Fury of the Norse

Joseph J. Bohnaker, Fury of the Norse (Tempe, AZ: Third Millennium Publishing), 2018


bohnaker joseph
I haven't been a big fan of historical novels. I prefer to keep fiction and history separate. But there are a few stories that are simply worth telling and most of our best stories are shaped by our imaginations as well as recall of actual events. I picked up this book because of a review in a boating magazine. I enjoy stories of the sea and adventures upon it. This book is not primarily about seafaring, however. It is the story of the conflict of two cultures with two distinct religious and theological systems. As Christianity spread into the northernmost parts of Europe conflict was perhaps inevitable. The story follows a young Frank whose family was savaged by the Norse. His parents murdered, his sister taken as a slave, Christian flees the remains of his home in search of revenge. Through contacts with the lord of his region and Benedictine monks, he begins a life of adventure and sometimes violence as he pursues the story of his sister, only to fail at his attempts of reconnection after the trauma she has experience. Along the way he finds and loses love and, of course fights battles against the foes from whom he seeks revenge.

All in all it is a fun story and an easy read - a good book for an evening of foul weather while sitting by the fire.