The Viking

The Viking Blood and Blade Saga

by Peter Gibbons

If you like Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, Simon Scarrow, George R R Martin, and David Gemmell, you will love this epic Viking adventure, packed with battles, heroes, brutal combat, and historical adventure.

Before the Viking Blood and Blade saga, there was Ragnar Lothbrok, Ivar the Boneless, and the warship Seaworm

Einar, a young Northman… a Dane with dreams of becoming a warrior… a cruel world where reputation, weapon skill, and the luck of the gods matter above all things.

Ragnar Lothbrok and Sten Sleggya sail the Whale Road building their legend. Einar joins the crew of Ragnar’s son, Ivar the Boneless who must fight a war of vengeance. Einar fights to forge a warriors reputation under the glare of his fearsome shipmates, but to do that he must battle fearsome Viking enemies, the most savage of which is part of his own crew…

Discover how Einar became The Brawler in this fast paced prequel to Peter Gibbons' Viking Blood and Blade saga, featuring old friends, unforgettable characters and stunning battles.

Genres: Historical Fiction

299 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2025

About the author

I am an author based in Kildare in Ireland, with a passion for Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and of course writing! My books include the Viking Blood and Blade Saga and the Saxon Warrior Series. You can visit my own website at www.petermgibbons.com or find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Peter-Gibbon...

Reviews

[David Simms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it’s another absolute classic from Peter Gibbons, I literally couldn’t put this book down, his books just seem to get better and better. Big shout out to Peter Gibbons for these amazing books, anyone who reads medieval Viking/Anglo Saxon books he’s about the best out there by a country mile.

[Kerry Hennigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first reading of a Peter Gibbons novel, and I was thoroughly caught up in the red blooded action and friendships and enmities of his characters. The battle scenes are some of the most heart-pounding I've ever read, and truly bring home the horrors of what early medieval hand to hand combat must have been like. I appreciate the awareness of the fates of innocent by-standers, in particular the women and children caught up in raids simply by being in the wrong place. This helped me, as the reader, to have empathy for Gibbons' young Viking protagonist.

[Thomas Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Einar a young man and over the course of this book became a great carl and viking drengr.
This book is a prequel to the previous 10 in this series and it did not disappoint! Yes Hundr was not in this book, sad to say. But we did have a great character Einar and his rise to drengr in a short time.
I hope there is a sequel to this prequel. King Herald needs to be avenged. This would be a great battle if author agrees to write it!

[Peter Hendrycks · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had been a while since I had read the Viking series books, so it took a while to famiarize to the characters again. This book is well written, and has plenty of action and gore. After reading this book, it made me appreciate those few old Vikings, who survived numerous battles, and told the tales. Most men did not live that long. Watching Einar grow and mature, gaining respect is what this book is all about. I only wished the author had started with this book, and not done a prequel.

[Mark Pavey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting prequel

A good way to introduce the hero of the Viking saga. Einer the brawler is a believable character who inhabits the story and makes it feel real. I now understand the rest of the series.

[Kevin Burr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great origin story for Einar the Brawler.

Rinse was a great character in Peter Gibbons' Viking Blood and Blade series. This book tells of his journey from bail boy to fully fledged Carl. Well worth a read.

[Mrs.M.Clews · Rating 5 out of 5]

breath holding

So gripping and believable. I recently returned from a cruise to the Norwegian fiord. This book became more vivid in my mind as I saw the warriors fighting in places, now vividly in my mind. I hope to read more books in this series

[Sierra Serinese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thriller

Wow. What an exciting read. So much mire than your typical Viking war novel. Interesting characters and sub plots were extremely entertaining. Might read it twice!!

[don phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

Sometimes the story felt padded out with tales that had no Bering on the story but it was good to read about a character from previous books

[Mancha Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I absolutely love this book and Peter is freaking awesome for writing this book. Cant wait to read more from him

[James Tierney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read !

Peter Gibbons does it again . East to read , page turning saga that ends …. All too quickly !

[Shane Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular! Love Ívarr. 5⭐️

[Maryellen Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story of how Einar the Brawler started out. Exciting read.

[Wayne Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!!

Well written, great story, you must read it.
The saga books are a great read and capture your attention and imagination, from beginning to end.