I really thought The Long Ships would be a home run. It has a glowing Goodreads rating and seemed right in my wheelhouse.

It never clicked though, and I found it a sincere chore to get through.

I strongly disliked the flowery prose — especially the dialogue. And — particularly early in the novel — they’re zipping around the known world like it ain’t no thing to travel in the late Viking Age.

I thought the episodic adventures felt thin and would have liked, instead of Orm and his mates doing everything/everywhere, give me one complete/compelling tale.

Rating: This was the first flop for me in the new year. Two stars.

Great story. Easy to read, great historical details, and really compelling characters. It doesn't stretch new postmodern boundaries (except that of a mid-20th century writer writing a 19-century narrative).

But really, really fun.

A fun story, filled with adventure and a mighty hero. For fans of the saxons series this is perfect to read afterwards due to similarities and the time period that it’s set in (after Uhtred dies/end of series) it is written kinda of hard to read as the author goes on tangents that aren’t a that interesting. The best bits of the story are when he is not in a voyage which is a large section of the book. Also this book is old and women aren’t written well.

Rollicking good fun.

Isn’t this a great NYRB Classics cover!? Though the intro for this one is only so-so.

Anyway, on to the good stuff.

This book is about Vikings! I found out about it thanks to an article that predicted that after vampires and zombies, Vikings would be the next big pop culture thing. I hope it comes true because Vikings rock.

Bengtsson was a big time historian and this is his only work of fiction. I really wish I had had a bad weather day to snuggle up with this book and just get lost in 10th century Sweden. There are tons of historical details that you don’t often find in books about medieval Europe and he does a fantastic job bringing that world to life.

One of the great things about the book is that the translator perfectly captured the Nordic spirit of the text. You really get a sense of English as a Germanic language so it reads like a heroic saga.

The story is about Orm and the three great sea voyages that he takes during his life. Orm and his bro(tp) Toke, travel all over Europe from Cordoba to Kiev. They get to meet a whose who of the 10th century: Al-Mansur, King Harold of the Danes, King Ethelred of England. They meet some awesome ladies along the way too, so it’s not a total sausage-fest. Orm also has the distinction of being one of the first Christians in the borderlands of Skania!

At this time, the Catholic Church was still trying to get its shit together. It wasn’t clear whether priests could marry, so some did and some didn’t. And everyone was convinced the world would end in the year 1000. For most Vikings, the threat of demise was not inducement enough to forsake Odin, so they frequently asked priests to sweeten the deal by throwing in a calf for good measure. This was my favorite part honestly. All these Vikings asking priests to pay them for the privilege of being converted. I just find it hilarious.

All around, this is a great book with tons of adventure and wit.

Red Orm is only a teenager when he is abducted by Viking raiders from his home and forced to work the oars of a Viking long ship. This book recreates the world of the Viking raiders in 10th century Scandinavia, following the fortunes of Orm through the Mediterranean, Ireland, England and back home. Viking society is at the cusp of changes - some of the best plundering has already been done and Christianity is beginning to take hold. Orm is no "cartoon" Viking - he is courageous and smart, and often conflicted in what is the right route for his life to take. A great story.

Everyone is over the moon about this book, and it is pretty good...but what a long read. I couldn't sustain any pace with this book because of the high tone of the language. There is plenty of adventure to be had but it is interspersed with a great deal of thinking and talking.