Winter's Fire

The Rise of Sigurd 2

By: Giles Kristian

Narrated by: Philip Stevens

Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Sigurd Haraldarson has proven himself a great Viking warrior and a dangerous enemy. He has gone a long way towards avenging the murder of his family. Yet his vengeance is not complete. The oath breaker King Gorm - who betrayed Sigurd's father - still lives, and, so long as the king draws breath, the scales remain unbalanced.

But Sigurd and his wolf pack of warriors are not at full strength, and to confront the king now would mean death. And so they sail west to Sweden, where a local warlord employs them as mercenaries, but in a brutal siege Sigurd, Floki and Valgerd are taken by the enemy, their fate to be sacrificed in return for the gods' favour. Escaping the priest's knife at the last moment, they steal a sacred treasure: Gungnir, the legendary spear of Odin.

The journey Sigurd and his colleagues are destined to take is punctuated by blood and betrayal. Uneasy alliances are made; silver, fame-lust and the Odin spear draw men to Sigurd's banner until he commands a war host of his own. It is time to return to Norway to face the oath breaker. When storms rip the sky, men say that it is Odin, the Wild Huntsman, summoning the souls of the dead. And Sigurd's course is set.

His return to his homeland foretells death. He will lead his warriors against King Gorm in an epic fight to the death, and the clash of ax and sword and shield will shake the timbers of Valhalla itself, for Sigurd's bloodlust is like the Spear God's passing, and his revenge will be the Wings of the Storm....

©2016 Giles Kristian (P)2016 Random House Audiobooks

Another Triumph

A worthy sequel to the first book in the trilogy. Although not as meaty as the first book, it is still a very good read for its vivid battle scenes and colorful dialogue. It should prove a great set-up for the finale which I am about to greedily devour. I will most certainly keep my eye on this author and expect him to have a sterling storytelling career!

these need to be movies

Great stories. very well written and narrated. I'm in for the whole series. compelling. as soon as I finish a book I'm rushing to buy the next.

worthy of a listen

Giles Kristian weaves a gripping saga of Sigurd, his family, and his thegns which will leave you wanting to learn more about his fate and acts of daring. The author intertwines details of medieval Scandinavian culture which enhanced my appreciation for the work.

A good solid story.

When I first started listening to this series, it seemed like it was going to be your generic "Viking tale". You know lot's of raiding, killing, drinking, sex and talk about the gods. I figured there would be that one character who wasn't quite like the rest and that character would turn out to be our hero/ adventurer with a better moral compass then his companions. But this story is so much more then that. It's deep and thought provoking. It really feels like your right next to them on this adventure. The characters are all compelling and diverse, and yes you have that one character who is set a part from the rest, but every character in this book brings life too it. I would compare this read/ listen to the great Bernard Cornwell stories. It really is a good solid story, and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

Fantastic!

Third listen .... Amazing reread fireside saga tale. It will get your blood up and keep you in the gym for sure🤘SKOL!

cannot wait to start the next book!

great story well told. looking forward to the next book. went through this one very quickly

Band of “brothers” ... and a sister

Another fun listen about an entertaining group of warriors out for revenge.. and plunder. They all hold their own, but together they are even stronger. The story was good and kept my interest but not great. Added a star for keeping my interest, but I missed the historical details and character building of the first. The writing was still superb at times and much better than I could ever do!
The narration was a mismatch for me. The odd inflection and added dramatics took away from a well-written story. There were numerous times I thought it would have been a better read. The last book in the series is in my queue.

Fun, fast and enjoyable!

Interesting fast moving believable story with well developed characters with vivid destinations. I look forward to reading the next story upon its release.

Need for more Mead

Silver an Mead is all you need. Another great story. Olaof is so cool. This story a little slower than the first. This story seems to be the political /drama part of the series.It Does still have a lot of action. Overall I enjoyed it.

Skald-worthy Saga of Sigurd

Action-packed, non-stop, from the Prologue to the last Chapter.

The battle scenes, animal and/or human sacrifices are a bit on the gory, graphic side, but other than that, it’s an excellent read and the narrator does phenomenally well.

Do not recommend these novels for long road trips with the family, especially with young children.