The Norseman (The Norseman Chronicles)

Overall, i enjoyed this book. A little hesitant because commitments meant that it took about 3 weeks to read - a long time for a book of this size and I had to think about where I was at each time I opened it.I liked the period-accurate settings of the story and characters. Because of my absence from the book at times I found the detail of boat building a bit long, although interesting.With red hair, a Gaelic given name (Euan) and a Viking sirname (Thomson) I have to identify with a people who could have been my ancesters.The characters seemed well described to me and, having read all the Bernard Cornwell Viking books, it is good to find that books between good authors are consistant.Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It was refreshing to read a Viking novel that was not about Danes - before this book I thought all Vikings were Danes. So far, there are at least 2 more books in the Norseman Chronicles. I will read them as i need to see what happens when our hero faces his former lover, and i have not read any story about the Vikings landing in America. Here is an opportunity to remedy that.

I had a lot of fun reading this one. The storyline itself is very entertaining and moves along a good pace while still giving the reader time to settle in between exciting portions and really get to know the characters. But what really made this book so interesting was all of the history that the author has woven in with his fictional storyline. Characters and events from the time period appear here and there and and an extra richness to events. I also could tell that Mr. Born really did his homework and presented the lives of the principle characters very accurately and gave the reader a window into how things may really have been in those times.<<<<<SPOILERS>>>>>On a personal note, as a former literature student, I especially appreciated being able to experience The Battle of Maldon first hand. I had to stop reading on the book at that point and dig out my old lit book to re-read the poem of The Battle of Maldon that I read in one of my British Literature classes. Kudos on that one!<<<<<SPOILERS>>>>>Overall a good historical adventure that I'd highly recommend!

The intriguing story, vivid descriptions and dynamic characters made for an enjoyable and intense read and left me wanting more! I love the ebb and flow of the narrative. It felt so relatable and yet so exciting with so many adventures packed into one book! I'm headed to buy the next in the series and can't wait to continue journeying with this Norseman!

First off this is a great series. But those of you who has read them all you'll notice there not quite in order story wise.. (which don't matter to me,but might to the ones that want to read from start of adventure to end)..ok so if you do want to read from start to end then this is the best I can do for ya.. (I could be wrong but I don't think so,Bens all the studying I put in)..so first you want to read the first book in series (THE NORSEMAN) up to chap 4 then stop..ok,then go to book 4 (NORSEMAN RAIDER) and read from start to end..then your gonna want to read book 5 (NORSEMAN OATH) and read from start to end..ok then go back to the first book (THE NORSEMAN) and start back on chap. 4 and read all the way through. .Then book 2 (PATHS OF THE NORSMAN) and read from start to end..Then go to book 3 (NORSEMAN CHIEF) and read from start to finish..ok now (as best I can tell) you have read the entire story in order..hope this helps and hope you enjoy as much as I did!

As I tend to become wary of self-published books with nothing but strings and strings of 5-star reviews, I started this with a self-admittedly skeptical view in mind.But it didn't take long for that skepticism to disappear, as I was fully engrossed in this story, at several points having to make an effort to stop reading for necessities such as sleep...The author opens with a brief description of the editing, which is quite often a sticking point with self-published authors. The editing here is not perfect, mainly consisting of trivial errors such as missing commas, and if possible, I would have rated this at 4.5.But the minor errors are easily overshadowed by the story itself, and as such, it really deserves 5 stars. The character development is terrific; at more than one point in the story, the character's grief was quite palpable. Simply put, this a fine example of historical fiction, integrating real history into a fictitious character which easily blurs the line. The author ends with a brief note about the historical facts versus fiction.I immediately purchased the second volume, and look forward to picking that up.

I was looking for books about the Vikings by Bernard Cornwell. Seeing the low price point for this book, I purchased it and have been very happy with the read. The author provides historical notes at the end of the book citing sources and describing the parts of the story which are historically accurate. This book does a good job of weaving a general geographical awareness of the Viking World during the 10th century. My knowledge of Vikings is certainly sketchy and it was fun to read this author's descriptions of Viking ship building, weaponry, raiding, and political machinations. Until this read, I had no idea that Leif Ericson was the son of Erik the Red. I enjoyed the book and plan to read the next book in The Norseman Chronicles.

This is the first of a series of novels centred on the exploits of a fictional Viking, Halldorr Olafsson, whose tale is weaved into a narrative drawn from the Sagas, especially that of Leif Ericsson, who later on in real life founded the first Viking colony in America. While Leif is Halldorr's companion of his youth, the most influential person in his life grows to be Olaf Tryggvason, whom he calls his third father. The author cites Bernard Cornwell as a key influence and indeed this novel bears a lot of similarity to Cornwell's Viking series, now totalling nine novels (of which I've read seven so far). I am always somewhat ambiguous about novels with Vikings as the central characters, given that their worldview and casual use of slaughter and destruction as a way of life is pretty hard to relate to, being thinly justified here by statements that if the tables were turned, their victims would be doing the same things to them. This a a good read, though, with some impressive set piece scenes, and some moving and tragic episodes in among the general slaughter and mayhem. The characters are well described as well, many of them being three dimensional and rising above stock warrior/peasant/slave cliches. Born has done his research well and, while I was initially a little sceptical after reading his introduction, I will very probably follow this series (five books so far, apparently).

A good read and would have scored higher if I had not just read Robert Low's Oathsworn series of books which are set along the same time span and also features the rise of Olaf Tryggvason to the throne of Viking age Norway. Low's books are somewhat a lot darker, gritty and doom filled which suits the Pagan view of both life and the afterlife of the time, saying that Born writes a very believable tale in his interpretation of the early history of Norway and also makes good use of the Norse Sagas throughout but his battle scenes lack the descriptive feel that you the reader are in the shieldwall along with the main characters. My criticism on reading this back does strike me as a bit unfair if honest because overall I enjoyed this book.

There are three books in this ‘saga’ (The Norseman Chronicles) - The Norseman, Paths of the Norseman and Norseman Chief. They chart the life and loves of the hero - Halldorr who is nearly 100 when he writes his story (I hate it when authors do that). That said, they are well written and researched giving vivid detail of life in these times and locations (no detail so no spoiler) and the battles that are spread through the series. However there is just enough for 3 books, rather one really good one so I have done the same review for all. Unfortunately for me I'm a bit OCD about finishing books so I will get there, in the end.

Having just read all three books, so far, I can highly recommend this series. I now know that there is more to come and I cannot wait! Just recently (BBC1 2016 Uncovering the Vikings) there was a documentary regarding just how far west the Vikings roamed and this series justified the findings so far. Mixing historical fact and characters with an intriguing storyline this author has managed to fire the imagination as to what might have happened. Highly recommended, great price, and a series that I will continue.

The author appears to have researched locations and had a framework of characters along with a plot to link these locations, but that the writing was lightweight. Hence two stars.I never felt engaged with the characters or the period as the book never made more than cursory attempts to describe these, but seemed more intent in trying to move the plot forward. As for the locations, I am not sure the author has every been to the Norway or Greenland as the quality of the scene setting was noticeable by its absence...