Giles KristianRezensionen

Short novella or, as the author says, a long short story. This was really more of a 2.5 for me.

Look, I enjoy a good medieval horror story as much as the next guy, but the characters, plot, and action in this were like a modern D&D campaign. I could practically hear the dice rolling.

DM describes the Hellmouth scene to the charismatic lead Chaotic Neutral Fighter, “What do you do?”

Secondary Chaotic Neutral Fighter, “Leeeeroy Jennnnnkins!”

Durante dos años, Osric ha llevado una existencia sencilla. Temido y rechazado por los habitantes de Abbotsend debido a su misterioso pasado y a su ojo del color de la sangre, ha crecido como aprendiz del viejo carpintero mudo que lo tomó bajo su protección después de que todos le diesen la espalda. Pero cuando llegan, de allende los mares, los invasores nórdicos para saquear la aldea, Osric es tomado prisionero y ve destruída así su nueva vida. El jefe de los vikingos, Sigurd el Afortunado, cree que las nornas han entrelazado el destino de este niño con el suyo. Inmerso en el mundo de los nórdicos y llevado por un insaciable deseo de aventuras, Osric se revela como un guerrero naural y crea un vínculo de sangre con Sigurd, quien lo bautiza Raven.

Good story, well written, with interesting and believable characters. Not quite sure why I didn't give it a five? Think I've been spoiled lately reading some great books and it didn't quite match up...? Recommended though to fans of historical fiction.

Viral domination, Russian power struggle and fatherly love, make this contemporary thriller a must-read. Mature writing. I loved it.

Giles Kristian is one of my favourite Author's, I have read seven of his books and have three more sitting in my ever increasing to be read pile. I was frankly amazed at the fuss over this his first non Historical fiction book. Why when you are a master storyteller as he is you can write anything, personally I could see him writing excellent fantasy stories. Well written with terrific characters this is a quality read thrilling from start to slightly open finish. Plenty of action descriptive with a real feel for the surroundings I felt cold shivers as I read, or did I imagine it.
Completely and utterly recommended.

A race to survive fueled by love and desperation, pushed by an ever-looming threat.
In many ways this is a much different type of book to the others I've read by this author, but there are definite parallels as well. Skillful storytelling turns the suspense up and down in pacing that engages the reader without wearing them out. A beautiful but stark and unforgiving setting strips the characters of any easy way out, showing their true strength.
This is a great read, one you can settle down with for long stretches.

There are some things I refuse to read in my stories but which authors think should be put in because 'realism'.

But your mileage may vary. I would recommend reading some 2 star reviews though for some of the content warnings. Also how it compares to other (older) Arthurian stories.

This book was a great pick me up. Adventure, a hero with a sword called "Troll Tickler" and manly men in the form of Vikings. Great battle scenes, and did I mention the hunky Vikings (at least in my minds eye). The aforementioned Vikings also taught me to swear in Viking speak:

Hrafnasueltir -meaning raven starver. Truly an insult, as everyone knows you want the ravens to feast on the bodies of your enemies.

rassragr Look that one up yourself, I am too shy to tell you

baulufotr cow foot

loose-lipped pig-swiver um...well loose lipped pig-swiver would be it I think.

Some great quotes:

Come then you oath-shy son of a long dead sow

...a warrior with one arm can be deadlier than the one with both hands, who is happy when holding a horn of mead in one hand, and a girl in another

-What fun!

Sigurd Haraldsson is just a "pup" when his father, the Jarl, leaves on yet another battle adventure without him. His father and brothers are caught in a trap made by their King and a Jarl eager for the Haraldsson island and silver. The Jarl raids the island, kills most of the people there and kidnap's Sigurd's sister as a bride for his son.

Sigurd swears he will rescue his sister and have his revenge. Ah, but first he must have warriors, and what is left of his fathers band are all un-tested blood like him, or old and worn. Any who wish to follow him are welcome, but he needs more. And so, he goes in search of men who will stand by him in his time of need. A wonderful tale, and did I tell you about the Vikings?

