A Song of Steel

The Light of the North Saga, Book 1

By: J C Duncan

Narrated by: Ulf Bjorklund

A roaring Norse saga of war, honor, love, and loss. Vikings face Crusaders in an epic battle for the soul of the North.

Alternate history—1116 AD. Three hundred years of cruel Viking raids have finally united Christian Europe against the pagan Northlands. A great crusade has been called to pacify the wild Norse kingdoms. The banner of the cross has been raised against the North, and all the power and fury of the West rides under it.

Ordulf, a talented young German swordsmith, is ripped from his comfortable life and cast into the bloody chaos of the crusade. As fate deals him a cruel blow in the lands of his enemies, he will have to forge a new path through the chaos or be consumed by it.

In the Northlands, three rival kingdoms must unite to survive the onslaught. But can any man, king or commoner, unite the bickering brotherhood of the Norse? Or is the time of the Vikings finally drawing to a violent end? Heroes will fail, kings will fall, and ordinary people will fight for the right to a future.

An epic saga of war, love, and politics sure to delight fans of Bernard Cornwell, Giles Krystian, Matthew Harffy, Christian Cameron, and all lovers of historical fiction.

©2020 James Simonds (P)2024 Podium Audio

Fictional History

As much as I loved "The Last Viking" series I disliked this. It starts out with a few promising tales but seems to jump between them as soon as they become interesting and return after the interesting part has concluded. Perhaps I just learned that I hate "alternate" history but the overall story just rang so false and nonsensical that it was hard not to hate. The reason fantasy novels can be so enticing is that they can mimic reality just enough to reflect the important parts of reality without having to justify all the details that surround true history. Doing the opposite, relying on true history to provide substance to a story that makes no sense within its context is a foolish endeavor destined to disappoint, as this story exemplifies so very well.