Viking Sword (The Earls of Mercia Series)

This story covers the period of the later Viking raids (well after the death of Alfred the Great) as seen through the eyes of an advisor (aeldorman) of King Aethelred. Although primarily set in Mercia, it gives a great feeling for the whole of England in late Saxon times -a changing and challenging time. Some Vikings have already settled and married in England, mainly in the north (the region identified by the Danelaw) as farmers and traders and Aeldorman Leofwine has Viking and Saxon men as his commanders and friends. Unfortunately, the country is so rich that it still attracts the attention of the raiding Vikings from Scandinavia who live for wealth and glory in this life and hope for a great death in battle. I felt almost as if I was there watching as the various scenes unfolded before my eyes, especially the battle scenes as my knowledge of battle tactics was limited. But its not just about battles and raiding. Its about family life and being summoned to attend meetings (witans) at short notice by the King and how decisions on laws are made. I really enjoyed this book and hope to see this story continue in the near future..

The book started well. Leofwine and his men were traveling by ships with their previous enemy - a Viking.Leofwine was badly wounded in a fight and it took several months before he and his men made it back home.Apart from this short fight and another couple of skirmishes there was very little action in the book till the finalbattle. There were several meetings spanning 3 or 4 years when the King called all his earldorman, includingLeofwine, to discuss how to stop the Vikings from raiding their lands. Nothing much was decided.Also there were so many similar names, especially those starting AE ........ , that I had difficulty remembering whowas who. I do appreciate that this is a problem for a writer dealing with this period when people were not calledFred, Bill and Jane!The book could be read as a stand-alone, although some things were left to be resolved in future books.There were typos, but they didn't bother me as much as some other reviewers. An ok read.

An excellent book,historical writing at its best .I enjoyed it very much and it was believable ,I am now reading book 2

A very ordinary book in this genre that left very little impression on me. I have read much more interesting books by this author.

Lost its way a couple of times but came back to intriguing battles

Amazing detail. Transports you back in history. Could not put this book down. Going straight to book two. Thank you.

Very entertaining and well written story.

good