This is the first in a trilogy, which I look forward to continuing.

A well written and brilliantly imagined story. The plot was easy to follow and engaging from start to finish, and the characters were amazingly fleshed out with flaws with the good, the bad and the ugly that really makes a character come to life.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a good read nonetheless.

A well written and brilliantly imagined story. The plot was easy to follow and engaging from start to finish, and the characters were amazingly fleshed out with flaws with the good, the bad and the ugly that really makes a character come to life.
It wasn't perfect, but it was a good read nonetheless.

A good harty tale of the life of a Viking the villages and farmers they plunder and the after life they believe in which supports their way of life.

Escape the modern world and be taken back to a time when life's challenges were of a far different nature. Adventure and danger run alongside emotion and growth in this new grand epic. A wonderful cast of characters and a plot that leads to destinations unknown. Beautifully written, the language lacks the archaic nature of some historical works and yet it fits so beautifully to the story. A modern narration with the soul of times long gone past. I had already read its predecessor, Lancelot, and perhaps it would help place some of the characters if you have, but I think you could easily read this as a standalone, as it is very much its own full story.

''I smell the rising fog of the crowd's breath. It warms my feathers against the thin dawn air and I watch. I feel, too. More than a bird should feel. The sorrow which lies over the assembly like a shroud. The fear. The uncertainty and the regret.''

A boy who watched his people perish. A student who became the first among his ranks, guided by Lady Nimoue and Merlin. A young warrior who fought by the side of a great leader. A man who loved the one woman he wasn't allowed to. A fighter. A betrayer. His name became part of the greatest saga. Lancelot.

''The day after Uther died, grey clouds rolled in from the ocean to cloak Tintagel in a dark pull and the sound of women's wailing hung in the air like the threat of rain. I'd heard some women saying that Britain was gods-cursed, which was why the Saxons were getting stronger while our own great warlord lay stiff and cold.''

It seems difficult to breathe new life to a legend that has been echoing loudly throughout the ages. No matter our cultural background, we all know about Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Morgana, Merlin and Morder and the stories of the Knights of the Round Table. By placing Lancelot at the centre of the action, Kristian achieves the impossible. He makes the legend new, he creates a wondrous tale that you feel you've never heard before.

The story is stripped of most of High Fantast elements. What we have is a very realistic, raw and rich adventure of a land that tries to stand on two boats. The pagan past and Christianity, the lust of every warlord-king and the urgent need to unify and defend itself against the invaders. Whatever magic there is can be found deeply connected to the ancient roots and the sacred traditions that accompany the warriors of old before a new age that is about to begin. Lancelot embodies the very humane confusion of struggling to belong and do your duty, divided by good sense and the demands of the heart that walks on a path of its own. The druids and their conspiracies, the gods of War and the Sea and the shriek of Morrigan's call are loud and depicted in extraordinary detail and accuracy.

Lancelot is a controversial character in the Arthurian saga. Here, he becomes the protagonist, a very sympathetic voice who fights between loyalty and love. Arthur is the leader we all know, Merlin is the voice of the past, Morder is the sly one but his motives are clear and he becomes quite the tragic figure. It is Guinevere I really, really loved. Kristian presents a true heroine, enchanting, mysterious, pragmatic, level-headed. As it is always the women who are blamed for every ill that befell Arthur and his dream, this version of Guinevere is the best I've ever come across.

Fierce battles, legends that rise from the mists of a sacred land, character larger than life. Giles Kristian reimagines the Arthurian epic and the result is unique. I can't wait to read Camelot.

