When the story begins, Halfdan is a house slave of a Danish viking lord, who is actually his father, having enslaved his Irish princess mother on a raid. He lives and works in the longhouse with his mother and the other slaves. When his father is fatally wounded on a raid, his mother makes a bargain with his father before he dies that Halfdan will be freed and legitimized, in return for agreeing to acompany his father on the deathship to Valhalla. In this way does he gain his freedom and lose his mother, all on the same day. His older brother then starts training him in the way of the warrior, discovering Halfdan is already an excellent archer. Halfdan grows closer to both his half brother and sister, who accept him as an equal. The only fly in the ointment is his fathers wife and her ne’er do well son, a truly evil berzerker captain. While his older brother takes him on a trip to see Halfdan’s inhertance from his father, their stepbrother attacks with his vikings, wreaking terrible destruction. Halfdan is forced to flee alone, denounced by the scoundrel, and go on the run from a variety of hunters, putting all his old and new skills to the test. At the end of the pulse pounding action, Halfdan escapes, swearing to avenge his family.
A truly excellent book, with some great characters, especially Halfdan, a boy crossing into manhood in a society that is much more sophisticated than people would think. The setting is well drawn out, the fight scenes excellently coreographed, and the narrative flows smoothly. Jeff Hays does an outstanding job narrating, switching between a wide variety of characters, male and female, old and young, with a variety of accents as well. He really brought the story to life for me. I can’t wait to get into book 2!