Viking: Odinn's Child

By Tim Severin

     The first in a trilogy, this is the breathless and highly readable story of Thorgils Leifsson. Born in the year 999 to Leif "The Lucky" Eriksson, discoverer of Vinland, and a mysterious Irishwoman, it is soon clear that Thorgils has the Sight and a taste for adventure. He tells in his own words of his many journeys to Greenland, Vinland, Iceland, Ireland and the Orkneys, and what he finds there. He survives a massacre started by his aunt, is sold as a slave, gets caught in a famous feud, and studies both Christianity and the Norse religion. You won't be bored for a moment as you read this book!

     This wins my prize for the best pageturner I have read this year so far. Vikings, Leif Eriksson's Vinland, Norse gods…when I picked up the book I thought I would be told about things I have read about many times before. Seen through Thorgils' eyes, things take on a fresh immediacy, and I couldn't put it down. To start with, there aren't any Viking raids, retellings of Norse myths, or anything you might expect to find in abundance. Instead, this is a book that works on more than one level. This book contains an exciting story, a well-researched description of various places in the early 11th century, and the old religion versus the new. As in many books I have read recently, the old ways appear more appealing than the new ones, and there is a wistful yearning at times for lost freedoms. There are many Viking women in this who play roles of equal importance to their menfolk, working as wise women, lawgivers, and leaders, and even causing trouble on a grand scale. Christianity is shown to sweep all that away, and the teachings of "The White Christ" have their appeal, but also their darker side. Pacey, thought-provoking, insightful and, surprisingly, not overly violent, this is going to be one of the best historical novels this year.