Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson

Swords of Good Men is a pretty good siege story. That’s about as much as I’d feel bound to tell someone if I was, for instance, asked about it in a bookshop. Pretty good. Not a light for the ages, not bad by any means. Not even mediocre. It’s just… pretty good. It has some notable strengths and a few troubling weaknesses. I’ll go into all of that below, but if all you were wondering about is whether Swords of Good Men is a reasonably diverting Viking fantasy novel to hang around with for a little while, there’s your answer. It is, but it operates pretty much just as advertised. It’s not a diamond in the rough, but nor will you be too disappointed.

Anyway, on with the show. The premise of Swords of Good Men is that a young king named Olav has arisen, and he’s spreading Christianity throughout the Skandinavian region. This does not sit too well w... Read More

Blood Will Follow by Snorri Kristjansson

In my review of Snorri Kristjansson’s first Viking book, Swords of Good Men, I pointed to how the action was generally a positive but issues of pace, POV, and characterization made the book fall somewhat short (I gave it three stars). Now his follow-up, Blood Will Follow is out, and while it improves in some areas, some flaws still carry over while the action has become, I thought, less compelling. I’m still giving this one three stars, but it’s a bit more shaky. Warning: spoilers for book one to follow.

Swords of Good Men introduced a Scandinavian setting set during a time of upheaval. Young King Olav is sweeping through spreading Christianity via the sword and trying to wipe out the old gods, who understandably don’t take kindly to the attempt and find themselves some proxy humans. The town of Stenvik be... Read More

Path of Gods by Snorri Kristjansson

Path of Gods is the third book in Snorri Kristjansson’s VALHALLA SAGA and it pretty much stays the path of what has come before, for good and ill. I rated the prior two books three-stars each, and that’s exactly where I’m placing Path of Gods. Fun dialogue, several engaging characters, and an excellent Norse setting are the strengths, while pace, fluidity, and characterization are the weaker elements.

Path of Gods picks up where Blood Will Follow ended, and it’s probably a good idea to reread the earlier books as there’s no recap and with so many characters and settings, it’s a rough go at the start unless you come with some relatively fresh prior knowledge. King Olav continues his attempt to ... Read More