Erik the Red

by Tilman Roehrig

Overview

Erik the Red was born to become legend!


Love and destruction, toil and triumph blend in a gripping historical fiction account of the life of Erik the Red, taking him from the Iceland into the great unknown as he searches for his place in the world.

Exiled from his homeland of Norway as a boy, Erik Thorvladsson wants nothing more than to honor his father’s legacy and to figure out where he belongs in the world. But to claim and cultivate his own homestead is no easy task.

Navigating natural disasters, violent clashes, and banishment, he seeks his fortunes in an Iceland on the brink of change. But when a conflict over property erupts into violence, Erik is outlawed from the country for three years and sets off on his greatest challenge of all.

Assembling a group of settlers, he and his family sail west into uncertainty, hoping to finally find a green and prosperous land to call their own.

"A mysterious death and a fantastical curse add light intrigue while mature sexual situations make this a great crossover novel for adult readers." Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646900039
Publisher:	Arctis
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tilman Roehrig has been a writer for over four decades. His novels have been translated into over nine languages. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Great Culture Prize of the Rhine region. His previous YA historical novel, Erik the Red, was published in English by Arctis in Spring 2021. He lives near Cologne, Germany.

Editorial Reviews

Tying together each episode are fascinating details of everyday Viking life and culture, including sexual mores, the treatment of slaves, and the legal and social status of women (although it unfortunately does not include an author’s note or references). A mysterious death and a fantastical curse add light intrigue while mature sexual situations make this a great crossover novel for adult readers....Very Viking, indeed.

Kirkus Reviews

2020-11-26
This German import traces the adventures of the Viking Erik the Red.

Following his banishment from Norway, Erik’s father relocated the family to Iceland. When he dies, his red-haired, 20-year-old son, Erik, finds himself the last of his clan. With 17-year-old Tyrkir, his family’s German-born slave, in tow, Erik sets out to find a wife. His quick marriage to 18-year-old Thjodhild, founded on exaggerated claims of his wealth, sets in motion a life of cinematic adventures. As one would expect from Viking tales, Erik’s early escapades are quick-paced, violent, and often involve avenging honor. When a fight leads to his banishment, Erik’s time away results in his founding of Greenland. Later the narration focuses on his son, Leif, who encounters a Hebridean sorceress and makes a history-changing voyage of his own. The emphasis on Leif’s conversion to Christianity and resulting clash with his father slows down the story. Tying together each episode are fascinating details of everyday Viking life and culture, including sexual mores, the treatment of slaves, and the legal and social status of women (although it unfortunately does not include an author’s note or references). A mysterious death and a fantastical curse add light intrigue while mature sexual situations make this a great crossover novel for adult readers. Originally published in 1999, the book presents the wholly ethnically Scandinavian Vikings of popular imagination.

Very Viking, indeed. (index of names) (Historical fiction. 15-adult)

Kirkus Reviews