The Whale Road (Oathsworn 1)
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Review
'A company of warriors, desperate battles, an enthralling read' BERNARD CORNWELL
'A fantastic book, one of the best I have read for years. There's a wonderful earthiness to proceedings and he creates a tangible sense of being there. There's a sturdy, lyrical and epic quality about the writing which makes it feel like the kind of saga a Viking would recount in his old age.'
SIMON SCARROW
‘A stirring Viking series of blockbuster battles and religious intrigue.’
Publishing News
‘All the right ingredients are firmly in place…above all there is the storyline itself; told in an earthy, rough-and-ready stylewhich perfectly compliments this saga for the 21st Century.’
Yorkshire Evening Post
‘A fascinating read’ The Glasgow Herald
‘The Hangman humour of the band of sworn brothers gives Low’s epic but brutal tale real humanity and the detail of 10th century life is wonderfully vivd. The action is fast and furious…shockingly believably so. Low’s debut novel hits the mark with maximum impact.’
Bridlington Today
Review
'A company of warriors, desperate battles, an enthralling read' BERNARD CORNWELL 'A fantastic book, one of the best I have read for years. There's a wonderful earthiness to proceedings and he creates a tangible sense of being there. There's a sturdy, lyrical and epic quality about the writing which makes it feel like the kind of saga a Viking would recount in his old age.' SIMON SCARROW 'A stirring Viking series of blockbuster battles and religious intrigue.' Publishing News
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I did like this book, very much so and the style did remind me of a favourite author of mine; Bernard Cornwell (in fact Cornwell's recommendation tempted me to buy it) and I will be buying the second one. Pure adventure, escapist and very much like an old saga, the characters were good as was the history (it has created an interest of the Rus in me). I also found the fast moving pace and pure grittyness of life aboard a viking ship very well suited to the story. That said however the book did have a few problems in my opinion. Firstly, Low killed off too many good characters too quickly! Yes GRRM does the very same and his books are fantastic but GRRM has killed off many of his characters in the space of 4 VERY long books, not one short one. Some of Lows characyers could have been developed much better throughout the series. Secondly I found it ahrd to keep up with the villains as some appeared and dissappeared and reappeared etc etc.
That said I liked the book and will be reading this series to the end. 4/5 stars and recommended to Cornwell and historical fiction fans, and those who like the old sagas.
That said I liked the book and will be reading this series to the end. 4/5 stars and recommended to Cornwell and historical fiction fans, and those who like the old sagas.
45 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Brand new author for a brand new year and one to watch, however I had read the forthcoming Conn Iggulden Wolf on the Plain prior to starting this so perhaps my views may be a little judgemental comparing the two pieces.
Whilst setting itself as a Viking novel it started off pretty well giving the reader a tale to be unfurled that would drive them into the Steppes in order to retrieve a whispered about treasure. However that said it felt the novel was a little bit rushed. Now this may seem a bit of an odd complaint as its action, action, action all the way, and whilst I do love that, I also love the lull that the sea gives into the piece, especially when you're submerged into the depths of the tale. Likewise I also felt that the novel seemed to have been mapped out and followed section by section a to b, b to c etc. However this is a first novel and as such these early errors can be forgiven.
That said however, I now feel that its time to move on to the positive points of the novel. It was beautifully written and the characters had a wonderful depth of colour about them. Even the names have had a huge amount of time and love lavished upon them so that the reader is spoiled with a wonderful crew to sail the seas alongside. As such it's a cracking read and I sincerely hope that the characters that survive continue to grow. Another positive point that Robert went with, the fact that he plays for keeps, there is no way that when surrounded by a thousand enemies that they are walking out unscathed, and as such each death tears the readers emotions some more hoping and praying that their personal favourite lives through the battle to survive until the next event.
For me this is a piece worthy of reading and for a new author, these early errors will raise their ugly heads, how an author continues to develop past these and how they go about fixing them is key to the success of further novels. The premise however for the next instalment is cleverly crafted and will bring survivors of the adventure back to their old crewmates. A heroic epic waiting to be told.
