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Product Description
Sword Song is the swashbuckling story of Bjarni, a Viking swordsman. Banished from his home, as a boy, for a murder he didn't intend to commit, Bjarni takes up a new life as a mercenary. He journeys to the islands off the west coast of Scotland and there his life is shaped for years to come. A life that will see him fighting among the clan chiefs in feuds as bitter and bloody as can be imagined.This enthralling novel was the last thing Rosemary Sutcliff wrote and was discovered in a drawer after her death. It is published here in paperback for the first time.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A gripping adventure story set in Viking Scotland, with blood feuds and battles. Place and atmosphere are vividly evoked, and Sutcliff gets inside the minds of her characters so well that she is able to flesh out the heroes of the Norse sagas. It's brilliant, and I'm going to go back and re-read her other novels!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've only just discovered this final novel by one of the greatest historical novelists of our time (and I don't just mean children's historical novelists). It fits, though only marginally, into the 'dolphin signet ring' sequence that began with <The Eagle of the Ninth>, fitting into the gap between the end of <Sword at Sunset> and <The Shield Ring>. It would be worth reading for that reason alone; but it's also a solidly researched story of British Vikings, free from sentimentality and moralising and with Sutcliff's usual vivid characterisation, especially as regards the warts-and-all hero, Bjarni. He's not so obviously appealing as (say) Marcus or Justin or even Aquila, but he's a realistic depiction of the complex of loves, hates, loyalties and ferocities, expertise and ignorance, intelligence and supersition, that you might expect from a ninth-century barbarian. He's accompanied by Hugin, another of Sutcliff's adorable dogs: I was in constant fear lest something awful happened to him, but don't worry, it doesn't.
The author died before completing the final draft of the story, and it does show. The tale is episodic, some of the episodes are a bit disconnected, and the ending, though neat in that it takes the hero back to his starting point, is ragged in terms of story development. The heroine, Angharad, doesn't appear until very late and her story is rather truncated; I'd have liked to hear more about her. Nonetheless the book is a worthy farewell to a favourite author. People who write as well as Sutcliff ought not to be allowed to die!
The author died before completing the final draft of the story, and it does show. The tale is episodic, some of the episodes are a bit disconnected, and the ending, though neat in that it takes the hero back to his starting point, is ragged in terms of story development. The heroine, Angharad, doesn't appear until very late and her story is rather truncated; I'd have liked to hear more about her. Nonetheless the book is a worthy farewell to a favourite author. People who write as well as Sutcliff ought not to be allowed to die!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Don't be put off by the cover, this is a fast-moving, great story. It follows the trials and adventures of teen Norseman Bjarni as he moves around the turbulent world of Viking Age Northern Britain and Eire. The story is gutsy and brings you into Bjarni's often violent world from the start when he accidently kills a bullying priest for injuring his beloved dog and is banished. He learns of cruelty, spite, love, honour, valour and kindness. And we get to be part of this complex world...learn to man the viking ships and feel the battles, smell the sea, settle in the hall, and meet the folk: good, bad and in-between. Cracking adventure and well-researched. GOOD STUFF! I'm looking for more!
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