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The Viking #2
The Lethal Oath
The Lethal Oath is the second book in The Viking Series. It's a historical action-adventure novella with Sigve the Awful as the main character. The story is set in Norway in the late Viking Age.
In the book, Sigve enters into a hot erotic relationship with Yljali. She is a mysterious thrall girl and the only person who knows secret of Sigve's sword. She knows the slayer rune, the spell that quickens the sword and gives its wielder superhuman strength.
Despite his young age - and mostly because of the slayer rune - Sigve has gained reputation as a swordsman. In the beginning of the book, Sigve becomes the youngest chieftain in King Godred realm. During the inaugural feast, on his sword, he swears a sacred oath, only to discover it stands in the way of his getting Yljali in bed.
Sigve breaks the oaths with dire consequences. His sexual desire gets out of control; he finds himself in conflict with both his mother and his captain of arms, and he gets deeply involved in the war between King Godred and Harald Greyfell, two mighty kings. Soon Sigve has to fight for Yljali, for the people at Vik, and for his own survival.
The Lethal Oath has many unique characters, such as Odd the Squinter, Skarphedin the Second-Sighted, Sigrunn Silkyhair, Kale Curved-Cock, and his daughter, the Body. They all play pivotal roles in the plot. So does Odin, to whom the oath is sworn. According to Grim, Sigve's one-eyed tutor, everyone's life is entangled in the great struggle between order and chaos, a fact Sigve ignores, blinded as he is by his lust for Yljali.
In the book, Sigve enters into a hot erotic relationship with Yljali. She is a mysterious thrall girl and the only person who knows secret of Sigve's sword. She knows the slayer rune, the spell that quickens the sword and gives its wielder superhuman strength.
Despite his young age - and mostly because of the slayer rune - Sigve has gained reputation as a swordsman. In the beginning of the book, Sigve becomes the youngest chieftain in King Godred realm. During the inaugural feast, on his sword, he swears a sacred oath, only to discover it stands in the way of his getting Yljali in bed.
Sigve breaks the oaths with dire consequences. His sexual desire gets out of control; he finds himself in conflict with both his mother and his captain of arms, and he gets deeply involved in the war between King Godred and Harald Greyfell, two mighty kings. Soon Sigve has to fight for Yljali, for the people at Vik, and for his own survival.
The Lethal Oath has many unique characters, such as Odd the Squinter, Skarphedin the Second-Sighted, Sigrunn Silkyhair, Kale Curved-Cock, and his daughter, the Body. They all play pivotal roles in the plot. So does Odin, to whom the oath is sworn. According to Grim, Sigve's one-eyed tutor, everyone's life is entangled in the great struggle between order and chaos, a fact Sigve ignores, blinded as he is by his lust for Yljali.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 18, 2013
About the author
John Snow
5 books17 followersJohn Snow is the author of "The Slayer Rune", a historical action-adventure novel from the Viking Age with Sigve the Awful as the main character. "The Slayer Rune" is the first book in "The Viking Series".
John lives in Norway with his wife and two sons. He has a deep interest in literature and mythology, especially Norse mythology, and in Viking history. One day, when his wife watched him sitting among his books and computers, she asked why he didn't write a Viking story. "If you find a good pen-name, I will," he said.
Other books in the series are "The Lethal Oath", "The Red Gold", "The Bitch Queen" and "The Viking War".
John lives in Norway with his wife and two sons. He has a deep interest in literature and mythology, especially Norse mythology, and in Viking history. One day, when his wife watched him sitting among his books and computers, she asked why he didn't write a Viking story. "If you find a good pen-name, I will," he said.
Other books in the series are "The Lethal Oath", "The Red Gold", "The Bitch Queen" and "The Viking War".
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 12, 2013
I thank John Snow for this novella.
The style of writing I found akin to Tim Severin’s Viking series; it reads also like any of the fine Norse-style Sagas available these days but has the advantage of being far less epic. Do not misunderstand me when I say that, it is by no means boring - it is realistic – and story does well for this. There are no one man bloody stands against thirty pagans; this means when violence and action does occur it is very believable and you can see how it affects the characters that live through it on a personal level.
There is a darkness to this tale too, and it can leave you uncomfortable, but what do you expect from a book of bloodthirsty Vikings?
