Oh man. I had so many problems with this book. So so many. The two main problems I had were historical accuracy and a severe wish-fulfillment problem. Halfdan can learn any complicated skill in a month! And as a bonus he learned a bunch of them growing up, despite being a slave! Oh and no girls. Because this is a boys book. Things I don't like: (mild spoilers)1.) Margins are almost half the page. Wasteful. 2.) His mom is a princess. And wasn't ransomed. Even if her father and fiance were dead, you don't think her mom or nobles would have ransomed her? 3.) His mom taught him to read LATIN in their spare time. (not the language they spoke (Northernmen)).4.) He learned how to win a fight with a sword in a month against one of the best vikings in the district. I've taken sword lessons. It's not nearly that simple no matter how "quick a learner" you are.5.) He knows everything about blacksmithing that the blacksmith knows, because in addition to being a lowly thrall on his dad's lands, he spent the last 6 years helping the blacksmith. Ummm.. no, we have multiple times where it's been stated that thralls are unidentifiable by most freemen because they're considered interchangable. The blacksmith would have had an apprentice to teach and a thrall would have just chopped wood or manned the bellows. Besides that, apprenticeships normally lasted 7 years of full day every day work. So the idea that he can learn everything in the 6 yearswhenever the forge got fired up is ridiculous. He might know the stories, but he wouldn't have been able to forge anything complicated. 6.) Thralls are just slaves. Nobody bothers learning their characteristics/names. And Halfdan seems quick to forget about them after becoming a freeman. (I dislike books where slaves are faceless and nameless)7.) Speaking of that, Halfdan doesn't seem to have feelings for anyone. Super selfish. 8.) He made a fine bow, because the carpenter ALSO had fondness for him and taught him all HE knew. For the last 3 years he has been making all the bows for the household. - again, a freemen teaching his skills to a thrall (this is highily unusual and commented on in the book). He also taught Halfdan how to shoot it, an offense for both he and Halfdan could be killed for. When did he learn to shoot it? In the free time he had where he wasn't learning Latin. Oh, and when the foreman found out he didn't punish them. Just let a SLAVE have a weapon. A strong, skilled slave. 9.) His brother just laughs and admits his error when Halfdan calls out his faults in public. So does everyone else, including the evil step-mother... Uncharacteristically. 10.) Odd almost old-timey speech. It's subtle, but it also goes in and out. His brother seems to use more "formal" speak and it's odd. 11.) Jesus is referred to as "the White Christ". Wish he'd explained the etymology behind that. It has roots in the white baptismal robes converts wore for a week, and the specific word for white they used had connotations of being weak and cowardly. Not referencing his white skin. I looked it up because I thought it was so odd. 12.) He whittles a needle out of a twig and mends his clothes. Another skill he apparently has. 13.) Nobody gives a rats buttocks when people die. And so many people die. I feel more people are dead than alive by the end of the book. And characters are introduced just so you have a named death. I get it's vikings, but the death just seemed gratuitous and nobody cared about their comrades deaths. I get it's normal in their life but I imagine they're still bummed out when a good friend dies. 14.) Women are useless. There were five names women in the book. One was just there to cook and die. One was there to be a potential rape victim, one was Halfdan's mom, one his half sister, and one his stepmother. None of them were very important. Halfdan's mom and stepmom were the only ones who contributed to the plot, and then only very minimally. (None of the rapes are graphic, just stated that they feared it or that it was the intent was in his eyes when he grabbed them. ) All that got me through this book was knowing I could write about all of it's problems. Which, once again are this: Halfdan is superman who can do anything (he's the chosen one, he can do anything) Women suck. No girls, and the ones who are portrayed are barely as flat as a piece of paper. Just good to be raped and killed.
Thoughts on the Overall Book: I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I love stories about Vikings, and I loved how this one was very accurate. Mr. Roberts did his research on this quite wonderfully. It was not one of the cliché Viking stories where they are portrayed pretty much as ancient pirates, and the extensive historical note in the back, clearly shows all the research that went into this novel to make it accurate, so my hat off to Judson Roberts!Cover-- Yae or Nay: I really like the pictures for these books. The boy looks just how I pictured Halfdan and books with angsty warrior guys on the front of them, always catch my eye, let alone the fact that the title is "Viking Warrior" that's two marks from me.Characters: I really loved the characters in this. Halfdan was a great main character/narrator. I liked how he was conflicted with his feelings about life in general and the Viking way. It is quite a step to go from thrall to chieftain's son in the course of an evening and his feelings were very real and understandable. I also loved Harald and Sigrid and I loved the brother/sister/brother relationship between the two of them and Halfdan. It was extra lovely because they didn't have to be nice to him at all and yet they took to him as if their social classes hadn't been different all their lives. I also think Toke made a wonderful villain. He's just an evil, hateful person, and surprisingly conniving. In short, a wonderful cast of characters.Writing Style: The writing has that old feel to it that I love reading when it comes to historical novels, especially ones set during this time period. It wasn't quite up with Rosemary Sutcliff, but it was still good. Halfdan as the narrator in first person really works well for this story, so the reader will, I think, sympathize with him even more since it feels like we are enduring everything with him.Problems/What bothered me: Nothing really bothered me in this story. It started a but slow with all the stories and stuff that everyone was telling, but it's not so slow that you won't want to read on, and when you do, the story picks up and becomes very hard to put down. Besides, this is the kind of book you really have to know the backstory on before you can fully appreciate the plot. Conclusion: 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book, and am eager to read the rest of the series. It was a good brother story, a good revenge story and it had lots of raw emotions which I usually enjoy in a book because it's a mark of a very good author to be able to pull them off well.Recommended Audience: Older teens I would say for some content reasons (there's several places where rape is mentioned because that was just what happened) And I think fans of Rosemary Sutcliff or any Historical Fiction lovers would really like these.
