Northlanders Vol. 2: The Cross + The Hammer

See why Entertainment Weekly calls DMZ writer Brian Wood's fresh take on Viking lore, NORTHLANDERS, "a well researched, richly realized world that illuminates politics and culture without getting bogged down in history-book stuff."

This volume focuses on Lindisfarne, England; an ancient center of religion and learning that was the infamous site of the first Viking raid on a monastery. Witness the vicious attack from the perspective of a native - a young Saxon boy who dreams of the larger world, of better things, of heroes and myths and foreign gods. Are the Vikings what he's been waiting for?

This reader-friendly second collection of Wood's series, illustrated by Kelly, tells an engaging tale of cultures clashing. A self-contained story, it relates to the previous volume only as an overall portrayal of the impact of the Vikings in Europe in a way that doesn't reduce them to the familiar blustery stereotype of ocean-faring, land-pillaging warriors. This volume is set against the backdrop of Viking colonies in Ireland in the early 11th century, a land portrayed with a harsh beauty by Kelly's artwork. Magnus, an Irishman, blames the conquerors in his lands for robbing and killing his people, and so begins to kill Viking settlers near Dublin. Lord Ragnar Ragnarsson is sent to investigate these crimes. While Magnus hides in the countryside with his young daughter, Brigid, Ragnar and his band of men follow the trail of dead bodies Magnus leaves in his wake. The resulting bloodbath is also an effective psychological portrait of the two main characters in a highly enjoyable book that is as smart as it is action packed. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.