Customer Reviews

10 reviews

• Robert Douglas

  This is a fascinating book. Inspired by the Viking Sagas and Norse Skaldic Verse. John Ingham has produced a compelling tale in the style and rhythms of the great Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf - a tale of heroic deeds, treachery, sibling rivalry, shape-shifting, and magic with the added element of the world of the indigenous inhabitants of North America where much of the action is set. It is a fine tale, well told, as enjoyable today as it would have been to our Viking and Anglo-Saxon forebears in their mead halls.

• Phii G

  I am always reluctant to give a five-star review because few things in life, not least literary, are perfect, and to believe otherwise suggests one’s bar is set too low. However, this work is peerless in ambition, epic in scale, and exquisite in delivery. The real hero here is not one of those introduced to us in the prose but whose name appears on the front cover. John Ingham has delivered a mystical saga written in a style and timbre that would have been familiar to Viking warriors huddled together for warmth in their longhouses a millennium and more ago, yet it is also accessible and thrilling, and engrossing today.

• Max

  A unique epic that Snorri Sturluson would be proud of.
  
  
  A continental-scale tale, as gritty and harsh as the bitter storm winds of the northern seas. This ancient-style poetic edda was crafted for a modern audience with a love of Viking history and mythology.
  
  
  Award-winning journalist John Ingham has researched his book to give depth and intrigue to this Norse story.
  
  
  Using the Viking poetic style of verse, he has given this work a genuine saga feel. This strengthens the portrayal of a cast of war-hardened and brutish yet humorous Viking heroes and villains.
  
  
  Anyone with a passing knowledge of Norse mythological writing will understand the effort that has gone into this book.
  
  
  A great story and a fascinating approach, leading to a fantastic historical fantasy.
  
  
  Well done!
  
  

• Tony Phillips

  John Ingham has come up with a truly epic tale of which any Norse skald would be proud. Although he is under slightly less pressure to hold the reader's attention than his narrator, he does it brilliantly. I found this book hard to put down and finished it in a few days. John hardly wastes a sentence, swiftly moving the reader on to the next dramatic episode while preparing us for the inevitable shocking climax.
  
  He nonetheless still finds time to sketch out the motives of the characters and their group dynamic and describe evocatively the ever-changing natural surroundings the band moves through. John convincingly captures the coarse, brutal, and frequently sadistic culture of the Norse warriors and the Native American enemies and allies they come across on their journey of revenge. He also brings out the mystic aspects of their relationship with the natural world around them and their common fate as human beings and takes us off into the occasional flight of witchcraft and fantasy as if in relief from the relentless slaughter. All in all a thoroughly entertaining and gripping read which would make a great movie.

• Piers

  What a story! A genuinely epic tale that draws you straight in from the very first words. John Ingham’s highly original approach to storytelling using poetic verse makes for an exciting and absorbing read. He manages to put you right into the presence of Snorri as he recites the action-packed journey across the Atlantic into the untouched interior of America. The dangers and perils encountered by Asgeir on his mission really come alive through the rich language Ingham uses – conjuring up vivid images and a story that is compulsive reading.
  
  A fast-paced plot with twists at every turn kept me hooked and makes me impatient for the next adventure. Very strongly recommended - a five-star read.

• Steph Spyro

  This is an epic tale of torture and triumphs that had me gripped from the dedication page right up until the end.
  It's a page-turner that teleports readers to the centre of Viking battles.
  The fast-paced saga is a gripping tale with adventure after adventure.
  It has all the elements of a compelling story - the bloody battles, lust and rivalry. No doubt a hit fit for the big screen.
  John Ingham writes with humour, frankness and flair, always choosing the right words for the right moment.
  It's a blockbuster. It's unputdownable. It's five stars from me.
  

• Graham

  Top Viking entertainment from start to finish
  
  This gripping saga sweeps the reader from European waters across the Atlantic to North America and back again in the company of our hero Asgeir and his followers on the trail of the villainous Grim. Ingham’s skillful use of skaldic verse brings the tale gloriously to life, and you can practically taste the sea spray and feel the excitement of the chase through strange new lands.
  It’s got staggering acts of courage, gallons of ale and mead, belly laughs, witches, hallucinogens, trans-sexuals, and politically-incorrect bears. Definitely recommended for all who like a ripping adventure story, especially fans of Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom books.
  

• Asgeir Sverrisson

  Being from Iceland and having grown up reading the sagas I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Ingham's book. He puts his research and knowledge of the Viking era to good use.
  
  Snorri the skald is obviously a reference to Egill Skalla-Grímsson (904-995). Egill saved his head by composing and reciting Höfuðlausn (Head Ransom) to Eiríkur blöðöxi (Eirik Bloodaxe) who had sentenced the warrior to death in England.
  
  Egill was a truly versatile man given that he was an excellent poet and renowned berserker. He composed his first poem at the tender age of three and claimed his first victim four years later when a boy he was playing with didn't fully respect the rules of the game.
  
  I am also reminded of a great Viking movie When the Raven Flies (1984) by Icelandic director Hrafn Gunnlaugsson, who also wrote the script; an outstanding tale of honor and blood thirst and a true classic within the genre.
  
  Mr. Ingham's Blood-Eagle Saga is written in such a vivid way that the "scenes" easily come to the reader's mind.
  
  I found the Blood Eagle Saga highly original and wonderfully written. The author's command of the language is admirable. The saga is also funny, exciting, and bizarre - a true Viking extravaganza!
  
  In short, a highly enjoyable read.

Write a Review