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Corban Loosestrife’s son Conn is a clever and strong leader of men; his cousin, the god-touched Raef, is his shield and navigator. They have joined a fur-trading ship to Russia, and are forced to over-winter in Novgorod. While there, they take service with the leader of the Rus, Dobrynya, and with him travel south to Kiev, and then on with a raiding party into the northern reaches of the Byzantine Empire. With vivid description and passionate characters, Cecelia Holland takes the reader back to a time when heroes voyaged to the far corners of the known world. Whether fighting the ice in a deep Russian winter, sailing down a great river in a dragon ship, or wandering the elegant streets of the Black Sea city of Chersonese, Holland makes it real.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Cecelia Holland
76 books210 followersPen name used by Elizabeth Eliot Carter.
Cecelia Holland is one of the world's most highly acclaimed and respected historical novelists, ranked by many alongside other giants in that field such as Mary Renault and Larry McMurtry. Over the span of her thirty year career, she's written almost thirty historical novels, including The Firedrake, Rakessy, Two Ravens, Ghost on the Steppe, Death of Attila, Hammer For Princes, The King's Road, Pillar of the Sky, The Lords of Vaumartin, Pacific Street, Sea Beggars, The Earl, The King in Winter, The Belt of Gold, The Serpent Dreamer, The High City, Kings of the North, and a series of fantasy novels, including The Soul Thief, The Witches Kitchen, The Serpent Dreamer, and Varanger. She also wrote the well-known science fiction novel Floating Worlds, which was nominated for a Locus Award in 1975. Her most recent book is a new fantasy novel, Dragon Heart.
Cecelia Holland is one of the world's most highly acclaimed and respected historical novelists, ranked by many alongside other giants in that field such as Mary Renault and Larry McMurtry. Over the span of her thirty year career, she's written almost thirty historical novels, including The Firedrake, Rakessy, Two Ravens, Ghost on the Steppe, Death of Attila, Hammer For Princes, The King's Road, Pillar of the Sky, The Lords of Vaumartin, Pacific Street, Sea Beggars, The Earl, The King in Winter, The Belt of Gold, The Serpent Dreamer, The High City, Kings of the North, and a series of fantasy novels, including The Soul Thief, The Witches Kitchen, The Serpent Dreamer, and Varanger. She also wrote the well-known science fiction novel Floating Worlds, which was nominated for a Locus Award in 1975. Her most recent book is a new fantasy novel, Dragon Heart.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 13, 2014
I will admit that my Scandinavian heritage gives me the right to be prejudiced. I like books about Vikings. And I have been reading books by Cecelia Holland for more than 20 years now, and I love them. So this book was a win/win for me.
Two young men have taken the Viking path-also known as 'Varanger'- in the 10th century, and are in the land of the Rus, going wherever their swords and luck will lead them. They hope to follow the river road in Russia down to the Black Sea, and Constantinople. But until they get there...
Holland's style is terse and brief, but highly descriptive. She uses the names of the times, which is confusing, but it adds a great deal to the story.
Loved this book. And looking for the others in the series.
Two young men have taken the Viking path-also known as 'Varanger'- in the 10th century, and are in the land of the Rus, going wherever their swords and luck will lead them. They hope to follow the river road in Russia down to the Black Sea, and Constantinople. But until they get there...
Holland's style is terse and brief, but highly descriptive. She uses the names of the times, which is confusing, but it adds a great deal to the story.
Loved this book. And looking for the others in the series.
September 24, 2017
Fascinating.
It is strange that I can still remember so much of this from Russian Sunday school 50 years ago - the Rus and Rurik and even Sviatopolk. We were lucky - or unlucky enough - to have Professor Nicholas Riasonovsky teaching our small group of expat Russian kids. He was more interested in teaching us early Russian history than Biblical bits, and I guess it stuck.
This book is of course part of a series, so I do not have the wherewithal to put the story line into context, but it can easily be read and enjoyed as a stand alone. What struck me most while reading Varanger was how empty of humans the world was barely a thousand years ago. Yet now, when you look from space, there are very few dark corners left. Everything was possible, and everything was new, just as every bend in the river as well as the treasures left behind in the Chersonese are to Raef. The gods were still a tossup but even then already a source of power struggles and killing.
A little known piece of history is well presented here. Enjoy!
