roetroc's review against another edition
1.0
A good story ruined by outrageously bad physics. Punching out bosses to put oars through to make a primitive hydrofoil?
This is incredibly daft, illogical and detracts from an otherwise enjoyable tale. Just a tiny bit of research would have corrected such errors but the author couldn't be bothered to do that.
This is incredibly daft, illogical and detracts from an otherwise enjoyable tale. Just a tiny bit of research would have corrected such errors but the author couldn't be bothered to do that.
angrywombat's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. This was an unexpected find :)
This is the tale of Orm (the bear-slayer) who is dragged into the world of the Oathsword - a band of viking raiders who have sailed and raided all around ancient europe, and now they are on a quest to find a hidden mythical treasure right out of the Sagas...
This is a debut novel - so I expected it to be a little more rough around the edges, but it led me straight into the mindset of a teenage farm-boy from scandinavia (I think somewhere in modern day sweden), whose famous father returns to collect him after a terrible event involving a "pet" bear gone rogue. This felt very grounded, with the various characters worried about boots, food, a warm fire etc. But mixed into this are snipped of real "myth" - the spear of longinus, the swords of Attila, the warring of the old gods vs the new.
Its a real page turner! I had to know what was going to happen next - and the conniving characters had believable motivations, and it was always crystal clear what they all wanted, and I needed to know how they would make their attempts.
Well done, and cant wait to get around to the next in the series!
This is the tale of Orm (the bear-slayer) who is dragged into the world of the Oathsword - a band of viking raiders who have sailed and raided all around ancient europe, and now they are on a quest to find a hidden mythical treasure right out of the Sagas...
This is a debut novel - so I expected it to be a little more rough around the edges, but it led me straight into the mindset of a teenage farm-boy from scandinavia (I think somewhere in modern day sweden), whose famous father returns to collect him after a terrible event involving a "pet" bear gone rogue. This felt very grounded, with the various characters worried about boots, food, a warm fire etc. But mixed into this are snipped of real "myth" - the spear of longinus, the swords of Attila, the warring of the old gods vs the new.
Its a real page turner! I had to know what was going to happen next - and the conniving characters had believable motivations, and it was always crystal clear what they all wanted, and I needed to know how they would make their attempts.
Well done, and cant wait to get around to the next in the series!
broccsi's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
joshwrose's review against another edition
3.0
An adventure filled with norse mythology, historical fact and religious conflict. Exciting and fun, despite the confusing start where present and flashback are mixed and so many characters where its hard to keep track of them. Low killed off plenty of those characters and introduced several to replace them. Had to go back several chapters to sort out which characters were the villains and which were allies.
But all in all, this was an enjoyable read
But all in all, this was an enjoyable read
kiwi_fruit's review against another edition
2.0
The book is set around 965AD and tells a tale of a band of Viking men on a quest to find the legendary treasure of the Volsungs then buried in Attila’s howe (buried tomb).
The plot has some early hard to believe events (for instance I think unlikely that villagers would think of “stringing up” the corpse of an arsonist when the town (Birka) is ablaze). Nonetheless, the storyline improves and becomes full of action; there are plenty of fights blow-by-blow accounts if you like that kind of thing. In that respect, I see the appeal to the action and adventure audience.
As a work of historical fiction, there are many references to Norse and Slavic sagas that would be recognisable only to readers already familiar with such mythology and folklore tales. Norse legends are also mixed with early Christian folklore (metal from the spear that the Romans used to pierce the Christ is also used to forge a rune-inscribed sword previously belonging to Sirgud).
Personally I found refreshing the setting of the hero travels through central Russia, meeting the steppe tribes rather than following the traditional Anglo-Saxon-theme. However, I was not totally convinced by the story nor could engage with the characters and found the finale disappointing. By the end, Orm’s adventure resembles too much of one of Indiana Jones episodes.
The plot has some early hard to believe events (for instance I think unlikely that villagers would think of “stringing up” the corpse of an arsonist when the town (Birka) is ablaze). Nonetheless, the storyline improves and becomes full of action; there are plenty of fights blow-by-blow accounts if you like that kind of thing. In that respect, I see the appeal to the action and adventure audience.
As a work of historical fiction, there are many references to Norse and Slavic sagas that would be recognisable only to readers already familiar with such mythology and folklore tales. Norse legends are also mixed with early Christian folklore (metal from the spear that the Romans used to pierce the Christ is also used to forge a rune-inscribed sword previously belonging to Sirgud).
Personally I found refreshing the setting of the hero travels through central Russia, meeting the steppe tribes rather than following the traditional Anglo-Saxon-theme. However, I was not totally convinced by the story nor could engage with the characters and found the finale disappointing. By the end, Orm’s adventure resembles too much of one of Indiana Jones episodes.
judd's review against another edition
1.0
I got to almost the end and just decided I didn't give a shit enough to finish it.
The tone was fun and the fights were well written but the way women were treated was just awful and I don't just mean that he depicts awful conditions for women in that period but something in the text.
I'm suggesting folks pass on this one.
The tone was fun and the fights were well written but the way women were treated was just awful and I don't just mean that he depicts awful conditions for women in that period but something in the text.
I'm suggesting folks pass on this one.
chrudos's review against another edition
3.0
Quite glad I am done with this book. I think I had too high expectations based on friends' reviews so I was a bit disappointed. Especially after recently reading [b:Odin's Wolves|13531842|Odin's Wolves (Raven, #3)|Giles Kristian|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344371525s/13531842.jpg|14619615]. The Whale Road had everything I should enjoy - set in the dark age, pagans, raiding, brotherhood, long journeys, drinking, shieldwalls... But yet, is was not such a great experience. Many of the aspects that I enjoyed in this book (fight scenes, naturalistic descriptions of the life of raiding party) were better described somewhere else. And the whole journey aspect of the book was almost missing altogether. When I remember the magnificent descriptions form [b:Byzantium|405589|Byzantium|Stephen R. Lawhead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348701821s/405589.jpg|2694949] that was following almost exactly the same rout, the absence of these details becomes very salient. It seems like the whole book was broken into episodes with almost no travelling at all. In the focus it might be closer to the original sagas than the books I just mentioned, but I am not sure I can appreciate that aspect that much. I am planning to give at least one more chance to Oathsworn by reading the next book in the series, but I certainly need a break from it first.
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