Ever since regular Threedonia commenter and all-around good egg Lars Walker published his latest novel West Oversea last year I have had it on my list of books to read. Post-Pagan Viking fantasy is not on my usual fictional genre radar, but I have Swedish blood coursing through these veins somewhere, Lars is a great guy, and I like to read a variety of things. And so the stars aligned this summer and I had some time to get to it – and I’m glad I did.
West Oversea is first – like all great reads — a great story. The skeleton of the narrative could exist in any genre whether it’s the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars or a cattle drive up from Texas to Dodge City, KS to a group of Norsemen in 1002 A.D. heading out across the ocean – West Oversea — in search of redemption, riches, and whatever God (or Fate) has in store for them.
The story begins in Norway right after the turn of the millennium when Norway was mostly a Christian country with remnants of its old Pagan ways reemerging every so often. One of the recurring jokes has people swearing by the gods in front of priests and correcting themselves apologetically. This is the Norway of the saved, but the not yet sanctified.
The main protagonist (and narrator) is an Irish priest named Father Aillil who lives and ministers in Norway. He is a man pulled by various worlds – his duty as a Christian, his desires as a man, and the lure of the pagan spiritual world represented by a talisman he receives plus his ability to see and converse with the dead. Like his flock – Father Aillil is a man searching for redemption (for himself and his sister). The other protagonist is a warrior and leader named Erling Skjalgsson – a devout and honorable man also in search of redemption since his honor comes at a very high cost. The priest and the warrior head West (with family and crew of course) together on their respective quests and along the way experience the mysteries and hardships of Iceland , Vinland, and Greenland.
It’s easy to see that Lars put a lot of research into this novel since the details about Norse culture and laws, medieval Catholicism, Norse mythology, and life at sea on a ship are both accurate and pertinent. These details are not mere tricks, but add to the plot and character development. Along the course of travel Father Aillil muses on theology, politics, and even the state of culture (then and now). We spend so much time talking about Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews when talking about the foundations of the West that we often overlook the contributions of the Danelaw to our liberty and concepts of rule of law. Walker presents that seamlessly as part of the narrative as combatants resolve their disputes by words or money (wergild) as often as iron.
He also presents a world where the supernatural and the natural intersect regularly. Father Aillil is tempted to use the shortcuts the occult might provide and is endangered by the strings attached to those tools. Again Walker uses the occult to enhance the narrative and Father Aillil’s character and not overwhelm them. Finally, in West Oversea Walker accomplishes what he set out to do first and foremost – he tells a ripping good yarn. In this I was reminded of the Patrick O’Brian “Master and Commander” novels in that the historical details and big ideas meld naturally with scenes of action and fantasy. What would a novel of Norsemen be without fighting and death? You get all that plus demons and shades and seers to boot. I also thought (similar to O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin) the relationship between the two protagonists was well done. Father Aillil and the warrior Erling Skjalgsson have an interesting friendship. In their own spheres (spiritual and political) they are superior and subordinate to each other and that makes for an interesting dynamic as political and spiritual redemption are at the heart of this story.
I don’t do thumbs or stars or whatever (I give it 4 Rufuses out of 5 — only because it didn’t have a Fiat or a Steely Dan reference). There’s a month of Summer left so if you’re looking for a good story with a bit of fantasy and a lot adventure then help a brother out and head out West Oversea.
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I greatly appreciate this positive review from one who is obviously both erudite and perceptive.
“The other protagonist is a warrior and leader named Erling Skjalgsson.”
That’s easy for you to say!
AIR-ling SHAWLG-son. Soon to be a household name.
It’s spelt “luxury yacht” pronounced, “throat warbler mangrove.”
Sounds like a ripping yarn, Lars! Seems like a natural for a screenplay…
Absolutely. We also do weddings and bar mitzvahs.
All my pleasure Lars. I didn’t want to tell you I was reading it until I was done one because I didn’t want you to fret (not that you care, but you know what I mean) and if by some stroke of ill-fortune it sucked I wouldn’t then be on the spot to lie!
It was a fun read and it would make a good movie. We lack good Viking films which is odd — because it’s such a mysterious, battle-laden time it seems obvious for a “300-type” — or more likely a Braveheart-type treatment. Instead a bunch of immature types focusing on their neo-pagan fanboy fantasies and blood eagles screw it up. Even Beowulf films get it wrong.
The stuff about the Danelaw would be an especially good vehicle for current social commentary in addition to the violence (sort of like Dark Knight).
