The Prow Beast (Oathsworn) [Hardcover]

Robert Low (Author)

Book Description

Series: Oathsworn | Publication Date: May 4, 2010

The Oathsworn have become feared and respected throughout the Viking world. Their name goes before them and men cower in their presence, but they soon discover that fame comes at a price. While the Oathsworn revel in their newfound glory, Sterki, an old enemy with revenge in his heart, attacks their homestead—the Fjord Elk is sunk, old oar mates die, and the Oathsworn are forced to flee into the mountains. Unaccustomed to losing, the men retreat to lick their wounds. They have been entrusted with the care of Queen Sigrith, pregnant and soon to bear the heir to the crown of Sweden, and though the urge for revenge is strong, Orm's first duty is to protect the queen. He soon realizes that revenge is not the only thing on Sterki's mind; he has joined forces with Styrbjorn, nephew of King Eirik and next in line to the throne—if he can only get rid of the current heir. As the Oathsworn fight to defend themselves and their newfound celebrity and fortune, they're soon to realize that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Robert Low's Oathsworn series is historical writing at its best and most full-blooded, with its tremendous pacing, black comedy, a wonderfully vivid and rough-hewn prose style like runes hacked into granite, and most appealingly of all, its doomy, pagan sense of comradeship-unto-death between Orm Rurikson and his band of Viking brothers.”  —William Napier, author, Attila: The Gathering of the Storm

“A company of warriors, desperate battles, an enthralling read.”  —Bernard Cornwell

No modern novelist knows more about the Vikings than Robert Low . . . he has created a completely convincing and utterly compelling modern Viking Saga. The history, myth and fiction are folded seamlessly together: wonderful, unbeatable stuff."  —Harry Sidebottom, author, Fire in the East

About the Author

Robert Low is a journalist and writer who covered the wars in Vietnam, Sarajevo, Romania, and Kosovo. To satisfy his craving for action, having moved to an area rich in Viking tradition, he took up reenactment, joining The Vikings. He now spends summers fighting furiously in helmet and mail in shieldwalls all over Britain and trains hard during the winters. He lives in Scotland with his wife.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007298552
• ISBN-13: 978-0007298556
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #506,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Men Like Us, Following The Prow Beast Up the Fjord in a Ship, Grim w/Revenge, 4 They Didn't Want a Fair Fight, Only Slaughter", March 19, 2010

By 

Ronin - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Prow Beast (Oathsworn) (Hardcover)

This was a great fourth book in an excellent series! This is definitely one to start at the beginning with The Whale Road and work your way up to book 4. What's left of the Oathsworn are back under the continued leadership of Jarl Orm Rurickson, The Bear Slayer, Trader, and finder of treasure hoards. The hard oath of the brotherhood takes its toll on the life-expectancy of its members, and there's new crew, a new Fjord Elk, and naturally a new fool's errand, all haunted by people and circumstances of the past.

Every book in this series is a fast page-turner that keeps you involved and anxious to discover how events unfold. The Oathsworn new and old are full of colorful Viking-talk that historically accurate or not is certainly entertaining. Low does an excellent job of crafting unique landscapes that covers great distances through the medieval world. I was very impressed with his use of relatively unknown tribes and clans, in this case in the old Amber Road and Oder River region separating Germany and Poland in the 10th Century.

As has been the case in the previous books, Low weaves in a number of big historical characters who mingle almost seamlessly with his fictional ones. Olaf Tryggvasson, Queen Sigrith, and the Jomsviking Lord Pallig Tokeson, among others. If I had one grievance with the story it was probably Low's portrayal of the Jomsvikings in general, which was interesting but I was personally disappointed. His inclusion of Magyars certainly made up for it.

Unfortunately, aside from Finn suggesting there was good raiding to be had in England, there is no hint at a 5th installment and it looks unlikely after a visit to his website revealed this: "It (The Prow Beast) will be followed by the "Kingdom of Scotland" series, set in the time of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace, which I am writing now." Its just as well; not sure Orm and his crew had much more left in them. Given the abominable history portrayed in the film "Braveheart", which seems to have infected universal unconsciousness, just shy of reading the actual history I have faith Mr. Low may set the record a lot straighter. I look forward to it.

I highly recommend this entire series. Enjoy!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flawed heroes, historical realism, and epic scope, September 7, 2010

By 

Brian G. (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Prow Beast (Oathsworn) (Paperback)

This latest addition in the Oathsworn series is excellent; if possible, it is more grim and gritty than any of its predecessors.

Orm and his Oathsworn face an old foe, fired up with (justifiable) rage and bent on revenge, who burn their home and chase them from their land. The heroes must travel into a relatively unknown corner of Europe in a river voyage that evokes the shades of "Apocalypse Now", culminating in a struggle vaguely reminiscent of the Spartans at Thermopylae.

The Oathsworn hobnob with Viking Age celebrities (Sigrith the Haughty, Pallig of Jomsborg, and Eirik the Victorious, to name a few) but the best part of the book is the central characters. The few of the old favorites who managed to survive four prior Oathsworn adventures - including the grandmother-quoting, parable-laden Red Njal; the alternatingly sweet and ferocious Botolf, and Orm himself, guilt-ridden and tortured by the past. The wonderfully nihilistic Finn returns in all his Odinic, grim fury - and we finally learn the hidden reason for his fearlessness and recklessness. Young (but not as young as in The White Raven) Crowbone, not yet the Olaf Trygvason of saga, makes a return as a gangly youth. Hanging over all their heads is Orm's oath offering a terrible sacrifice if Odin spares his men and their families, an offer on which the one-eyed god is sure to collect.

Robert Low strips away the magic and legend of the sagas to reveal the Viking Age for what it was. In The Prow Beast, the Oathsworn are revealed for all that they are - men mostly inclined to do good, farm the land, be good neighbors and friends, but capable of acts of savagery and cruelty that can be difficult for even the most jaded readers to reconcile. Constantly wavering between their noble and barbaric natures, they are emblematic of age in which they live.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Prow Beast, June 4, 2011

By 

Ironhand "Ironhand" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Prow Beast (Oathsworn) (Paperback)

The book was great reading as were the other three books in the Oathsworn series.
I like the format that the UK printers use for paperbacks, but the physical quality of the materials and workmanship are minimal.