Great news! The fifth and final book in my series about Olaf Tryggvason – Vengeance of the Damned – is now available to order across the globe on Amazon.
The Backstory
Vengeance of the Damned tells of Olaf’s return to his homeland, though it doesn’t cover the backstory behind that return. Just before Olaf’s return, he is said to have been in Ireland. While the details are murky, it seems he successfully carved out a kingdom for himself there as well as possibly in northern England. I covered that story in my previous novel, Riddle of the Gods.
The sagas tell us that Hakon Sigurdsson, who ruled western Norway in the name of the Danes, had heard of Olaf in Ireland and sent a spy to gauge the threat. By all accounts, Hakon was not a popular ruler and probably knew that if Olaf was as powerful as the rumors said he was, he could come to take what was Hakon’s. However, his plan of sending a spy backfired. Olaf turned the spy to his side with his silver tongue and learned of Hakon’s unpopularity. It was then that Olaf decided to return.
In ca. 995 AD, Olaf came to the northwest coast of Norway with his army and quickly defeated the lords who stood in his way. With Olaf near at hand and having no real army left to defend himself, Hakon is said to have hidden in a pig sty at the advice of his slave, Karker, whom Olaf has promised gold. The slave killed Hakon and brought his corpse to Olaf. Expecting a golden reward, Karker received only a blade to the gut. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow stated in his epic poem, The Saga of Olaf:
At Nidarholm the priests are all singing,
Two ghastly heads on the gibbet are swinging;
One is Jarl Hakon’s and one is his thrall’s,
The death of Jarl Hakon set in motion the story that unfolds in Vengeance of the Damned.
The Story
Olaf had long dreamed of his return to Norway. It was not only power that he sought, but vengeance for the mistreatment of his father and family, which had been betrayed by other Norse nobles (the sons of Erik Bloodaxe) with the aid of the Danes.
His vengeful campaign set him on a collision course with his former oath-brother-turned-enemy, Torgil. Unable to escape the coming clash, Torgil and his band of outcasts face the new king and his battle-hardened warriors in Vengeance of the Damned. From the land of the Swedes, to the islands of the Vik, and finally, to a place called Svold off the coast of Denmark, Olaf and Torgil match their wills and their cunning in this brutal, action-packed conclusion to Olaf’s tale.
An early review from author Griff Hosker heralds Vengeance of the Damned as “an excellent read with beautifully drawn fictional characters who draw you into and through the book.”
The Future
This book concludes my telling of Olaf’s life through the eyes of Torgil, and I am sad to see it end. Olaf and Torgil were driven from their homes in Forged by Iron; fought in the land of the Rus’ in Sigurd’s Swords; lived as princes in the ancient kingdom of Wagria in Wolves of Wagria; and raided in Frisia, Dublin, and northern England in Riddle of Gods. Now they’ve returned home to the North as enemies who are forced to face each other. It’s been a true pleasure bringing them to life in the pages of this series. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
My journey as an author continues, though where I travel next is, at the current moment, unknown. Once it’s decided, you will be the first to know.