Mel Gibson was working on a big Viking movie (in Old Norse), starring Leo DiCaprio, of all people. I’m assuming that’s in the crapper now. The best Viking movie remains The Vikings with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, and that’s pretty small praise indeed.
I realize it’s a bit late but congratulations plus one year on your book, Lars.
Thank you, TCW.
I’ll buy it. To me, a GREAT Viking film would be one based upon the Varangian Guard. You’d have the warrior qualities of the Vikings blended with the opulence and debauchery of Byzantium, both playing against their Muslim and Zoroastrian enemies.
Fun for everyone!
Now you mention it, you’re right. Culture shock plus action. But Muslims would be the bad guys, so it could never get made in the current Hollywood climate (unless the Christians were the heavies).
All this gels with what a lot of us Viking buffs have been saying for years–one of the greatest heroes of all time, the original Conan if there ever was one, was Harald Hardrada, who served as captain of the Varangian guard for several years before returning, loaded with plunder, to Norway where he became king. He died invading England in 1066. There’s an epic for you.
“what a lot of us Viking buffs”
So there are enough Viking buffs to have factions?
You have no idea. Seriously, we’ve schisms and hard feelings and people who won’t speak to each other. If I hear that a couple guys sharpened their swords and went at it for real one of these days, I wouldn’t be greatly surprised.
*wankette wanders in* So Lars — it’s the Viking version of Team Edward/Team Jacob? That’s so cute!
It’s always cute until somebody loses an eye.
Congrats, Lars! It sounds very interesting. I’ll read it!
Thanks Fritz. I’ll hold you to that.
“Viking buffs”? Think Wankette would prefer “buff Vikings”.
Buff, well-oiled Vikings in loin cloths… Cue swooning Wanks in 3, 2, 1…
Lars called Floyd “erudite and perceptive”.Now,see,Scandanavians do have a great sense of humor!
It really is a well-written novel, Lars. The characters are well-developed, the dialogue is natural, and the research is well-integrated into the flow of the story. I was surprised at the fantasy elements, but it was a pleasant surprise. You’ve blended realism with the fantastic in a way I haven’t seen outside of T. H. White. But without the tedious passages that I skip in his books.
Thank you. That means a lot.
I’ve got it in my “if I live so long I will read this” stack, along with the other of Lar’s books I’ve been able to acquire. The one book of his I’ve managed thus far (title escapes me; its about the English “priest” taken as slave back to Viking-dom where he finds faith and fights paganism — I especially enjoyed the dream wherein he encountered Thor’s idea of a just world) was excellent, credibly evoking a culture and time in which values and views of the-world-as-it-is were much different from our contemporary one. Any hack can write a world with the values of our current one; it takes talent and skill to present other points of view and make them credible.
On the movie front, Hadrada’s Saga (hard to believe I read that, way back when; SF author Poul Anderson used it as the basis for a trilogy which is still in my “to be read” pile) would indeed make a terrific film, especially when you consider that at its end, with Harold Godwinson victorious at Stamford Bridge, William the Bastard awaits him in the South. But the Islamic problem would certainly doom such a project (unless the Byzantine sojourn is curtailed) — a problem also shared by that other great character of Medieval Europe, Charlemagne; if The 300 wowed audiences, consider how Roland’s death at Roncesvalles would play. For that matter, Charles Martel would also seem an attractive figure for filmmakers.
The book you’re thinking of is either ERLING’S WORD, or THE YEAR OF THE WARRIOR (a double volume containing both EW and its sequel). WEST OVERSEA is the third in that series.
’twas Year of the Warrior, the double volume. Oddly enough I don’t stash my books readily to hand at the computer and am often just too d-lazy to look them up in available resources online … especially when I can manipulate others into remembering for me (a process generally referred to as “recall outsourcing”, something quite different from the politically preferred “thought outsourcing.”)
Thanks, LW, for the identification and the good read (especially with more in the offing.)
Let me add my voice to the growing throng: BUY THIS BOOK! (And get the rest of Lars’ back catalog; well worth the hunting.)
As has already been said, it’s a ripping good yarn. I’d go see an Erling/Aillil movie on opening night (as opposed to waiting until the DVD shows up in our local library, which is my usual habit).
Welcome to Threedonia, Roy! Don’t be a stranger.
He only answers to Your Benevolence.
We are still not amused.
Too late. I’m as strange as they come.
Well, if you hang out with Lars that’s no surprise…