Vikings and Fantasy

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8 books

My books, whether historical or urban fantasy, all draw on the rich legacy of Viking Age history, legend and myth. These are among the works that have informed and inspired me.

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Heimskringla; Or, the Chronicle of the Kings of Norway

Snorre Sturleson, 2009

This is the go-to book for anyone interested in the Viking Age. It’s not as historically accurate as scholars used to think (it was written in the 13th Century and incorporates a lot of oral tradition), but it’s more accurate (in my view) than many contemporary historians think. And it’s simply the most readable book of history to come out of the Middle Ages. Full of vivid stories and larger -than- life characters. It was written by a genius, Snorri Sturlusson, who also wrote The Prose Edda.

The Prose Edda

Sturluson Snorri, 2022

Snorri Sturlusson (himself an accomplished poet) compiled this collection of Norse myths so that the mythological references in the poems could be understood. In doing this he preserved almost all we know about the old Norse religion.

Viking Legacy

Torgrim Titlestad, 2018

This underappreciated book (which I translated from Norwegian for the publishers) tells the story of Norway in the Viking Age, with an emphasis on the Viking traditions of law and democracy.

Long Ships

Frans Gunnar Bengtsson, 1959

Do not be deceived by the awful Hollywood movie (starring Richard Widmark) that they made out of this book. This is the best Viking novel ever written (at least before I started writing). It’s a rollicking saga – often hilarious – very well- researched and brilliantly conceived. Lively, vivid, exciting. A truly great – and fun – novel.

Egil's Saga

One of the greatest of the Icelandic sagas, Egil’s Saga tells the story of Egil Skallagrimsson, a character at once horrible, fascinating, and sympathetic. Egil was the greatest of the Icelandic poets and lived his whole violent life according to his cultural values – which were very different from yours and mine.

Njal's Saga

Njal’s Saga vies with Egil’s for the title of greatest saga. This is the story of a man who wishes to live in peace, but fate and the times he lives in make that impossible. It’s like a perfect storm of tragedy, a situation where all attempts at legal settlements go wrong in the worst possible ways, leading to a crime that horrifies the criminals themselves.

The Lord Of The Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien, 2012

This selection needs no explanation. Tolkien mined many sources in sub-creating Middle Earth, whose name itself is a transliteration of the Norse “Midgard.” Echoes of the Viking myths and the sagas are everywhere.

The Book of the Dun Cow

Walter Wangerin, 2013

Not a children’s book. I never expected an animal story to be as epic and moving as this one is. The characters live and breathe, and are much more human than many human characters in books I’ve read. There is humor here, pathos, and sacrificial courage at the highest pitch. A wonderful book. I’d sacrifice a minor organ to write a book like this.