Viking: Sworn Brother [Unabridged] [Paperback]

Tim Severin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

In London in 1019, a few months have passed since Thorgils escaped the clutches of the Irish Church, only to find himself at the center of a capricious love affair with Aelfgifu—wife of Knut the Great, ruler of England, and one of the most powerful men of the Viking empire. As this passionate relationship between the two begins to unfold, it forebodes inevitable consequences. When Thorgils is finally on the run again, he meets Grettir, an outlaw feared for his volatility, and the two become travel companions and sworn brothers. At the gates of Byzantium, Thorgils’ loyalty is put to the ultimate test.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tim Severin, explorer, traveller, author, film-maker and lecturer has made many expeditions, most recently in search of Moby Dick and Robinson Crusoe, and has written books about all of them. Viking is his first historical fiction trilogy.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan UK; Unabridged edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330426745
• ISBN-13: 978-0330426749
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A millennium's meanderings, April 9, 2005

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Viking: Sworn Brother (Paperback)

There are many novels portraying the Norse seafarers. They make fascinating characters, leading the adventurous lives we dreamt of in childhood. A glance at any history of Medieval Europe shows the extent of their conquests - down the major rivers of Russia to link with their cousins in the Mediterranean. Their impact on history has been muted or misinterpreted often, usually due to their attacks on Christian establishments and their vacillating attachment to "The Faith". Their seafaring and conquering talents have not faded, however. They are the stuff of legend, even when the forays failed.

In this first volume of a Norse trilogy, Severin tries to cover some of the "millennium" events the Norse undertook. Greenland, an exile's enclave is one of many homes of Thorgils, [...] son of Leif Ericsson. It hasn't been settled long, and opportunities abound for the adventurous. His mother, a powerful woman of Irish descent, leaves her son some inexplicable powers. The mix of Celt and Norse was too tempting for Severin to skip, and it provides his character with a multitude of story events to encounter. It also prompts Thorgils to extensive travels. One of those jaunts takes him where few Norse-inspired novelists dare to venture - Canada's Atlantic Provinces. "Vinland", long a place of mystery to European chroniclers, has been revealed as truly a Norse settlement site. Severin takes advantage of this with a fighting tour of the region. Thorgils witnesses these events up close, but not as closely as will later clashes.

After some interludes, Thorgils embarks on his own quest - find his roots. He wants to learn of his mother and his other family. In Medieval Ireland, that's not only difficult, it may prove sadly unrewarding. Thorgils endures the usual vicissitudes of a young man without a protector in those turbulent times. Warfare, wanderings, captures and escapes. He falls in adolescent love [he reaches nineteen years in this volume - which is why there'll have to be two more], but life is full of various disappointments. Love must wait at least until volume two. There are mysteries to encounter and resolve, enigmatic people to deal with and a great question that must someday be confronted. What to do about the Christians?

While Thorgils must confront or deal with many people in his young life, the background antagonist to the young Norseman is the White Christ. In the first millennium year, the dominance of Norse society by Christianity was far from a given. Odinn had set an example for young men such as Thorgils. Odinn, crucified on a tree, suffered unendurable agonies for the reward of wisdom. Wisdom, as any fantasy reader will assure you, is far more desirable than material or martial power. Thorgils begins to understand this as he moves between events. Power is transitory, but wisdom persists. And the wisdom of the Old Ways retains great appeal to certain members of Norse society. Will Thorgils join that company?

Severin's offering to this rising genre regrettably doesn't add much that's novel. His characters are already drawn from formula. Since the tale is told from Thorgils' viewpoint, we don't learn why a people who had been surrounded by powerful deities should have turned to one so alien to their traditions - although this is central to the plot. It's clear that one powerful chieftain, converted to the White Christ, could force dependents along the same path. Blind adherence to authority wasn't a Norse trait. There were rebellions that Severin, at least in this volume, coolly overlooks. He grants Thorgils a human identity, perhaps even a valid Norse one. So many events in this book, however, are so glaringly predictable, it becomes a page-turner just to get past them unscorched. A readable book of promising adventure, but not something leaving me panting in anticipation for the next volume. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Better than the First Book, May 4, 2007

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viking: Sworn Brother (Paperback)

This is the second book in the thrilling Viking trilogy and although I enjoyed the first book very much, the author seems to have really got his teeth into the adventure now and I found that I read the book in no time at all.

The year is 1020 AD the place, London. It is a few weeks since Thorgils has escaped the clutches of the Irish Church, but he now finds himself driven even further into the mire when he find himself at the centre of a love affair with none other than Aelfgifu, wife of Knut the Great, not only ruler of England but one of the most powerful and feared men in the Viking empire. As the passionate relationship unfolds it augurs nothing but trouble for Thorgils.

With Thorgils finally on the run again he meets up with an outlaw, Grettir. The pair become traveling companions and sworn brothers which binds them together not only through life, but death also. At the gates of Byzantium Thorgils' loyalty is put to the ultimate test . . .

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, September 24, 2005

By 

Liz Lampman "Vale of Tears" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Viking (Viking 1) (No. 1) (Hardcover)

This book is very well written; I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the style of writing.

If you are interested in Norse Mythology at all you will like this one. It's not a huge part of the story but it is there.

I am really looking forward to reading the 2nd book.