''A prince without a kingdom and a hawk that can't fly. The bards could weave a sad tale there.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/

This really just wasn’t my sort of book, the fighting scenes just didn’t interest me.
It took me ages to read it, I found it hard going at times
I did enjoy the history of the period
It was well written

Lancelot is the son of king but when his father is dethroned and then betrayed Lancelot is only saved from death by the intervention of magic and prophecy. Growing up on an island governed by the Lady, Lancelot learns the art of warfare and falls involve with the Lady's ward, Guinevere. When the high king Uther dies Lancelot is forced to swear allegiance to his successor, Arthur. Arthur and Lancelot become close friends but that friendship is tested when Arthur discovers that his wife and Lancelot know each other.
This is a brave retelling of the Arthurian myth set in the days just after the fall of the Roman empire. Britain is a group of tribes ruled by individual kings who are perpetually arguing with each other and also fighting the Saxon threat from abroad. Although the ideals of chivalry are evident in this Camelot, the romantic view isn't. Life is hard and sorcery close to the people. The writing is particularly strong and manages to describe violence and romance equally well.

An extraordinary book, beautifully lyrical but heart-wrenchingly real. A unique retelling of a familiar legend, this book will take you on a whole new journey. Although you could call this an Arthurian tale, it's Lancelot who is the star, and it's through his eyes that the story unfolds.
Love, loyalty, tragedy and betrayal. Pick this book up and be thrown back into years long past, as new life is breathed into an old legend. Historical fiction at its finest.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

A quite brilliant read from first to last page, and much to my disgust the last of a trilogy, but why stop there Giles, Sigurd is still a young man not yet even in his prime, why not follow Bernard Cornwell's example with "Uhtred" who is positively ancient by the standards of the time still going strong and recently survived book 10.
As previously stated this is the final part of a trilogy, but don't fear if you have not read the previous books(though WHY NOT) this can be read as a stand alone book. Well written and with outstanding characterisations throughout a real sense of time and place, and action packed, in fact the battle when our heroes army comes face to face with his nemesis the oath breaker lasts 84 pages, of almost non stop action, you almost feel a part of the shield wall full of the blood and gore of close up hand to hand combat.
Outstanding and heartily recommended.

Could not get into the story. I guess it is just not my type. Didn't like it. Quit at 10%.

Loved the earthy humour. A story of 'lads behaving badly' from a time when such was part of the training to stay alive.

A good solid Viking tale. Not as a deep on the history as, say, a Bernard Cornwell novel, or as powerfully mythic as, say, Poul Anderson's Hrolf Kraki's Saga, but very solid. Doesn't shy away from the harshness and cruelty of the Vikings, but a good adventure tale that paints an honest picture of them.

Raven. Sons of Thunder.
This is number two in the Raven series. There are three out (so far), the third still being in hardback, as yet. As I have an aversion to hardback books (an environmentally damaging waste of paper, waste of bookshelf space, etc), I'm still waiting for the paperback version of the third, so I don't know if that will be the last in the story, or if it will continue on.
You don't need to have read the first book, 'Raven: Blood Eye', to enjoy this one, but it helps. The story is pretty well self-contained, as the band of Vikings have moved from England to France in their pursuit of the English lord who betrayed them and of course, in pursuit of treasure, silver and adventure.
You pretty much know what you're getting with this sort of book (like with Robert Low's 'Oathsworn' series). This doesn't let the side down and, as with Robert Low's Viking series, this deserves to be compared with Bernard Cornwell's current Viking series.
Giles Kristian has a relaxed, easy to read writing style. He clearly knows his stuff, his Scandinavian languages (living in Denmark and speaking Danish every day, I'm well-placed to confirm that) and he clearly knows his Viking religion. In fact, the whole book here is surely a speculation (has to be a speculation, as the written evidence isn't available), as to how much the Viking world and their actions were dependent on, their views of, their gods' desires and whims.
I can thoroughly recommend the Odin's Wolves series and I'm looking forward to the next one coming out in paperback ASAP.

A real shame it is to have come to the end of this one. Really enjoyable, really well-written, really satisfying and surely, one that's going to be really hard to beat in the whole Viking saga genre.

