Vinland Viking
An Original Saga by Gary Doman
But Vinland just like Norway has been influenced by the worship of Yahwe so Yngar decides to create his own colony that is Thor-centric and will be truly Viking in all meanings of the word. Pirating a dragon longship was the first step in his goal of returning to the old ways.
But when Yngar undertakes a quest to help prepare the world for the final battle, he has an experience that will change him for the rest of his life. Yngar goes on a quest of the soul that brings into a world where all the old beliefs he holds seemingly live. But Yngar hasn't stepped into a mythological world, rather the old beliefs he held are shown to him for what they truly are - half truths that have been twisted by the evil that exists within the hearts of men. Yngar doesn't realize that he is in fact in a battle for the fate of his eternal soul.
Vinland Viking is an interesting look at a man struggling to find his place in a world that is changing. Set in 1000 A.D. when the world was in a period of upheaval as Christianity starts spreading into the outer regions of the known world and old beliefs offer one last push for supremacy.
I was provided a copy of this book through Pump Up Yout Book, in exchange for my honest review.
About the author: Gary L. Doman, whose (pen-)surname rhymes with "roman", the French word for "novel", was born in Syracuse (New York) and has spent the majority of his life in Connecticut. He has degrees from Fairfield University and the University of Connecticut. He has developed an interest in just about everything, especially history, geography, religion, language, and the natural world. He began writing as a child and has never really stopped, although he does periodically need to eat and sleep, and also devotes considerable time to his other creative and intellectual endeavors; these include his "weblog" the Doman Domain and one of the items of interest found there, namely, "The Best Comic Strip Ever!". Further, he has taught himself to sing and founded his own political philosophy. His greatest accomplishment may be remaining humble despite the preceding!
Visit Gary online at http://domandomain.blogspot.com/
About the book: The novella Vinland Viking is an epic fantasy-adventure, set at the time of the conversion to Christianity of Iceland and Greenland, about a young Northman who longs to lead the storied life of the pagan Vikings. His opportunity comes with Leif Ericsson's exploration in North America, but his fortunes change in a way and by a means that he could never have anticipated, and which will thrill the reader.
The richly-textured narrative incorporates history, nature, and mythology, along with plenty of action. It is told from a Christian viewpoint, but can be enjoyed by a general audience, and, unlike so many other fiction stories, is acceptable reading for the young.
AMAZON paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Vinland-Viking-Gary-Doman-M-A/dp/1413763774/
EXCERPT:
The pressing situation to which he was being called was the gathering of ugly weather off the Greenland coast. Hoping to outrun the oncoming storm front back to Vinland, or at least to somewhere they could find shelter from the inclemency, Brand-Yngar directed that the prisoners be rounded up and secured, the knorr put in tow, and the Kraken be made ready to sail due south.
The homeward voyage began in the Davis Strait, to the west of the settlements on Greenland. The southerly Labrador Current certainly had the potential to carry them away, even without the help of oar and sail, but it bowed to the superior force of the rising winds that were already wrecking the knorr. Now gales, they wrenched the Kraken off her course and gave her quite a different heading; the crewmen could not even tell how far they'd been diverted. When they weren't cowering, they were praying to Thor for their deliverance, bailing rainwater and seawater out of the vessel, or saving each other from being washed over the sides.
Brand-Yngar stood resolute as captain. Through his decision not to try to reach land immediately, he had saved the drakkar from the very worst of the storm; now, he had to guide them through its area of lesser strength to wherever it should capriciously deposit them.
The tempest poured and blustered for hours, driving the dragon ship as a godling might play with a bath toy. Finally it blew the Kraken onto a shore. Yet more time passed before the severity tempered enough locally so that anyone could move about on land; in the meantime, the occupants of the humbled watercraft huddled under the cover of their awning, peeping forebodingly at their unintentional port of call.
Visit Gary online at http://domandomain.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the great review. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete