Welcome to Litsy!

#OffMyShelf (Published over 10 years ago)
#Roll100

I didn‘t realize this was the start of a 16 book series! 😬 First published in 2006.

This is the story of Uhtred, the Saxon son of a Northumbrian Eorlemann who is taken at the age of 10 and raised by the invading Danes. The Last Kingdom refers to Wessex, which is the last Anglo-Saxon holdout against the Danes. This is excellent historical fiction. Violent but likely historically accurate.

Recent acquisitions (50% off all hardbacks at my local right now!):

📖 Viking: Hammer of the North by Magnus Magnusson
📖 The Celts: Life, Myth and Art by Juliette Wood
📖 Timpson's England: A Look Beyond the Obvious by John Timpson

#UniteAgainstBookBans and #LetUtahRead

Decent read. It's good as a broad introduction to the history of the Normans. The book covers several different historical events, such as William the Conqueror, the Norman conquest of Sicily, and the 1st Crusade. However, I feel that the author tries to cover too much material in too short of a book. As a result, several events aren't covered in as much detail as they could've been.

Sundays are for #TBR reading #vikings

Next up for reading.
#medievalhistory

800 pages of Thorgil Thorgilsson pirating around, forming blood feuds, exchanging giant rings and gilded swords, and "discovering" Canada. Did you know Vikings named it Greenland as a marketing tactic? So more Norsemen would want to move to that desolate place and keep them company.

Loved it

Same strengths and weaknesses as the book about the Picts: strong in wars and names, sometimes a bit dry, but highly informative. I wish there would've been more about the daily lives of people, their cultures etc. But if you're looking for a good overview of the early days of Scotland (or the British Isles generally), I can highly recommend Tim Clarkson. It was a fascinating ride through history.

E-trilogy on sale today only.

An excellent history of the late Viking Age. The author focuses on telling it through the career of Olaf (later St Olaf) as well as Cnut the Great. He has fine touch and tells the stories with the right amount of detail.