A good pace, meticulously researched and a cracking yarn. I give this 4 out 5 stars, the only thing that prevents me from rating it as a 5 is more of a selfish reason – I want to see Sigve in a full length novel with twists, turns and more danger!
Well done John, keep it coming!
The style of writing I found akin to Tim Severin’s Viking series; it reads also like any of the fine Norse-style Sagas available these days but has the advantage of being far less epic. Do not misunderstand me when I say that, it is by no means boring - it is realistic – and story does well for this. There are no one man bloody stands against thirty pagans; this means when violence and action does occur it is very believable and you can see how it affects the characters that live through it on a personal level.
There is a darkness to this tale too, and it can leave you uncomfortable, but what do you expect from a book of bloodthirsty Vikings?
A good pace, meticulously researched and a cracking yarn. I give this 4 out 5 stars, the only thing that prevents me from rating it as a 5 is more of a selfish reason – I want to see Sigve in a full length novel with twists, turns and more danger!
Well done John, keep it coming!
August 12, 2013
The Lethal Oath by John Snow
Steven D. Malone rated The Lethal Oath by John Snow 4 Stars
Growing up Viking or how to be your own worst enemy.
John Snow scores again with his series of Viking tales in the 2nd installment. We watch Sigve struggle to make his place as a man and a Viking chieftain in his violent land. We watch him struggle with his driven desire with the mysterious Ylajali. Is his desire for her his fatal flaw - is she, in the end, his bane?
New characters vividly drawn infuse the story with depth and interest. My old familiar friends come back and I am glad to see them.
As with other readers, I gave The Lethal Oath 4 stars because I too wanted a fuller tale, novel length. Sigve the Awful deserved it. Sigve's story deserved it.
The Lethal Oath entertains.
Steven D. Malone rated The Lethal Oath by John Snow 4 Stars
Growing up Viking or how to be your own worst enemy.
John Snow scores again with his series of Viking tales in the 2nd installment. We watch Sigve struggle to make his place as a man and a Viking chieftain in his violent land. We watch him struggle with his driven desire with the mysterious Ylajali. Is his desire for her his fatal flaw - is she, in the end, his bane?
New characters vividly drawn infuse the story with depth and interest. My old familiar friends come back and I am glad to see them.
As with other readers, I gave The Lethal Oath 4 stars because I too wanted a fuller tale, novel length. Sigve the Awful deserved it. Sigve's story deserved it.
The Lethal Oath entertains.
May 11, 2022
Entertaining reading.
The Lethal Oath is a will written novel with interesting will developed characters. The story line concerns the history of the Vikings or the author's interpretation. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys will written novels. Enjoy reading. 2018
The Lethal Oath is a will written novel with interesting will developed characters. The story line concerns the history of the Vikings or the author's interpretation. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys will written novels. Enjoy reading. 2018
July 25, 2016
I shall start by saying this book is worth a read if you like a good action romp and aren't the easily embarassed type, I say this now as I didn't want to lead with the next paragraph in case it gave a wrong impression.
The core story is decent and moves at a decent pace with the odd twist thrown in, though in truth not unforseeable ones. The book as mentioned in previous reviews is somewhat sexually explicit and whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing if written in the right context, here it comes off as overblown and little immature. I kind of got the feeling the author was trying in some way to show the depth of feeling the main character has for another of the characters, however he just came off as sex obsessed and a little bit stalker like to be truthful.
However if you can stomach all of that the action is good, the characters for the most part though imperfect in the context of the story, are largely well written. Worth a read for the price.
The core story is decent and moves at a decent pace with the odd twist thrown in, though in truth not unforseeable ones. The book as mentioned in previous reviews is somewhat sexually explicit and whilst that's not necessarily a bad thing if written in the right context, here it comes off as overblown and little immature. I kind of got the feeling the author was trying in some way to show the depth of feeling the main character has for another of the characters, however he just came off as sex obsessed and a little bit stalker like to be truthful.
However if you can stomach all of that the action is good, the characters for the most part though imperfect in the context of the story, are largely well written. Worth a read for the price.
April 22, 2016
An Unsettling Story
This book overly dwelt on the protagonist's inner thoughts too much. The semi-pornographic scenes and descriptions were so overdone that the plot was almost lost. It had few literary redeeming qualities.
This book overly dwelt on the protagonist's inner thoughts too much. The semi-pornographic scenes and descriptions were so overdone that the plot was almost lost. It had few literary redeeming qualities.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews