Customer Reviews

The Sea Road

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4 star:		(3)
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for everyone who likes sigrid undset "kristin lavrandsdaughter", halldor laxness "independent people", cecilia hollander "two ravens", and just generally the saga style, this is a well-written, lovely book. (for content see the book-description above). i really enjoyed this and think i will read it again eventually.

OK, so maybe the battle axes don't swing and we don't get the titillating sexy scenes, but I truly enjoyed this book and I've read the sagas and plenty of the historic Greenland novels. What did I like about it? I liked the tension between the heathen and christian beliefs. I liked that the characters were still at the crossroads there--unable to commit totally to one or the other belief. Most of all I like the characterization of Leif Eriksson. For the most part, we find him such an heroic figure. Elphistone shows him as rather conniving and not entirely the prince charming we are accustomed to seeing. In "The Sea Road," he's good old Erik the Red's son, only a bit away from dad's violence.

I'm not sure how accurate some of the ambiance is. I don't think the Greenlanders were able to keep chickens, and the ponies? Maybe only early on. But hey, this is a fun read. Wish I could have gotten it on Kindle though Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6" Display, Global Wireless, Latest Generation).

This book was beautifully written and the images floated inside my head as I was reading this book.

Sophmoric and silly, it still might be a good second-choice for a teen book club. PG-13-rated sex pops up now and again, but no bad language and little violence besides an un-Viking-like punch or two. (In the Sagas guys carry axes and misunderstandings lead to body parts flying off.) Some of the best stories of the original get muddled or left out, so if you skim the dull parts, the book's not very long. For more advanced readers, I'd recommend the Sagas themselves.