Whilst setting itself as a Viking novel it started off pretty well giving the reader a tale to be unfurled that would drive them into the Steppes in order to retrieve a whispered about treasure. However that said it felt the novel was a little bit rushed. Now this may seem a bit of an odd complaint as its action, action, action all the way, and whilst I do love that, I also love the lull that the sea gives into the piece, especially when you're submerged into the depths of the tale. Likewise I also felt that the novel seemed to have been mapped out and followed section by section a to b, b to c etc. However this is a first novel and as such these early errors can be forgiven.
That said however, I now feel that its time to move on to the positive points of the novel. It was beautifully written and the characters had a wonderful depth of colour about them. Even the names have had a huge amount of time and love lavished upon them so that the reader is spoiled with a wonderful crew to sail the seas alongside. As such it's a cracking read and I sincerely hope that the characters that survive continue to grow. Another positive point that Robert went with, the fact that he plays for keeps, there is no way that when surrounded by a thousand enemies that they are walking out unscathed, and as such each death tears the readers emotions some more hoping and praying that their personal favourite lives through the battle to survive until the next event.
For me this is a piece worthy of reading and for a new author, these early errors will raise their ugly heads, how an author continues to develop past these and how they go about fixing them is key to the success of further novels. The premise however for the next instalment is cleverly crafted and will bring survivors of the adventure back to their old crewmates. A heroic epic waiting to be told.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As a writer myself I'm aware of all the pitfalls of using -ly adverbs in your dialogue and plotting without using three acts etc. This book which sufferes from various similar problems is just stunning despite any writing flaws.
I learned a lot from reading this book, one of them is that when you have a stunning story to tell and an excellent voice, the story takes the reader and transports them to where you are going and they don't notice any of the narrative flaws.
This is one such book and I thoroughly recommenbd it.
My only criticism is the main character's name. Orm was the name of Bengtsson's hero in 'The Long Ships' and maybe Low should have chosen a different name though to be honest it doesn't detract from a stunning, exciting, page-turning tale, which I only wish I could emulate in my own writing!
In short - brilliant!
I will certainly read the next one.
I learned a lot from reading this book, one of them is that when you have a stunning story to tell and an excellent voice, the story takes the reader and transports them to where you are going and they don't notice any of the narrative flaws.
This is one such book and I thoroughly recommenbd it.
My only criticism is the main character's name. Orm was the name of Bengtsson's hero in 'The Long Ships' and maybe Low should have chosen a different name though to be honest it doesn't detract from a stunning, exciting, page-turning tale, which I only wish I could emulate in my own writing!
In short - brilliant!
I will certainly read the next one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brothers in Oars
Despite having this in my reading pile for some time. My first Robert Low was The Lion Wakes and I found it a real struggle and nearly gave up, a two star review being my view. Read more
Published 1 month ago by N. Brett
The Oathsworn series
A good read from start to finish. These books are very well researched and give a true story of life in these violent times.
Published 3 months ago by Robert L. Watson
Likeable but with Annoying Flaws
I was looking forward to reading this on a recommendation from a friend and after speaking briefly to the auther at a Viking event. Read more
Published 11 months ago by DA Re-Enactor
Very Disappointing
I bought this book as I am a huge fan of the Bernard Cornwell "Uthred" Series and thought this would be of similar vein. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Stuart G
Not a late night read
This and it's following books, although good, are not the sort of late night read before you go to bed that i was hoping for given the theme. Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Tucker
AMAZING book!
Robert Low has written a fantastic book, with Orm probably one of my favourite characters of all time. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Lyn
The magic of 'Saga' making.
I was gifted 'The Whale Road' by my parents for my birthday in 2010, as they thought it would be right up my street. They are not often wrong, but they were right again. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Kristian Magnusson
Too much fantasy
As a lover of Historical fiction, I was really looking forward to these sagas, only to be disappointed. There is too much fantasy involved, the story had a very hard thread. Read more
Published 16 months ago by fo
Worthy heir of the Saga-writers
When I read the description of "The Whale Road" on Amazon, I was skeptical. It seemed to me that the author was trying to bring too many elements together, and that the result was... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Brian G.
Tedious...
This story is about a young Viking (for want of a better word), who is re-telling his story. Hence everything is referred to in past tense. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jacks
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