carla » Wed April 28th, 2010, 7:20 pm

[quote=""Wulfric of Mercia""]There have been a few non-fiction books that have come out in recent years that aim to re-evaluate the dark ages. There is some contention that they were not as grim as perceived by us. However, I am of the opinion that they were wrought with hardship and mired in endemic warfare. You really don't start to see scholarship and enlightenment to any appreciable degree until the start of the fourteenth century. I think part of the problem, primarily in England, were the Viking invasions that destroyed monasticism, which is where most of the learned peoples were to be found. [/quote]

Agreed, I think the Norse incursions were very disruptive, particularly to the monasteries. Alfred the Great laments the appalling state of learning in his own day, which was probably a direct consequence, and one of the things that I'd say is greatly to his credit is that he did something about it. Before then, however, the monasteries at least did have a considerable degree of scholarship. Bede knew the earth was round like a ball and understood how lunar eclipses happen, which is not bad for 725.
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Congratulations On the Novel

Post by G. Alvin Simons » Thu April 29th, 2010, 9:18 pm

It looks like an interesting read. I've read most of the ones the others have listed & agree with their opinions. A good non-fiction read that ties the Icelandic Sagas in with historical archeaology is Viking Age Iceland by Prof. Jesse Byock. It was invaluable to me while writing my own viking novel, Odinson: The Beserk Saga. I believe that you've already begun at the proper place for understanding and researching this subject by reading the original sagas. The Sagas of Icelanders is a massive book at a very affordable price. All of these books including my own are available at Amazon.
One more suggestion, don't just read viking novels. I can't begin to tell you how influential the writings of Robert E. Howard was on my own work. Known primarily for sword & fantasy in Conan the Barbarian, he wrote short fiction involving many subjects including the Crusades. From vivid description, suspense, and tense battle scenes, I believe any author writing action-adventure can learn from the master.

I hope this helps,
G. Alvin Simons
Last edited by G. Alvin Simons on Thu April 29th, 2010, 9:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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