A fierce Norse longship containing Thorgrim, his father-in-law Ornolf, and his son Harald approaches the settlement of Dubh-linn intent on trade, but are taken aback by the unwelcome discovery that the port is no longer controlled by their own countrymen, but by the unsympathetic Danes. Complicating matters are the factions of local Irish forging dangerous alliances as they grapple for power, and the one precious relic they seek may just be a little something the Norse picked up while plundering the coast.

From a pure storytelling perspective, this series has fantastic potential. The plot is interesting, the characters engaging, and action scenes exciting. However, the it would have benefited significantly from an editor — it's one thing to have friends and family read through your manuscript and provide casual advice/suggestions, but quite another to have a professional tighten the narrative, correct misspellings ('altar' was misspelled multiple times), improve grammar/clarity and just generally polish things up and add depth. Ornolf and a handful of other characters were almost laughable caricatures, one-dimensional and unlikeable. Ultimately, while I might recommend the book to readers into historical fiction from this era, the lack of professional editing detracted from experience enough for me that I'll likely not continue the series. ( )

This was historical fiction as it should be. Nelson has a knack for penning characters that are both intriguing and believable. Thorgrim Night-Wolf is a fascinating character to me, a warrior who is world-weary, yet still powerful and has an obvious love for his son, Harald, who has gone a-viking with him to Ireland. I won't spoil the plot by summarizing it here, but it's a cracking fun read and worth the time of anyone who enjoys Vikings or somewhat militaristic historical fiction. It's more than just battles and adventure, though -- he does a good job of exploring his characters' thoughts and motivations. A stand-out book for me. ( )