Boring and poorly written by an old man
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I love these kind of books but i found this boring and hard to read as it was so poorly written. The battles were non existent-well except for a couple of sentences to describe an entire battle. Was this book wrote in a day? it was a rushed job. And no excuses i.e. 'it was his 1st novel' etc etc It was written by an old man for a young audience and he is clearly out of touch with his target audience. It was a good idea but it was a snooze-fest reading this. Not in the league of 'The Last Kingdom' I will read the 2nd book, but only because i had already bought it, otherwise i wouldnt bother.
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Fast-paced and fun
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Being a long-standing fan of Bernard Cornwell, this book immediately grabbed my attention, and only slightly fell short of my expectations. The novel is incredibly fast paced, hardly giving the reader a chance for breath, but this gives some idea of the high octane life of Orm, our narrator and guide through the adventure. Whether this is a pace which can be sustained over the other novels in the series remains to be seen, but as a fun, quick and exciting read, albeit less varied than Cornwell's historical fiction, this definitely hits the spot.
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A Decent Debut But Not Outstandng
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In his afterword at the end of the Whale Road the author, Robert Low, says that his intention in writing the book had beem to create a 'saga' in the old-nordic tradition. Not being a regular saga reader I have no idea whether or not he managed this, but he did manage to create a reasonably entertaining and compelling tale of 'Vikings' during the Dark Ages in Northern & Central Europe.
Written in the first person from the hindsight perspective of the youngest of a band of mercenary warriors (not all are Viks from Norway so to call them Viking would be inaccurate) it is not a perfect debut by any means. By choosing a first person narrative, Low does drop the reader right into the heart of the story and its environment. By the same action however, he removes the possibility of using any dramatic irony or contemporary commentary on events. Than means the story has to stick to a very in a very linear and one dimensional story arc and limits the amount of explanation or context that can be given for the events that occur. Everything, characters, places and events, can only be seen through the eyes of the narrator, Orm, which automatically and at times frustratingly restricts our view of the world we are introduced to.
This lack of extra detail does however, mean that Whale Road avoids becoming too bloated and long winded. It is well paced too, with a feeling of constant forward motion towards it conclusion. At no point during it length did I feel bored by the book.
I did feel however, feel mildly frustrated at the author's insistence on introducing quasi-mystical or supernatural elements to the story. Whilst never openly acknowledged as being 'real' I felt that the suggestion that supernatural forces might be involved in events didn't sit well with the rest of the story. For ninety five percent of the time this felt like a historical adventure set in a real world. To suddenly throw in possession by evil spirits just didn't work. Yes, Low might have wanted to write a Saga, and sagas did involve God's and other non-human characters, but for those sort of elements to work the story must be fully committed to them. To simply tack them on to an otherwise historically accurate and realistic tale because they make a useful plot device, as Robert Low does, simply leaves them feeling out of place and unrealistic and pulls you out of the world he is portraying.
I'm not sure whether The Whale Road has done enough to get me to read the second installment of the adventures of the Oathsworn. May be when it comes into paperback and assuming I have nothing else to read I will give it a try, and on that basis I can only rate The Whale Road as a qualified success.
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Good but a bit too disorientated
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I did like this book, very much so and the style did remind me of a favourite author of mine; Bernard Cornwell (in fact Cornwell's recommendation tempted me to buy it) and I will be buying the second one. Pure adventure, escapist and very much like an old saga, the characters were good as was the history (it has created an interest of the Rus in me). I also found the fast moving pace and pure grittyness of life aboard a viking ship very well suited to the story. That said however the book did have a few problems in my opinion. Firstly, Low killed off too many good characters too quickly! Yes GRRM does the very same and his books are fantastic but GRRM has killed off many of his characters in the space of 4 VERY long books, not one short one. Some of Lows characyers could have been developed much better throughout the series. Secondly I found it ahrd to keep up with the villains as some appeared and dissappeared and reappeared etc etc.
That said I liked the book and will be reading this series to the end. 4/5 stars and recommended to Cornwell and historical fiction fans, and those who like the old sagas.
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Exciting Adventure Story
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Robert Low has been a journalist and writer since the age of seventeen in places as far away as Vietnam, Sarajevo, Romania and Kosovo until the concerns of his wife and daughter prevailed. Even now his craving for being among the action has prompted him to join The Vikings a re-enactment society and he now spends his summers fighting in helmet and mail in shield walls all over Britain. He lives in Largs, Scotland, where coincidentally the Vikings were finally defeated and expelled from Britain.
This is an exciting adventure story, following in the footsteps of such authors as Cornwell, Iggulden, Scarrow and the like. It tells the story of the men aboard a Viking long ship, drawn together in a single cause and prepared to shed blood or even die for their ship mates. When Orm Rurikson is taken from the snows of Norway to become a member of one of the most famous of these raiding crews, he must quickly stand up for himself and his comrades if he is not to lose face, or even die.
Times are changing, the worship of the old Norse Gods is fading and many people are turning to the religion of the mysterious `Christ.' Orm's crew, the Oathsworn are hired as relic hunters and are sent out in search of the sword believed to have killed this mysterious Christ. Their journey will take them where few have ventured before. Into the deep and treacherous water of the whale road and beyond towards the treasure of Attila the Hun, ever onwards towards the ultimate challenge . . .
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