Product Description

The gripping sequel to The Whale Road , charting the adventures of the Oathsworn, a band of Vikings looking for the return of the Rune Sword that will lead them to Attila's Hoard A band of brothers, known as the Oathsworn, committed only to each other, feared by many, rises again, setting sail on the wolf sea in search of vengeance and glory. Washed up in a hostile city, battle-weary and out of luck, the Oathsworn lie waiting for their reluctant leader, the young Orm, to bring them back once more to wealth and warfare. But Orm's prized sword, the legendary Rune Serpent, is gone, stolen by the rapacious Starkad, and with it the runes writ upon the hilt that only Orm can decipher. The Oathsworn embark on a dangerous mission to reclaim their precious sword as they pursue the elusive Starkad across the turbulent wolf sea. Unafraid to fight and cunning in the ways of men, they wreak violence and bloody revenge on their enemies. Caught up in the treacherous battles in the East between the rulers of Constantinople, aided by hordes of Viking mercenaries, and the Arabs, their adventures will take them from Greece to Jerusalem, across the treacherous wolf sea where only the hunting hungry dare set sail. Epic adventure broad in scope and bloody in action, The Wolf Sea is a stunning follow-up to Robert Low's debut The Whale Road.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4830 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
'Narrated by Low with all the gritty, down-to-earth realism that breathed such life into his first novel, and shows just why historical fiction is one of today's most rapidly-growing genres' Yorkshire Evening Post Praise for The Whale Road 'A company of warriors, desperate battles, an enthralling read' Bernard Corwell 'A fantastic book, one of the best I have read for years. There's a wonderful earthiness to proceedings and he creates a tangible sense of being there. There's a sturdy, lyrical and epic quality about the writing which makes it feel like the kind of saga a Viking would recount in his old age' Simon Scarrow 'A stirring Viking series of blockbuster battles and religious intrigue' Publishing News 'All the right ingredients are firmly in place!above all there is the storyline itself; told in an earthy, rough-and-ready stylewhich perfectly compliments this saga for the 21st Century' Yorkshire Evening Post 'A fascinating read' The Glasgow Herald 'The Hangman humour of the band of sworn brothers gives Low's epic but brutal tale real humanity and the detail of 10th century life is wonderfully vivd. The action is fast and furious!shockingly believably so. Low's debut novel hits the mark with maximum impact' Bridlington Today

About the Author
Robert Low has been a journalist and writer since the age of 17. He covered the wars in Vietnam, Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo until common-sense and the concerns of his wife and daughter prevailed. To satisfy his craving for action, having moved to an area rich in Viking tradition, he took up re-enactment, joining The Vikings. He now spends summers fighting furiously in helmet and mail in shieldwalls all over Britain and winters training hard. This is his first novel. He lives in Scotland with his wife.

Customer Reviews

Return of the Dirty Dozen
Another cracking read from Low. I loved 'The Whale Road' and eagerly devoured 'The Wolf Sea' (a much better book title, it must be said, although i understand 'the Whale Road' is a norse historical term, just not a very inspiring one).
This book carries on from where number one finished, and hits the ground running, throwing the reader straight into the heady mix of blood n' guts n' history. It paints a very real, gritty picture of 10th century life around the mediterraneran and the middle-east.
Low clearly has a talent for character, with each of his band of Viking's feeling believably rounded, though some stick in the memory more than others - Finn and Big Botolf being standout for me. Orm is also handled well, making the transition from 'new boy' to leader quite believable, and basing his position on his wits rather than his physical prowess is cleverly written.
It's also nice to see a few of the Oathsworn hang around a little longer, although there is still a remerkably high body count, with a real sense of 'no-one-is-safe.'
The geography is brought to life, with excellent use of ancient historic sites - especially Masada!
I did feel overall that this book was not quite as strong as the first 0ne, being in essence (in my opinion) a slightly overlong chase-movie! There were a number of twists/turns/reveals in book one that felt absent here, and although i was glad to see the return of Starkad (it is always good to have a 'bad-guy' that you know and hate!) without wanting to give too much away i was dissapointed with the end showdown (or lack of it) between Orm and Starkad, and although the final battle was excellently, bone-crunchingly written, it did not really hold the emotional involvement that i had hoped for. Also the final twist had been worked out a long time before, so it did not really add to the final sense of tension.
Nevertheless, this was still a great read - Low does warrior camaraderie as well as anyone, i think, and he manages to invoke a very clear 'sense of norse' while managing to keep his bloodthirsty, gold-loving Oathsworn's boots firmly in the dirt and grime.

A cut above
If Robert Low's first book rather crept hesitantly out of the ffoyrd, this second installment of the Oathsworn comes flying confidently out under full sail.

I was a little critical of the first book because of it's lack of dialogue and charactorisation. This book has both in spades. What's more it's very good and some of the on board banter of the crew made me laugh out loud. Also this time the author doesn't kill off everyone as soon as you have learnt their names, in fact by the end of the book I was very fond of Finn Horsehead, Kvasir and Big Botolf.

For all this the author still includes a bit more detail and historical background than his contempories though at times this can verge on the contrived to show off the authors knowledge. It doesn't bother me but then I'm a nerd!
My only other minor critisism would be the trek accross the Middle East to find the last of their Oath brothers is a tad over long come the end but the final battle more than makes up for it. In fact the general battle descriptions (something I know other reviewers were critical of) has improved hugely.

Just misses out on a 5 star rating for me but a great book. I have a book voucher I got for Christmas tucked away for March when the next installment of the Oathsworn comes out.

The Oathsworn.
Orm and his crew, the Oathsworn, continue their adventure to Serkland in search of the Rune Serpent and Starkad. There are plenty of heroics and fighting on their travels, the stuff saga-tales are made of. Orm's Odin-luck is tested to the full by Loki and the Norns keep weaving his fate.
Excellent follow up to the Whale Road, I read this book in 5 days. If you're interested in Norse adventure, read this book!