I would be a much bigger fan of Giles Kristian if he had given me a free, signed copy of one of his books, but he didn’t. I made a thinly veiled threat and called him a ‘rancid snot goblin’ and he still didn’t give me a free, signed copy of his book. He did say he liked the curse though, for all the good that did. However, I did pre-order his newest book because he may be stingy but he writes a great Viking Saga.
The main character in the Raven: Blood Eye series is a poor little swine called Osric. A crowd of Vikings come for a visit and, one thing leads to another, and suddenly the whole village is dead save Osric and an old man. Vikings! Right?
So what do you do when a crowd of Vikings shows up and kills everyone? Well, you join them, of course, because you don’t want to end up like the rest of your village. It helps if you have a blood-red eye that Sigurd the Lucky believes is a mark of Odin though. Renamed Raven, he becomes the newest member of Sigurd’s Wolves, and not everyone is happy about it.
This is the saga of a crowd of goat-humping, troll-farting, piss-swilling whoresons out for glory, fame and riches. You’ll never make it to Valhalla if you stay safe in your feasting hall like pus-filled nithings, after all. There are battles and blood and cursing and feasting – everything any Viking worth his salt could possibly want. It’s about brotherhood and loyalty, bravery and sacrifice.
These hairy arses grunt and sail their way from England to the famed Miklagard. Friends die, loyalty is tested and fortunes are won and lost. The Norns spin their fate, Loki loves their cunning, Odin loves their bravery and Sigurd’s Wolves are in it to win it.
This is no weekend-at-the-beach series. If you are hoping for a laid back story of love and kindness, you’re in the wrong place. Shield walls, battle axes, blood, shit and piss are where you’re at and you can bet “Heimdall’s hairy ball sack” that you won’t soon forget this crowd of killers.
I give you fair warning that once you start, it won’t be easy to put down. Expect late nights and sleepy mornings.
Buy Book 1 of Raven: Blood Eye.
Buy Book 2 of Raven: Sons of Thunder
Buy Book 3 of Raven: Odin’s Wolves