The Long Ships

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Frans Gunnar Bengtsson’s The Long Ships resurrects the fantastic world of the 10th century when the Vikings roamed & rampaged from the northern fastnesses of Scandinavia down to the Mediterranean. Bengtsson’s hero, Red Orm—canny, courageous & above all lucky—is only a boy when he is abducted from his Danish home by the Vikings & made to take his place at the oars of their dragon-prowed ships. Orm is then captured by the Moors in Spain, where he's initiated into the pleasures of the senses & fights for the Caliph of Cordova. Escaping from captivity, Orm washes up in Ireland, where he marvels at those epicene creatures, the Christian monks, & from which he then moves on to play an ever more important part in the intrigues of the various Scandinavian kings, clans & dependencies. Eventually, Orm contributes to the Viking defeat of the army of the king of England & returns home an off-the-cuff Christian & a very rich man, tho back on his native turf new trials & tribulations will test his cunning & determination. Packed with pitched battles & blood feuds & told throughout with wit & high spirits, Bengtsson’s book is a splendid adventure that features one of the most unexpectedly winning heroes in modern fiction.