The Half-Drowned King von Hartsuyker Linnea

'Like Game of Thrones, only more unscrupulous' Wall Street Journal

Ragnvald Eysteinsson grew upbelieving that he would one day take his dead father's place as chief of his family's lands. But after a murderous attack on his way home from a raiding excursion, he must confront his stepfather's betrayal, and find a way to protect his birthright. It is no easy feat in Viking-Age Norway, where men kill over parcels of land, and a prophesied high king is rising.

But where Ragnvald is expected to fight, and even die, for his honour, Svanhild is expected only to marry well. It's not a fate she relishes, and when the chance to leave her stepfather's cruelty comes at the hand of her brother's arch-rival, Svanhild is forced to make a terrible choice: family or freedom.

'Suspenseful, intriguing, gripping' New York Journal of Books

'An unusual Viking saga . . . creates a more nuanced and richer portrait of Viking society, with its complex web of rituals, laws and debts of honour, than the genre usually provides' Sunday Times

[thumbnail of author pic on Biblio + credit]