Attila's Treasure [Paperback]

Stephan Grundy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Set against a landscape of howling snows and golden summertide loves, of trollcraft and blood-oaths, of proud ships and roistering mead-halls, enchanted sunrises and dazzling valkyries, Attila's Treasure breathes life into an age of unequaled grandeur.



From out of the icy steppes once came the fiercest and most feared warriors the world has ever known. And at their head was a figure whose name would become legend: the wily and ferocious Attila of the Huns. Behind him lay a trail of pillage and carnage, and many of his would-be foes hastened to become allies. Now, to cement one such alliance, a young Burgundian prince named Hagan is sent in fosterage to Attila's camps. There he is to learn the fighting arts of the Huns under the tutelage of his unpredictable new foster father, with whom he forges an uneasy relationship.



But in his first battle, Hagan learns the most important--and most dangerous--lesson of all. A handspan away from death, he discovers a pathway to the otherworld and flowering of unexpected powers. And this is a knowledge he must guard carefully--and use even more wisely--for it could make him a dangerous adversary of the great Attila himself.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

With a doctorate in Germanic studies, Grundy is certainly well qualified to create historical fantasies from fragments of German folklore. His second romance deals with the most fragmentary body of such material, the tales of Attila the Hun. In Grundy's version, Hagar, a young Burgundian prince, is sent as a hostage to Attila's court. There he meets and becomes friendly with Walhari, a Frankish prince, and learns much of the Hun's ways, both military and shamanistic. This makes him at first a valuable friend to Attila--and then a dangerous enemy. Grundy's scholarship sometimes threatens to overwhelm the narrative, but have no doubt that a large number of readers will keep turning the pages, especially if they enjoyed his take on perhaps the best known German legendary material, Rhinegold (1994). Highly recommended to the historical fantasy audience. Roland Green --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In Rhinegold (1994), Grundy offered a life of Sigifrith (Wagner's Siegfried) combining anthropology and magical fantasy. Here, he recounts the early life of Hagan, who appeared in the previous book as the slayer of Sigifrith. Dour and warlike, and a staunch upholder of the old gods, young Hagan is sent as a ``foster son'' (i.e., hostage) to the camp of Attila the Hun. Hagan adapts well to the life of the camp, bonding with a fellow hostage, Waldhari, a Christianized Frank, and at the same time taking instruction from the Hun's shaman. The prowess of the two young men in battle pleases Attila, but the arrival of Hildegund, a young Gothic Christian woman whom Attila intends to wed, disrupts everything. Because of her religion and her civilized ways, she is horrified by Attila- -especially when he brings her three severed heads of Christians slain in battle as tokens of his esteem. Grundy builds up the Huns' society and religion in convincing detail throughout, as Waldhari and Hildegund eventually fall afoul of the jealous Attila. Their escape into a winter storm, carrying off his treasure, precipitates the final crisis, in which Hagan, one of the last upholders of Gothic ways against the inroads of Christianity, is forced to choose between two loyalties. The heavy irony of his final choice is that it's taken in defense of two Christians who have broken (under great provocation, to be fair) all the laws and customs of the old ways he defends. As in his previous novel, Grundy is often more taken with piling up anthropological detail than with forwarding plot, but he has a fine sense for battle scenes, and his portrayal of the pagan vision of a living universe is both convincing and emotionally effective. Strong anthropological fantasy, with well-drawn characters and great insight into the clash of cultures at a crucial point in history. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Spectra; PF edition (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553575317
• ISBN-13: 978-0553575316
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,162,941 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, Intrigue, Romance, Betrayal, Danger and more, October 16, 2002

By 

Rachel Watkins "Rachel Watkins" (Joshua, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attila's Treasure (Paperback)

This book is a companion to Rhinegold and details the events of the life of Hagan, who is sent to live with Atilla as a foster-hostage. Well written and researched like any of Grundy's novles, you find yourself transported into the time he writes of, and find yourself empathising with the charachters. Hagan, the ultimate introvert, is portraied in a sensitive and understanding way, showing the intense emotion which is felt by those who are often misunderstood, and thought to be without feeling and less than human.

The strong history in this book and wonderful descriptions of surroundings show the culture clashes experienced by the charachters within. It's a story of cross-culture friendships, and tolerance and understanding of your friends even when you don't understand or nesicarily agree with practices of your friends. It is also a story of dangerous forbidden love and longing.

As one who practices Asatru, norse religion, I was delighted at the realistic and true way in which the religions and magic are portraied. Those who enjoyed this may also be interrested to know that the author of these books is a scholar who has also writen books on Asatru under the penname 'Kveldulf Gundarsson' and his books are "Teutonic Magic" and "Teutonic Religion".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe The Rings isn't so boring, February 9, 2002

By 

P. jernegan "Questions authority" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Attila's Treasure (Paperback)

Having experienced The Rings at the opera, I thought I would never want to know more about German mythology, but Grundy does a fine job of bringing them to life. Entertaining read, he never falls pray to that second rate writer's ploy of simply making the plot follow one battle after another, interspersed only with bedroom scenes - he made an honest attempt at characterization and I didn't find the foreign terms unsettling at all - they were usually obvious in the context. In order to get a 5, you have to live through time, like Anna Karenina, but other than that, worth reading. It gives me some small insight into the kind of fatalism behind a culture that can throw itself heart and soul into wars and lost causes seemingly springing from nothing more than a bizarre sense of fealty.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, May 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Attila's Treasure (Paperback)

It had everything I like; historical information tied with a historical fable and actual events, similar views of religion, battles, politics, and a darker side of story telling e.g. good and bad die. That might be a run on sentence but, I do not care. It was a very good book. I would read this book first though. I say this because Hagan will not appear such an evil person read this way. It will also get you ready for the explantions of the gods in Rhinegold. Both Rhinegold and Attila's Treasure intertwine a lot.