A Song Of Steel: A Viking saga (The Light of the North saga Book 1)

Thought me a lot of history that if I ever knew I had forgotten. A realy gripping read . Cannot wait for the sequel

Great book from start to finish, it just makes you wonder how brutal life was then for the fighting peopke.

Very unusual story, great attention to detail.

A good read, well researched if a little heavy on black smithing, obvious the author wants to celebrate his smithing experience within his writing but maybe it’s a bit ott for the general reader. I’ll still read on though, as his writing is also strong on authentic period detail, hence fascinating. Good but not a great replacement for BC.

Usually I read books relating to military history, so this was the first time I had read anything like this. I know nothing about vikings and I loved reading this book from start to finish. I have the complete series and can't wait to read them.

I was lucky enough to get to an advance read of this.. or more than one, as I read a few different revisions of the book as it was being finished and adjusted and edited. And all those revisions come together in the version you are lucky enough to see here as he perfected the story.without adding spoilers, the book is set in a fictional 1100's where the vikings didn't stop going raiding and pillaging across europe, where they didn't settle and become traders. Imagine a time where the sight of sails coming out of the mists of the sea set most of europe to terror, with their wild warriors and pagan worshipping.now imagine them doing it in a europe united under the holy roman empire of the middle ages.what happens next is inevitable you might think. a crusade to passify the norse lands. to bring religion to the pagan norse.james character development are just one of his strength. his story unfolds naturally and you find yourself carried along on its wave (No pun intended... well ok, maybe a little). the characters and story develope naturally, with well timed action, balanced with the humanity of people just trying to survive and live in a world going mad as the europeans grapple among themselves for power and to extend their own influence.the result is the equal of any of the norse writers you have on your shelves. J.C.Duncan is a rising star of norse mythology and a song of steel will be a classic when the series gets finished

This book is so much fun! A Norse -inspired historical fantasy that puts the emphasis on fantasy whilst still managing to be incredibly historically accurate. There's so much about bladesmithing in here but not once does it border on tedious, on the contrary, I very much want to go swing a hammer on a forge now!!!!Switching POVs between Norsemen and Saxons you end up routing for both, knowing that is never going to end well and yet the ending still manages to be so satisfying.Onto book 2!

I just finished reading Song Of Steel today and it's been a thoroughly enjoyable read for me.JC Duncan writes in a way that it's easy to get into the story. The characers are well described and believable and I highly recommend this if you enjoy anything from this period, featuring Saxons and Vikings.This book is definitely up there with Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series.