And, while reading books on the iPad is very convenient and generally an all-round excellent idea; how fab was it to hold the actual paperback in your hands while reading the story? Almost gives you the impression you're physically a part of the action... Quick, slap me before I start getting over-emotional and start burbling on about the magical and mystical qualities of the feel of the paper and the entoxicating smell of the ink...

Ahem...

It was surprisingly easy to slip back into Raven's world, even though it had been a year or so since I read no.2. But the Viking world Giles Kristian has created, is so enveloping, so effortlessly realised and so 'real', that even though I have read several other Viking-period sagas since the last Raven book, there was never any doubt about where I was, or who Raven and the Wolfpack are. I tried to hold myself back; I tried not to race through it but only partially succeeded. It's hard when a book is so interesting and so action-packed.

And. Maybe finally figured out what this series has had me thinking of.

I know from the book jackets (and, to boast a moment) from what he told me on Twitter (!), that Giles Kristian is part Norwegian. I now live in Denmark. I don't know whether they have put a name to the stoic, self-depreciating, beware of thinking of yourself as being more than you are, feeling, up there in Norway, however, in Denmark it is called 'Janteloven.'

'Janteloven', says you should never think you are better than others, never think you are more than you are - generally keep your head down and do your bit and don't try and claim you're better than anyone else. It is seemingly in-built for modern-day Danes, though not something I suppose that might be readily associated with the good old Vikings. However, reading this book and reflecting on how the whole Raven saga has dealt with the Vikings' relationship with their gods and the control they believe their gods have over their world - the fatalism and the way they expect anyone who sticks their head above the parapet to be struck down at some point or other, certainly did made me think about Janteloven.

As mentioned earlier, Religion - Pagan, Islam and Christian - generally seems to play a large part in this book. There are several savage encounters with the Muslim world, as they journey eastward through Europe and their path takes them via a rapidly declining Rome, to seek their fortunes in Constantinople. But it is the ultimately unwinnable fight against the inward march of Christianity, that is casting a longer and longer shadow over the Vikings' world. The Northmen's own pantheon of benevolent, or malevolent, warrior-gods don't help - seemingly just waiting for the best opportunity to sabotage the Vikings' plans at every turn. Theirs' is a raw, earthy, honest and blood-thirsty faith, superbly represented in Kristian's writing style and the elements he chooses to make up the story. The fight scene descriptions - especially the one-on-one fight scenes - are the best I've ever come across.

So, a thoroughly enjoyable book, an excellent read and a worthy climax to this section of the Raven saga. From the notes Giles Kristian has written at the end of the book, it is clear that he is taking a break from writing about Raven, to do the English Civil War series, but will return to the lands of ice and snow at a later date. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Raven is still young, still hungry for success, silver and all the experiences the Viking world can offer. He's still curious about/dreading what his gods have got planned for his future - and so am I.

(I also want to know how Raven's broken nose gets on).

This is a compelling story, thrilling and captivating, and taking place amid the 17th Century frenzy of blood-letting and tumultuous chaos that was the unthinkable; the English Civil War.

However, I think it is actually a love story.

A story about love of family and love of country. And how they came to be incompatible. How love can become so strong - maybe too strong - and turned to hatred for those you know you should love, but seem not to understand your love. Then how the conflict it unleashes, in the country and within the family, despite everyone's best intentions turns that love on its head until it leads to hate.

Phew! Weighty themes maybe, but by homing in on one family, the Rivers, and thus mirroring the conflict in the country at large, Giles Kristian weaves a thoroughly satisfying and exciting tale. One that will surely shock and delight in equal measures. But only 'shock' if you read this with your 21st Century moral glasses on. This is how life was back then. We can't be shocked over something people in the 17th Century thought was just how life - and death - was. Certainly, if it was a film, there are passages where you'd look away, but then, someone was actually employed, for goodness-sake, to hang, draw and quarter people. To rip open their chest and remove their heart (check Wikipedia). We can't judge the 17th Century by our 21st Century standards (they at least had the good grace to kill each other face to face, not while sat in a control room two continents away). So don't go getting all squeamish and pretend to be shocked. Go get your 'history' from Barbara Cartland and Mills and Boon instead, if that's the case. This how it was, no way around it. This is almost touchably real. There are some graphically harsh passages, yes ('barsk' as we say here where I live in Denmark. Possibly also in Norway where Giles is partly from), but this is a vigorous book, about an apocalyptic period for society, for Church, for the State and most of all, for ordinary people and their families. And one with themes that I feel still resonate today.

