Viking Warrior

Strongbow Saga, Book 1

De: Judson Roberts

Narrado por: Jeff Hays

In ninth century Denmark, a child born to a slave is also a slave, and the property of his mother's master. Halfdan, the son of an Irish noblewoman and the Danish chieftain who captured and enslaved her, has grown up a slave in his own father's household. But the Norns, the weavers of the fates of all men, have different plans for him - although rarely do they give a gift without exacting a price.

The Strongbow Saga is an epic tale of one man's unstoppable quest for justice and vengeance that carries him across the ninth century world of the Vikings. In Viking Warrior, Book One of the saga, a cruel twist of fate both frees Halfdan and robs him of the mother he loves, setting him upon the path to a new destiny. But a brutal act of treachery and murder upends Halfdan's new life, sending him on the run with ruthless hunters hot on his trail.

©2006 Judson Roberts (P)2014 Judson Roberts

My Pick for Historical Fiction

This is my favorite historical fiction series. 5 Stars to the author , Judson Roberts, & 5 Stars to the narrator, Jeff Hays. I've listened to this 5 Star audio book series many times. Every character comes alive and I was transported into the drama. Wonderful!

Judson Roberts is amazing!

do not sleep on this series of books! honestly takes me back to my teenage years getting lost reading the books for hours multiple times!
Judson Roberts always answers his emails too so if you have a question he'll answer

Good and…

I really wasn’t crazy about the narration. Good ability to change choices or speakers is lacking.

The story it’s self is good. I just wish there was more detail. I just noticed it is labeled as young adult. Maybe that is why I feel this way. I just want more detail and depth. I will look for more books by the author to see if he has similar novels aimed at more mature readers. I really appreciated the authors notes at the end.

Good start!

The most important thing about a novel that is first in a series is whether or not that novel makes a reader (listener) look forward to the next novel in the series. Viking Warrior has done that for this reader (listener). I look forward to hearing about the continuing adventures of Halfdan in the next novel in the Strongbow Saga, Dragons From The Sea.

The hero of the story, Halfdan, is born a thrall to a household in Denmark. However, there is more in both his family history - and his future - than the life of drudgery that a thrall can expect. Halfdan experiences a change of fortune that sets his life in a new direction. The manner in which this change of fortune occurs and the reactions of those who had known him as a thrall were a bit of a surprise, as they don't "fit the mold" of the change of fortune theme that is somewhat common in literature. That's not to say that his change of fortune is without conflict, as is to be expected, but I won't elaborate more in order to avoid spoilers.

I listened to the audio production of this novel, narrated by Jeff Hays. There was a long musical intro that had me a bit concerned that there might be too much in the way of audio effects (I can't stand when narration is hard to hear over background music). Fortunately, that was not the case. It was just an intro. There were a few sound effects in the narration that took me by surprise, but they didn't detract from the narration or the story. Jeff Hays voices each of the characters in the story suitably and distinctly (no females annoyingly portrayed badly by a male voice trying to imitate female vocal range).

I couldn't get into it, didn't finish

What did you like best about Viking Warrior? What did you like least?

I like this era and genre but I just couldn't get into this book...

Would you recommend Viking Warrior to your friends? Why or why not?

No, because I didn't really enjoy it

Have you listened to any of Jeff Hays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was Viking Warrior worth the listening time?

nope, I didn't finish it

Definitely Not a Viking Saga

Having recently finished a Viking trilogy, I was greatly looking forward to a new series to replace it. Immediately upon starting the book, I knew it was not to be. I normally, do not write bad reviews, but in this case I was so disappointed I decided to review it. The Vikings were a hardy people and also very rough characters. The characters in this novel are the best behaved, cultured marauders in history. This is a 9th Century story told in 21st century script - not very believable.

The narration is pitiful, bordering on boring. I was hard pressed to finish the book

I was tempted to download the second installment at the same time I downloaded the first - glad I did not waste a credit.

Clever, detailed and fun. excellent narration!

Would you listen to Viking Warrior again? Why?

Loved this book. Due to the crazy Viking names I had to pay close attention buy it was well worth it.

What did you like best about this story?

The detail, the battles and consequences.

What about Jeff Hays’s performance did you like?

So great, multiple accents for different folks.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Crazy Norse names ahoy!

Fantastic historical fiction

I read this book a few years ago and remembered loving it. Enjoyed listening just as much. It reminded me of The Rangers Apprentice but more intense and historically accurate.

Loved it!

This was a very exciting and interesting story of the Vikings! If you like history you will need this one. Jeff Hays did a fantastic job narrating it. He made the characters come to life.

Made me want to learn more about Vikings

What did you like best about Viking Warrior? What did you like least?

The thing I liked most about the book was the authors 'note' at the end, where he talked about Viking history and different real life events that he fit the book around. It is very well researched. It really made me want to learn more about Vikings and their history. I might go seek out a non-fiction book on the subject now.

What I liked least? The story wasn't overly interesting in it's own right. the main character was too wonderful/good at everything. 14 year old slave who (despite having chores to do as a slave) has been taught latin, blacksmith skills and expert bowmanship and hunting. Then when he starts learning the sword he picks it up extremely quickly and can soon beat an expert warrior. There seems to be nothing he can't do.

The pacing of the book is also off. So much is told by others rather than shown, And as we get to the end of the book towards a climax (which wasn't well built up to or foreshadowed) it stalls. The 'climax' comes early and we are left with another story told by someone else (a new character out of nowhere). At that point I couldn't care about that story. After that the ending just peters out.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Hays’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to several of Jeff Hays' other books. He is a great narrator and I enjoy his work. He provides varied accents and voices for each character. He puts in extra effort to sound production )music and other stuff). Certainly would pick up other books he does.

My only complaint (which I have made previously) is some sound effects on top of the narration. In this book someone spits and Jeff added the sound of him spitting over/under the words. I know some people like this sort of additions. I generally don't. So it's more a personal preference thing and not something "wrong" per se.

He also pronounced 'roof' as 'ruff', like a fake dog bark. This is not a problem. It just amused me every single time he said the word.

Did Viking Warrior inspire you to do anything?

I might go find some Viking history books now

Any additional comments?

The book title also strikes me as extremely bland. Its about a warrior who is a viking, so "Viking Warrior". Lots of thought went in there. But then again, as I write this "American Sniper" is going gangbusters in cinema, so maybe the "what you see is what you get" naming is what people want.