Do You like book Viking Warrior (2007)?
My Review: I must admit, I’ve had a bit of a morbid streak in my literary choices over the past few months. I’ve now gone from modern day warfare to ancient Viking historical novels. Interesting, the twists and turns of my troubled mind… But I won’t pull at that thread now, of course- not while the reading is so good, anyway! It’s no surprise that Viking Warrior does indeed live up to its name- its many pages are filled with bloody battles, enormous, bear-like men in furs and armor; all of whom seem to enjoy killing (and often dying) for a variety of reasons- honor, revenge, riches and foodstuffs… Plunder is the name of the game for these rough-and-tumble warriors! And Halfdan, son of a dying chieftain, learns that growing up and taking his rightful place as Lord of Lands among these ferocious men isn’t as glorious as he’d dreamed. While not incredibly stimulating intellectually, Judson Roberts successfully freed my mind from the mundane and stressful tasks of my life for an admirable chunk of time. Who’d have guessed that blood and honor killings can make for a relaxing evening? I’m truly looking forward to cracking open the next two books in this series!
—Sarah
look for an author video interview soon at girlsinthestacks.com!Excellent book! A must read! Perfect for those who love adventure reads. Did I mention that this was an excellent book?Halfdan was born a slave on the estate of chieftain Hrorik. At fourteen, he knew the toils of hard labor, knew his fate was sealed as a slave, yet he was a dreamer. He dreamed of adventure, of being free and a warrior. Then one fateful day Halfdan goes from slave to warrior, and in the process he learns his true identify, and begins to come of age. He also learns that with power comes enemy’s and that Danes (Vikings) honor and vengeance are bittersweet. Roberts does a fabulous job creating a very authentic Viking world set in Denmark, 845. It has all the elements needed to captivate the reader; strong characters, interesting plot, action and adventure.The reader is instantly drawn to and empathizes with Halfdan from the beginning. His heritage lends itself to his complex character, one that is just beginning to find himself and struggles with internal conflicts of honor and duty. I give this book 4.5 out of 5 STACKSSTACKGirl Stacy – who was surprised that she loved the book so much!FYI: the back of the book has a wonderful glossary of terms used throughout the book and Judson Roberts has a very informative site strongbowsaga.com, that goes into further details about Viking culture and history.
—Stacy
This is Sarah's latest series. She borrowed the book from the school library and passed it along to me after she read it. She's almost done with the second book now and tells me that I will want to read it, too.I found that I understood a lot of the terms and the reasoning behind the Viking way of life because of the first Nancy Farmer book I read recently. In comparison, this one is less poetic and less fanciful, but the similarities confirm the truth and realistic qualities of the story. The character, however, is not someone who was taken as a slave, but one who was born to the slave of a great chieftain. It was a fresh perspective and I enjoyed walking in this character's shoes. I was actually shaking during the last 100 pages (the margins on this book are huge, so 100 pages is not really a whole lot - I read them during one of Zoe's feedings last night). You can guess what's going to happen, and you know that the hero will prevail somehow, but the story still grabs you as it unfolds.Perhaps because of my recent conversation with my mom, I noticed the religious undertones and felt I had to speak with Sarah about it to see how she was taking it. My mother had said that she felt my daughter read too much fantasy and that the mind of a child would not be able to distinguish real life from fantasy. At first, I was indignant... "Mom, she's reading about dragons... she knows they're not real." Then I became thoughtful for days. Sometimes I dislike the influence my mother has over me... she can manipulate me with a word. And even though I know that, I still sometimes feel powerless before it. At any rate, I decided to be objective. The more I have taken her views into consideration, the more I know that they are unfounded because she is working from her own set of values which are very different than mine. She doesn't know my daughter as well as I do. I feel strongly that our religious teachings for our children are an anchor and ground our children into the truthfulness of our existence. I appreciate my mother's honesty, however, because I don't want to assume that my perception of my daughter's reality is the same as how it really is for her.When I spoke to Sarah about it, we had a good conversation about the natural man. The Vikings were all about passions and emotions and acting on them, so their gods reflected that. To see a "White Christ" forgive and be kind was the equivalent of weakness in their eyes. I confirmed with her that there was definitely more power in forgiveness and being kind than the status of killing four people for their insults or intended humiliation. I found out that she felt the same as I did... that it was interesting to read someone's different perspective on religion, but she was not in any way swayed from her beliefs.I know that has she grows there will be challenges to her faith and understanding of life. I hope that there will be so that she can choose firmly what she will hold on to. I would not want her to live our way of life just because we tell her to.
—Trish
