Viking Dead

Northern Europe, 976 AD. Bjólf and the viking crew of the ship Hrafn flee up an unknown river after a bitter battle, only to find themselves in a bleak land of pestilence. The dead don’t lie down, but become draugr – the undead – returning to feed on the flesh of their kin. Terrible stories are told of a dark castle in a hidden fjord, and of black ships that come raiding with invincible draugr berserkers. And no sooner has Bjólf resolved to leave, than the black ships appear... Now stranded, his men cursed by the contagion of walking death, Bjólf has one choice: fight his way through a forest teeming with zombies, invade the castle and find the secret of the horrific condition – or submit to an eternity of shambling, soulless undeath!

Combines the latest research and discoveries with a humorous eye to take us inside the Viking world So you want to be a Viking? Vikings are the lords of the northern seas. Fame, glory, and wealth await those who brave storms and enemy spears to plunder far and wide in foreign lands. Who wouldn’t like to come home laden with silver, earning a reputation that will live on long after lesser men have been forgotten? This book tells you everything you need to know to become a successful Viking warrior in the tenth century. How to join a Viking war band What to look for in a good Viking leader How to behave at a feast How to choose the right weapons and armor How to plunder a monastery and ransom a monk How to navigate at sea

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes an epic tale of unspeakable horror. It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to their home. He is appalled by their customs—the gratuitous sexuality of their women, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded sacrifices. As they enter the frozen, forbidden landscape of the North—where the day’s length does not equal the night’s, where after sunset the sky burns in streaks of color—Fadlan soon discovers that he has been unwillingly enlisted to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings, the monsters of the mist that devour human flesh. But just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.

Next on Wren and Death's Appraisal List: Item #1: An Old Family Feud. Item #2: A Missing Woman. Item #3: A Body in the Rosebushes of their Dream House Auctioneer Wren Morgan and her private eye fiancé Death (pronounced "Deeth") Bogart are ready to meet each other's parents and settle down together. But their sleuthing days are far from over. While Death and Wren are helping prepare auction items at an old supper club, a Viking reenactor nearly dies at the historical settlement next door. The cause? Seeing the ghost of his daughter, who went missing twenty years ago. As Wren looks into what happened to the Viking's daughter, Death is hired to investigate the theft of historical items that have high sentimental value. When their respective investigations turn out to be connected, the couple gets caught in a deadly conflict. Praise for the Auction Block Mysteries: Death & the Gravedigger's Angel "Ross's sleuthing pair again faces a present-day murder steeped in historical detail."—Kirkus Reviews Death &the Brewmaster's Widow "There are fewer auctions in this second series entry, but readers won't mind as the twisty, Hitchcock-style plot unfolds."—Booklist "Lively."—Publishers Weekly "The second case for Death and Wren uses an intriguing premise to flesh out the charming detective duo."—Kirkus Reviews Death & the Redheaded Woman "[A] winning debut."—Publishers Weekly "The witty sarcastic banter between the lead characters was charming and endearing."—RT Book Reviews "Ross's debut features a likeable pair of sleuths, some local Missouri history, and a nice little mystery."—Kirkus Reviews

Filling a gap in the literature for an academically oriented volume on the Viking period, this unique book is a one-stop authoritative introduction to all the latest research in the field, and the most comprehensive book of its kind ever attempted.

Thomas DuBois unravels for the first time the history of the Nordic religions in the Viking Age. "A seminal study of Nordic religions that future scholars will not be able to avoid."—Church History

“Invigorating . . . Gardeła reappraises the connections between women and violence in an early-medieval society that has left few texts to guide us.” —Studies in Late Antiquity This book sets out to investigate the idea of “the armed woman” in the Viking Age through a comprehensive and cross-cultural approach and weaves a nuanced picture of women’s lives in the Viking world. The Viking Age (c. AD 750–1050) is conventionally portrayed as a tumultuous time when hordes of fierce warriors from Scandinavia wreaked havoc across the European continent and when Norse merchants traveled to distant corners of the world in pursuit of slaves, silver and exotic commodities. Until fairly recently, Norse society during this pivotal period in world history has been characterized as male-dominated, with women’s roles dismissed or substantially downplayed. There is, however, ample textual and archaeological evidence to suggest that many of the most spectacular achievements of Viking Age Scandinavians—in craftsmanship, exploration, cross-cultural trade, warfare and other spheres of life—would not have been possible without the active involvement of women, and that, both within the walls of the household and in the wider public arena, women’s voices were heard, respected and followed. Lavishly illustrated, this pioneering book explores the stories of the female warrior and women’s links with the martial sphere of life in the Viking Age, using literature and archaeological evidence from Scandinavia and the wider Viking world to examine the motivations and circumstances that led women to engage in armed conflict.

This book analyses the Nordic pre-Christian ideology of rulership, and its confrontation with, survival into and adaptation to the European Christian ideals during the transition from the Viking to the Middle Ages from the ninth to the thirteenth century.