The Hammer and the Cross

This is a nice book, and well-written in a paragraph-by-paragraph sense. It is sort of a pseudo-historical fiction, connecting the legend of the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok with the rise of Alfred the Great. The authors do so by introducing an ingenious character who gets into an arms race with the Ragnarssons.

It's a neat idea, but the story doesn't really “pop,” and it is somewhat old-fashioned. It came out in 1990 (as far as I could tell), but the way the authors handle point of view and story progression makes it feel like it could have come out in 1960. No disrespect to 1960, but the way point of view was handled was often confusing, even irritating. This is a story that could have really been made more interesting by female perspectives, instead of the men just grunting and grumbling and wondering what was going on with the women who were pivotal to the plot. Ultimately, though, the plot is somewhat unclear, particularly because the book just goes on too long. I found it quite hard to finish.