Mollebakken: The Rise of Bloodaxe

Hakon's Saga Prequel

By: Eric Schumacher, Marg Gilks

Narrated by: Mickey Gousset

King Harald Fairhair is dying. Who will rule in his stead?

Viking Age Norway’s greatest king Harald Fairhair has unified the northern districts into a kingdom, but as he ages and his body weakens, so does his realm. To keep the kingdom from fracturing, Harald abdicates his high seat to the one son he believes capable enough - and vicious enough - to rule: Erik Bloodaxe.

There is one problem. The other sons hate their brother and will not accept his kingship. That hatred leads to an unavoidable confrontation on a rain-soaked hill called Mollebakken - a hill that will decide who will rule and who will die.

©2019 Eric Schumacher (P)2020 Eric Schumacher

Good prequel, poor narration

I enjoyed Hakon’s saga, and this prequel helps fill out some of the background for several of the main characters. There are some good historical notes as well, which I always appreciate.

The narrator was poorly chosen for this type of story. He is careful, precise, emotionless, and painfully slow. Perfect for a science book perhaps, but not a Viking novella. I found that if I put the speed at about 1.3x it began to sound more like normal human speech and became endurable.