Each side is of course certain they are right, the other is wrong (sound familiar?) and while the Rivers begin as a tight-knit family of reasonably well-to-do Lancashire land-owners - and supporters of the Crown, we soon see how, from small and seeming innocuous beginnings, their family - and society - implodes as the country explodes with tension and mistrust. And then it spirals out of control.

Giles gives us an excellent insight into how ordinary people were turned into combatants, and got swept away by currents beyond their experience. How they saw the situation at close quarters and merely tried to stay alive. I particularly enjoyed the way he shows how differing viewpoints could spring from the same well of passion and how King-supporting brother could be set against a brother forced away by hate to the Parliamentarian side. How love can turn to passionate, heart-breaking hatred. Then how the period's deep-seated fears of hidden religious agendas, agent provocateurs, witchcraft and devil-worship, burst through and fear and retribution was given full reign. In a land where a suitable punishment for having the wrong religious beliefs, was to be hung drawn and quartered; anything went.

Yeah, obviously I haven't a full understanding of how life really was back then. I mean; I'm old, but not THAT old. But 'The Bleeding Land' - from what I remember of my studies of this period in English History at school - is surely how life really was (we studied this period through analysing period documents. The period before the Civil War, the Interregnum, then the 'climb-down' as we called it, and the re-instatement of the (changed) monarchy to England). It's a hard-edged book about a hard time. Death easier than life, it seems.

'The Bleeding Land' is jam-packed full of the sights and sounds - and smells - of 17th Century English life at its roughest and its rawest, bristling with noisy passions on the edge of reason. Or the abyss - depending on your point of view at the time. A period - as Giles himself notes - people have heard of, but few know much about. Let's face it, even for people of my generation, most when hearing 'Cavalier' will think of a car.

And this is just the mouth-watering start of the Rivers family story. There is surely much more excitement to come.

One more thing: I found the 'Afterward' a thought-provoking read. What I came to think of after reading it - and taking it on much further than is probably wise - is that with 'The Bleeding Land' and the divisive English Civil War, maybe one can see the start of the polar opposite, two-party system that we had/have in England/Britain and which the Puritans took with them too the USA. Where, if it isn't white, it must be black. If you aren't with us, you must be against us. No surprise then, that the US had their own Civil War, I say. As opposed to, as I see it, the much more sensible, cross-party, coalition system of consensus I now enjoy living here in Europe, here in Denmark. It took a bit of getting used to, I can tell you, when I heard that the Government would invite the Opposition to come in and discuss policy the Government was responsible for. But then, they never had their society torn asunder by civil war as England and the (early) US did. They never had to take sides against family and friends. And it shows.

So, as the traditional "We're 100% right. You're 100% wrong" US Presidential battle moves on to its depressingly divisive final conclusion in a day's time, Giles Kristian has written a book about the past, still relevant today. An apocalyptic period for England, for Church, for society; a gift for a writer of Giles Kristian's tremendous narrative abilities. A period that could possibly have shaped how we are now.

If you're looking for a light action-packed read I would definitely recommend this novel. But probably not if you're wanting something more involved. It was interesting enough for me to keep reading, but never really got me hooked.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this one. And I have to confess that I'm horribly ignorant about vikings!
I started reading this thinking it as more like action book than historical so I wasn't annoyed with kinda modern cursing...

And points for the author for not including Finland in Scandinavia in author's note! It annoys me so much when that happens!