Synopses & Reviews
In the heart of the ninth century, ferocious men wielding swords and gleaming axes dare face a massive Crusader force. And in Giles Kristian’s thrilling series, history comes alive as vividly as the crash of clashing steel.
The Norsemen have come across the Channel, up a winding river in the land of the great Frankish emperor. In the belly of their fearsome dragon ship, beneath warriors and weapons, is a book wrapped in cloth, guarded by an English monk who alone knows the true worth of his prize. And by the side of their leader is Raven, with a blood spot in his eye and magic in his soul. Accompanied by the woman he loves, Cynethryth, runaway daughter of an English king, Raven is plunging into an epic clash of men and faiths.
"A brilliant story, beautifully told.”—Sunday Express
“Impressive ‘world-building’ . . . The pace of the novel is unrelenting. . . . The series is among the best adventure historical fiction today.”—Fantasy Book Critic
“An excellent read which compares favourably with writers like Bernard Cornwell and Conn Iggulden.”—Historical Novels Review
“Gripping . . . splendidly conjures up the sounds, sights, and smells of Dark Age Britain.”—Harry Sidebottom, author of the Warrior of Rome series, on Raven: Blood Eye
Synopsis
The sequel to Giles Kristian's acclaimed historical debut,
Raven: Blood Eye, this brutal, bloody and unputdownable novel continues the story of the Viking Raven and his warrior brotherhood.
Never betray a Fellowship and expect to get away with your life...
Raven and his Wolfpack of Norsemen have been double crossed. The traitor Ealdred seeks to sell a holy book to the Emperor Charlemagne which will ensure riches beyond his wildest dreams. Greed drives him forward, but a band of fearsome warriors is in pursuit across the sea to Charlemagne's Frankish empire -- with the bloodiest of revenge on their minds.
Slaughter is certain as the Fellowship trap Ealdred and his men at the mouth of the river Sicauna in Frankia. Sigurd the Lucky challenges Ealdred's bodyguard Mauger in an ancient duel called the holmgang, and only one will walk away with his life.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Having Viking ancestors himself, Giles Kristian believes that the story of Raven has always been in his blood—waiting, like the Norsemen, for the right time to burst upon the world. The Raven series has been published to great acclaim by Transworld in the UK. Giles Kristian currently lives in Leicestershire, where he writes full-time, though he enjoys nothing better than working in his family cottage that overlooks the mist-shrouded Norwegian fjords.