Blurb
Alternate history – 1116 AD. Three hundred years of cruel Viking raids have finally united Christian Europe against the pagan Northlands. A great crusade has been called to pacify the wild Norse kingdoms. The banner of the cross has been raised against the north, and all the power and fury of the west rides under it.
Ordulf, a talented young German swordsmith, is ripped from his comfortable life and cast into the bloody chaos of the crusade. As fate deals him a cruel blow in the lands of his enemies, he will have to forge a new path through the chaos, or be consumed by it.
In the Northlands, three rival kingdoms must unite to survive the onslaught. But can any man, king or commoner, unite the bickering brotherhood of the Norse? Or is the time of the Vikings finally drawing to a violent end. Heroes will fail, kings will fall, and ordinary people will fight for the right to a future.
My Review
Our protagonist, Ordulf, has a lot to learn. We first meet him as a journeyman sword-smith in a back-woods town, who happens to catch the eye of Count Adolf, who is putting together a crusade against the Danes. Adolf hires Ordulf to accompany his army, which seems like a great opportunity until the reality sets in. Apparently, he’s not the fabulous expert his pride has led him to believe, and his vanity leads him to make enough faux pas to seriously endanger his well-being, as it turns out:
Otto laughed sharply at the pinked pride in the young man. ‘What does he know? Ordulf, he has been fighting with swords since before you were born. He has fought hundreds of men, armed with every weapon you can imagine. If he says the thing, he is right. But if you go back into that room full of experienced men of war and explain that your sword is better than theirs, I am sure they will take you really, really seriously.’ Otto sneered the last few words like a housewife scolding a child.
That quote refers to Ordulf’s encounter with his new master who doesn’t fully appreciate his work. Yes, the crusade does not go well, at least from Ordulf’s point of view. He is captured and sent north as a slave to a town so foreign he doesn’t understand the language, or the customs. Once again, his pride almost gets him into trouble, but he finally understands that as a slave he is less valuable than even a farm animal. Will his talent rescue him from a hopeless plight? We’ll just have to wait until the next volume!
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Song-Steel-Light-North-saga-ebook/dp/B08W5F5WKF
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