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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A norse 'Dirty Dozen', 17 Mar 2009
I have picked this book up a few times, but was put off by the dodgy title! In the end some Amazon reviews convinced me to give it a go, and I was pleasantly suprised. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a little slow in starting (and slightly disorienting using 'flashbacks' a little clumsily) but once it got going it didn't let up, feeling a little like a 'Boys Own' adventure set in the Dark Ages, something like Beowulf crossed with Indiana Jones. The combining of relic quest (the Spear of Destiny this time, rather than the oft used Holy Grail) with norse myth - the Volsung Saga - and hazy history - Attila the Hun's death, all adds to this feel.
The Viking crew feel like a kind of 'Dirty Dozen' with axes, and are well written and likeable, although quite expendable!
The writing on the whole is eloquent, with a nice style comming through about a third of the way in. Also little historical details like 'soup wounds' add an extra touch which raises this book a notch, although at times you get the definite feeling the author is trying a little too hard to fill his pages with these details.
All in all a successful debut, managing to capture a real 'sense of norse' whether it be in the campfire banter and camaraderie, the freezing, soaking ship journey's or the bloodthirsty battles. Looking forward to part two!
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
engaging little Norse Odyssey, 30 Dec 2008
I have to confess to having been sat on a copy of this for a year or so. Bought it on a whim then its rather unexciting title and cover meant it sat maturing on my shelves till a recent trip to the old Viking town of York.
Suitably inspired I pulled it down from the shelf but perhaps not with the greatest of expectations. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I finally set off on my journey with 'Orm', the young lad who falls in with the 'Oathsworn' a group of mercenary veteran Vikings under the leadership of the grim 'Einer the Black'.
Low writes in quite an understated way. He's not one for the over use of superlatives or 20 page battle scenes. What he does do is include a bit more detail and authentic Norse culture and terminology than many of his peers. That is not to say the book lacks action because it does not, nor is the story lacking drama, the Oathsworn are on an ill fated mission to recover the sword of the long dead Attila and the story takes them from the coast of Scotland to the Russian steppes and many of the crew will die in the process. There are plot twists aplenty and a built in emotional roller coaster.
If I had to be hyper critical I would say the author could have given us a bit more room for charactor development and dialogue and the first chapter is a little confusing as we are introduced to the lead charactors whilst the action constantly switches between past and present due to a series of flashbacks in which we learn of the story behind Orm the bear slayers name and reputation.
But I want to stress I thoroughly enjoyed this little Norse odyssey, it differs in style with the other British big hitters of historical fiction but I see no reason why Low should not feel quite at home in their company. I have also already bought the follow up book.
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40 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
New Authors takes you A Viking, 15 Mar 2007
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.
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