The Vikings had killed Ailill's parents, raped his sister and kidnapped him. Stripped of his family, his home, his faith and his freedom, he saw no future but slavery. Then he was mistaken for a priest and rescued by the Norwegian noble Erling Skjalgsson. Now "Father" Ailill must face the dangers of life in a hostile land, the enmity of those who cling to the old gods, and the political turmoil of a nation being born.
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Lars Walker is a native of Kenyon, Minnesota and a graduate of Augsburg College, Minneapolis. He grew up on a farm, and has worked as a crab meat packer in Alaska, a mail clerk, an administrative assistant, and a radio announcer, and is now librarian and bookstore manager for the schools of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations in Minneapolis. He is editor of the Journal of the Georg Sverdrup Society, and is a Viking reenactor and Norwegian translator. His website is www.larswalker.com, and he blogs at www.brandywinebooks.net.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great read - packed with action and scope for thought .,
This review is from: Erlings Word (Mass Market Paperback)
A failed priestly student is enslaved by Norse raiders and, with the luck of the Irish has to act as a priest to stay alive. He fights against human sacrifice, forced conversions and the supporters of the old norse gods. He also struggles against himself and to support the Christianity of his new overlord who has crazy ideas like permitting his thralls to buy themselves free. * Warning, good value but if you don't need it for Christmas the "Year of the Warrior" a 2 in 1 with a full size, all new sequel added this will be out in March 2000. * Order now.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
How the Norse Were Won,
This review is from: Erlings Word (Mass Market Paperback)
Although most fantasy authors these days prefer to beat to death the Celtic mythology, only a few have turned their sights north and plumb the depths of the Norse. Walker is one of those few. And thank God, too! While Diana Paxson is busy writing against the historic conversion of the Norse to our "White Christ," Walker is there fighting *for* Christianity.Following the aetheistic Irishman, Aillil, who to save his life pretends to be a priest, we are taken to the historic Erling Skjalgsson's home, where the war between the old pagan ways, and the civilisation of Christ is in full battle. More than the Norse are converted, though, as "Father" Aillil becomes ordained in truth, and learns just what it means to walk Christ's road. Teenagers and younger are warned to wait to read this book, as several scenes depict sexual desire (although not consummation), horrific violence, and a fair amoung of ale swilling. The plot is good, but episodic, making for a slightly slower time reading than perhaps we are currently used to. Gentlemen, especially, will want to check out the longer version of Father Aillil's and Erling's adventures in the two-novel book, The Year of the Warrior.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Higher Virtues of Erling's Word,
This review is from: Erlings Word (Mass Market Paperback)
From ISawLightningFall.com
Christian fiction -- the phrase alone is enough to set most bibliophiles' teeth on edge. Gone are the days of C.S. Lewis and Walter Miller, Jr. publishing in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, of Flannery O'Connor penning the perfect Southern Gothic, of Dorothy Sayers introducing Lord Peter Wimsey to the world with a combustible "Oh, damn!" That is to say, gone are the days when Christian authors penned narratives that went beyond pabulum, narratives that mainstream readers might actually, well, read. But if conservative Lutheran author Lars Walker's first novel is any indication, their spirit still lingers. That novel is Erling's Word, and its Dark Age-era story begins with a failed monastic candidate watching his parents be slaughtered by Vikings and his sister gang raped. His name is Ailill, and he ends up stolen from his native Ireland and sold as slave in Norway. Noting his clerical training, his captors offer him up as a priest, even though he possesses only a little education, less Latin and no faith. He's bought by Erling Skjalgsson, a Norse lord and Christian who offers him freedom in exchange for helping turn his people from their barbarous rites to true worship. Ailill gladly agrees, but soon finds himself in over his head. The old gods are very much alive in the land and none too pleased to have a priest of the white Christ about -- even a false one. Count complex, sympathetic characters and a willingness to do unexpected things with them among the virtues of Erling's Word. One moment Ailill is catechizing and constructing a church, the next bedding a concubine and craftily planning a rival's murder. Walker often tempers such interludes with sardonic wit and fine turns of phrase. When considering Erling's offer, Ailill thinks, "I knew enough of the offices to be priest for his purposes. God wouldn't care -- how could He, not existing as He did?" Later he looses a hilarious, page-long imprecatory prayer against Erling's enemies, intoning, "May their stomachs be filled with squirming piglets, and swell, and burst, so that they trip on their guts. May their kidneys and rumps let loose together, and the waste fill the ship, so they drown in it. " While Ailill doesn't stay stuck in his duplicity, his character advances in unexpected ways, as do the lives (and deaths) of those around him. A disappointing denouement can't spoil the fact that this is a novel both doubters and the devout will likely enjoy. Believing authors, take note: There are higher literary virtues than inoffensiveness.
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