The Wolf Age

Description

“Skeie’s account of ruthless conflict, political intrigue, and diplomatic machinations reads like a real-life Game of Thrones—without the dragons. Medieval history buffs will be riveted.”  –Publishers Weekly

Thrilling history provides a new perspective on the Viking-Anglo Saxon conflicts and brings the bloody period vividly to life, perfect for fans of Dan Jones

The first major book on Vikings by a Scandinavian author to be published in English, The Wolf Age reframes the struggle for a North Sea empire and puts readers in the mindset of Vikings, providing new insight into their goals, values, and what they chose to live and die for.

Tore Skeie (“Norway’s Most Important Young Historian”) takes readers on a thrilling journey through the bloody shared history of England and Scandinavia, and on across early medieval Europe, from the wild Norwegian fjords to the wealthy cities of Muslim Andalusia.

Warfare, plotting, backstabbing and bribery abound as Skeie skillfully weaves sagas and skaldic poetry with breathless dramatization as he entertainingly brings the world of the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons to vivid life.

In the eleventh century, the rulers of the lands surrounding the North Sea are all hungry for power. To get power they need soldiers, to get soldiers they need silver, and to get silver there is no better way than war and plunder.

This vicious cycle draws all the lands of the north into a brutal struggle for supremacy and survival that will shatter kingdoms and forge an empire…Chapter overview
Overview of persons

1241
A regime facing ruin
The warrior’s good life
Fire and smoke
Midgard
hvíti kristr
To Norway
Broad ancestral lands
Two kingdoms
The Great
Silver coins for the king’s head

Chronology
Afterword“The turbulent [Second Viking Age] that straddles the first millennium is brought to life in a history worthy of a modern television epic.”
—Financial Times

“Skeie’s account of ruthless conflict, political intrigue, and diplomatic machinations reads like a real-life Game of Thrones—without the dragons. Medieval history buffs will be riveted”
–Publishers Weekly
TORE SKEIE is one of Norway’s most acclaimed historians, having written several prize-winning and bestselling works of medieval history. Known for his eye for historical and human drama, his books have been praised both for their thrilling style and the way they challenge traditional nation-oriented historical narratives. The Wolf Age was a bestseller in Norway, won the prestigious Sverre Steen award, and is the first of Tore’s books to be translated into English.
 
Based in Stavanger, Norway, ALISON McCULLOUGH’s previous translations include The Therapist by Helene Flood and Theatre of the World: The Maps that Made History by Thomas Reinertsen Berg.US

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