The Age of the Vikings

By: Anders Winroth

Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin

Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The Vikings maintain their grip on our imagination, but their image is too often distorted by medieval and modern myth. It is true that they pillaged, looted, and enslaved. But they also settled peacefully and developed a vast trading network. They traveled far from their homelands in swift and sturdy ships, not only to raid, but also to explore. Despite their fearsome reputation, the Vikings didn’t wear horned helmets, and even the infamous berserkers were far from invincible.

By dismantling the myths, The Age of the Vikings allows the full story of this period in medieval history to be told. By exploring every major facet of this exciting age, Anders Winroth captures the innovation and pure daring of the Vikings without glossing over their destructive heritage.

He not only explains the Viking attacks, but also looks at Viking endeavors in commerce, politics, discovery, and colonization, and reveals how Viking arts, literature, and religious thought evolved in ways unequaled in the rest of Europe. He shows how the Vikings seized on the boundless opportunities made possible by the invention of the longship, using it to venture to Europe for plunder, to open new trade routes, and to settle in lands as distant as Russia, Greenland, and the Byzantine Empire. Challenging the image of the Vikings that comes so easily to mind, Winroth argues that Viking chieftains were no more violent than men like Charlemagne, who committed atrocities on a far greater scale than the northern raiders.

Drawing on a wealth of written, visual, and archaeological evidence, The Age of the Vikings sheds new light on the complex society and culture of these legendary seafarers.

©2014 Princeton University Press (P)2014 Audible Inc.

well written. the voice is a little monotonous

welp I can't say more than I did in the title. sticks to the history. narration leaves a bit to be desired.

Good overview

Found it had good breadth of discussion of viking age. It is perhaps a little dry for some tastes.

Excellent Content,. Poor Narration

In terms of content, this was a wonderful exploration of the Viking Age. The author was excellent in presentation of facts, details, and ideas.

Had true difficulties getting through it though because of the narration. Robotic, lifeless, and repetitive intonation (Let's draw out the last syllable of every sentence...every...single...sentence...shall we?)

Have purchased over 100 Audible titles over the past couple of years. Reviews are usually easy...five stars across the board. This is only one of two books I've purchased where it would be best to re-record with someone that would do justice to the author's efforts.

the narrators voice was dull and tiring

the narrators voice was dull and tiring making it hard to listen for long periods without falling asleep. Other than that it was an excellent book.

Good read/listen.

Nice overview of the Viking age and current state of the scientific knowledge about it. The narration was fine for this type of work, it's not a radio drama.

Bad Narrator

Worst narrator I've ever heard. I couldn't get past the first chapter. Too bad, could have been a good book.

Interesting history. Narrator could be better

A well-written introduction to the history of Scandinavia. Not just a litany of people, places, and events. The author takes time to explore the culture, art, literature, politics, and religion of Scandinavia.
The narrator reads fairly well, but his habit of ending every sentence with the same inflection and dragging out the last syllable of every sentence drove me batty. Unlike the best narrators he was never telling a story. He was merely reading a book.

a solid history of the Viking era

This book provides a great background on the Viking era. It is a bit dry, but overall worth the listen if you're interested in Viking age culture and society.

The narrator ruins it completely. Terrible!!!

I WILL NEVER GET ANOTHER BOOK NARRATED BY THIS GUY!

The Narrator is insufferable. 1) he mispronounces numerous important ENGLISH words (to say nothing about words in other languages); 2) he is clearly enamored with his own voice as he drags out the last syllable of nearly EVERY sentence in a low, self important tone, 3) he takes the subject of the book and makes it a didactic, monotone, verbal flogging.

The author offers a comprehensive history of the Vikings. But throughout the book, it is clear the author is trying to achieve a certain page count. The author says the same thing in three or more successive sentences repeatedly throughout the book. His padding the pages becomes painful at times. But there's no denying the book is full of interesting history, even if it is written and narrated dryly.

FIND ANOTHER BOOK READ BY ANOTHER AUTHOR. OR READ THIS BOOK YOURSELF AND SOARE YOURSELF THE AUDIO.

Amazing book, TERRIBLE narration

Winroth's perspective on the Vikings is fair, balanced, and excellent. Identifying how primary sources and their origins have affected the way we view the Vikings compared to other equally savage contemporaries is insightful and helpful.
One caveat: the narrator is horrendous. Not only is the same inflection used throughout, pronunciation is terrible. I don't just mean the pronunciation of unique Nordic-origin words (all of which are butchered) but also a variety of words like "prelate" and "sepulcher", which the narrator had apparently never heard spoken aloud before. The speaking voice is pleasant, but this seems like a case where the narrator could have been prepped in the basics of Nordic language family pronunciations as well as any kind of oversight for the pronunciations found on the final recordings. I love this book but this recording makes me wish I'd bought it in print first.