James Barclay

[Drizzt]

Which books are we all eagerly awaiting the publication of and why?

Mine is currently:

Shout for the Dead - James (obvious really!)
Dance with Dragons - George Martin (brilliant series, wanting more!)

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Pagan Music

[Mantyluoto]

The Captals Tower by Melanie Rawn

[Selik]

Currently just Shout for the Dead.
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[sir robin]

i have 3 so far....


James Barclay :- shout for the dead.
Mark Chadbourns :- erm name unknown.....lol
Rob Mackellar:- The forged one. (possible title change.)
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I phoned a psyhic hotline and they told me they see a large phonebill in my future

[Selik]

Well, yeah, Rob's book goes without saying really
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[sir robin]

[Jen]

Steven Eriksons - The Bonehunters.
Am waiting for the mini - paperback so it matches all of the others.
Oh and the Tad Williams book after Shadowmarch (can remember what its called )
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A very happy Yule to all!!
Eat, drink and be merry everyone.

[Parmenion]

Shout for the Dead - James
Dance with Dragons - George Martin
Robert Low : A whales Tale (this is a book about vikings...so some of you should like it)
last Light alex Scarrow (becasue im in it..as Lt Robin Carter...HUGE GRIN}
Generals : Simon Scarrow

[Selik]

[Parmenion]

The Whale Road
A band of brothers, committed only to each other, rides the waves, fighting for the highest bidder, treading the whale road in search of legendary relics.

Life is savage aboard a Viking raiding ship. When Orm Rurikson is plucked from the snows of Norway to brave the seas on the Fjord Elk, he becomes an unlikely member of a notorious crew. Although young, Orm must quickly become a warrior if he is to survive.

His fellow crew are the Oathsworn -- named after the spoken bond that ties them in brotherhood -- and they ply a casual trade on the ocean wave, selling their swords to the highest bidder. They fight hard, they drink hard, and they always defend their tribe.

But times are changing. Loyalty to the old Norse Gods is fading, and the followers of the mysterious 'White Christ' are gaining power across Europe. Hired as relic-hunters, the Oathsworn are sent in search of a sword thought to have killed the White Christ. Their quest will lead them onto the deep and treacherous waters of the whale road, toward the cursed treasure of Attila the Hun and to a challenge that presents the ultimate threat.

Robert Low has written a stunning epic, a remarkable debut novel. Not only a compelling narrative, The Whale Road also brings a wholly different Viking adventure stretching from the Baltic to Istanbul in the search for the secret treasure of Attila the Hun.

This is scheduled for release in March 07. The following book The Jarl Torc is scheduled for release in March 08, heres the blurb for that one as well.

It is 972AD, two or three months after the events of THE WHALE ROAD. Orm has brought the survivors safely back to Byzantium, but they are destitute, reduced to working on the docks, where they see a line of slaves being taken aboard a ship. They recognise Valgard Skafhogg and others of the Oathsworn, who were left in Novgorod while Orm and the others went in search of Attila's tomb.

Now, it seems, they have been sold as slaves, are bound for Damascus, probably to be gelded and used, ironically, to dig silver in the failing silver mines. Orm and the dozen Oathsworn still with him, and still trapped by their Oath, realise they have to sail to Serkland and try to free Valgard and the others. Orm has then to do what he so far resisted - sell Attila's sabre for enough to outfit a trading knorr belonging to one Radoslav, who has no crew. This brings them in contact with Choniates, a powerful Byzantine merchant - and an old enemy, Starkad, still searching for Martin the monk and the Holy Lance. Worse still, Starkad ends up joining with Choniates and ends up in possession of Attila's sabre.

On board an ungainly and unlovely cargo ship, the ragged last of the Oathsworn set off into a new adventure, which takes them to battles with Arab pirates, a struggle with an emir on newly-liberated Byzantine Cyprus (for a prize which, at first, seems utterly useless), the silver mines near Damascus, the heat and dust of a journey south to Jerusalem following the trail of their enslaved oath-brothers. This becomes a test of their faith until the survivors, having passed the test and now renewed in Odin worship, finally confront the awful truth on the already haunted mountain of Masada where Orm tries to regain Attila's sabre.

The Jarl Torc is also part II of the rite of passage of Orm, from boy to man and a leader of men. It tells the story of the weight of that on his young shoulders and also, in the heartland of the Christian faith, the pressures on Odin worshippers like the Oathsworn and the nagging realisation that their way of life is passing in their own lifetime.

[Parmenion]

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (5 Mar 2007)
Language English
ISBN: 0007215282

sorry missed the dates off

[Selik]

Nice one! Cheers Robin. I'll definately keep an eye out for that series, it sounds pretty damn good, actually.

Thanks for the info.
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[Parmenion]

well i remebered you have a thing about axe weilding men with point hats on!!

[Selik]

It's a personal and historical interest, which is why i'm for any Viking novel that's written with accurate information.
There's been too many books and in other areas of media too, where they've been passed off as nothing but murdering barbarians.
Too few (though it's certainly been improving recently), that convey the more factual information that, yes, they did come across the ocean and plunder, but they were attacked first by the rising christian empire of the time who then wondered why the Northmen turned around and did the same back.But they didn't just plunder, they also set up homes. Hence all the places in East Anglia that end in 'by' or 'thorpe'. So they contributed to the areas in which they lived, also.

The books by Tim Severin are really good for the more factual occurrances back then though they're historical fiction too, it's just that his books are written from the POV of an aging Northman describing occurrances that happened in his past.
It's historically accurate and really interesting. Oh and of cause, it's well written.
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"I sit on my arse, not my head." - Baron Gresse.

[Drizzt]

I'll have to steal those from you to read at some point..! Want t get myself a decently done version of the prose edda.
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Pagan Music