| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This saga brings alive the world of the 10th century AD when the Vikings raided the coasts of England.
Acclaimed as one of the best historical novels ever written, this engaging saga of Viking adventure in 10th century northern Europe has a very appealing young hero, Orm Tostesson, whose story we follow from inexperienced youth to adventurous old age, through slavery and adventure to a royal marriage and the search for great treasure. Viking expeditions take him to lands as far apart as England, Moorish Spain, Gaardarike (the country that was to become Russia), and the long road to Miklagard. The salt-sea spray, the swaying deck awash in slippery blood are the backdrop to fascinating stories of King Harald Blue Tooth, the Jomsvikings, attempts to convert the Northmen to Christianity, and much else. Like H. Rider Haggard, Bengtsson is a master of the epic form.
About the Author
Frans G. Bengtsson, Swedish essayist, novelist, poet, and biographer, was born in Tossjö, near Kristianstad, as the son of the manager of an estate in Skåne. Bengtsson was the first successful practitioner of the informal essay in Sweden, a genre that he virtually introduced to the literature of his own country. His best-known novel is Röde orm (1941-45, The Long Ships), a Viking saga written in an ornate and romantic style.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is by far the best book I've ever read!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Long Ships: A saga of the Viking age (Paperback)
As a Swede, if I were to recommend just one Swedish book, it would be this! It is very well written and got "instant and constant" action. The book takes place some 800 years ac. You will follow the young Viking Orm throughout many exiting adventures. At the age of 17:teen, Orm get kidnapped and commences his journeys throughout west and east Europe. He serves in a Mohammedan army, raids England and also travels to Russia, to name a few of his adventures. Not only is it a hilariously funny book, it is historically accurate and you will learn a lot.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You can almost taste the blood sausage ...,
By A L Hopkins (Oxford, Oxon United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Long Ships: A Saga of the Viking Age (Paperback)
This has to be one of the best historical novels on any subject ever written - a totally engaging, nay enthralling, saga of viking adventure at the turn of the previous millennium. It brings 10th century northern Europe vividly before the reader; it has a very appealing young hero, Orm Tostesson, whose story we follow eagerly and avidly from inexperienced youth to adventurous old age as he participates in viking expeditions as far apart as England, moorish Spain, and the long road to Miklagard. It's very much a smell-the-salt-sea-spray, feel the swaying deck, almost trip on the slippery blood sort of book, but it's additionally fascinating to anyone who's ever wondered how the Vikings could possibly relate to modern-day Danes and Swedes (this book will tell you). It's full of fascinating stories about such famous folk as King Harald Blue Tooth and the Jomsvikings, relating for example how a young warrior's long blond hair saved his life. And it's extremely funny, particularly on the subject of attempts to convert the less amenable Northmen to Christianity. And it's also in places moving; and in other places, an edge of the seat suspense thriller. I first found it in a 2nd hand bookstore in Stockholm in 1989; the copy I bought then has been re-read so many times that it has now fallen to pieces and I must have another, and several spares to give my friends.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't judge this by its cover,
This review is from: The Long Ships: A saga of the Viking age (Paperback)
Forget the awful cover – this book is a gem. One of Sweden's foremost historians and literary figures, Bengtsson has been compared to a latter-day Samuel Johnson. A marvellously pacy adventure story, "The Long Ships" towers above most historical fiction, especially as it contains sound background on arcane Norse traditions such as nose-tweaking, trollcraft and, of course, "The Ale Death". In fact, it's one of the funniest books you'll ever read – few books can make you laugh out loud on a crowded tube train, but this is one.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