It is strange that I can still remember so much of this from Russian Sunday school 50 years ago - the Rus and Rurik and even Sviatopolk. We were lucky - or unlucky enough - to have Professor Nicholas Riasonovsky teaching our small group of expat Russian kids. He was more interested in teaching us early Russian history than Biblical bits, and I guess it stuck.
This book is of course part of a series, so I do not have the wherewithal to put the story line into context, but it can easily be read and enjoyed as a stand alone. What struck me most while reading Varanger was how empty of humans the world was barely a thousand years ago. Yet now, when you look from space, there are very few dark corners left. Everything was possible, and everything was new, just as every bend in the river as well as the treasures left behind in the Chersonese are to Raef. The gods were still a tossup but even then already a source of power struggles and killing.
A little known piece of history is well presented here. Enjoy!
December 6, 2020
I keep accidentally picking up this series (reading order: 2, 5, 4) and they keep being neither awful nor great. A nice Viking bromance here. Another slow-boiler that picked up at about the halfway point.
December 11, 2014
I randomly picked this up off the library shelf and did not see anything on or in the book that indicated it was in a series. Though in fact, after I started reading it and checked on Goodreads it is #4 in a series. Fortunately, that didn't matter as it read very well as a stand-alone. Though I will be going back to book #1 in the series and starting there.
We are introduced to Conn & Raef Corbansson, cousins who are traveling the world together. They are fighting men and Vikings. They have just ended a work pledge/contract with a man named Thorfinn, but since they are so far North and it is Winter they have to spend the season in that town. While there they come across the leader of the neighboring town that invites them on a war quest with him.
At first, I found the style of writing a little detached and for a bit did not think I would finish it. However, about a quarter of the way in I found myself very invested in Conn and Raef, curious as to where life was going to lead them. I thought the brotherly bond and love that was shown between them was very true to life. I liked, and disliked several of the side characters. One of the ones I liked was Merike, a hun slave Conn captures. Her interactions with the cousins were a little highlight of the book for me.
The biggest delight was the way the Raef and Conn were such a strong unit, relying on each other, always trusting the other would be there for them. This is the type of love/bond most of us would love to have. Mrs.Holland really did such a wonderful job conveying that.
The ending crushed me. Major spoiler, don't read if you haven't read the book!!!
My only point of trouble was that there was no map. I don't really know this area of the world well, and a map would have been SO GREAT!!!
We are introduced to Conn & Raef Corbansson, cousins who are traveling the world together. They are fighting men and Vikings. They have just ended a work pledge/contract with a man named Thorfinn, but since they are so far North and it is Winter they have to spend the season in that town. While there they come across the leader of the neighboring town that invites them on a war quest with him.
At first, I found the style of writing a little detached and for a bit did not think I would finish it. However, about a quarter of the way in I found myself very invested in Conn and Raef, curious as to where life was going to lead them. I thought the brotherly bond and love that was shown between them was very true to life. I liked, and disliked several of the side characters. One of the ones I liked was Merike, a hun slave Conn captures. Her interactions with the cousins were a little highlight of the book for me.
The biggest delight was the way the Raef and Conn were such a strong unit, relying on each other, always trusting the other would be there for them. This is the type of love/bond most of us would love to have. Mrs.Holland really did such a wonderful job conveying that.
The ending crushed me. Major spoiler, don't read if you haven't read the book!!!
My only point of trouble was that there was no map. I don't really know this area of the world well, and a map would have been SO GREAT!!!
January 16, 2012
Varanger follows The Serpent Dreamer in Cecelia Holland's Corban Loosestrife saga, picking up the narrative where The Witches' Kitchen left off. The narrative setting returns to the Old World, as we follow Corban's sons Conn and Raef, who find themselves working essentially as Viking mercenaries, passed from one employer to the next, until they find themselves helping to lead a Russian expedition to take over a Greek city, located on the Black Sea. The setting moves southward; we go from where Christianity is only beginning to gain converts, toward the very heart of all the Abrahamic religions. We encounter the struggles for influence being played out among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, and some customs of the Middle East permeate the culture of Conn & Raef's new locales. In this southward migration, too, we encounter new battlefield technologies exported from Rome and Constantinople. As with the best of Holland's books, the narrative builds to a large-scale battle, told in convincing, engrossing, and thought-provoking detail. .
As usual with Holland, social-historical aspects are all in place. New cultures are on display, including details of their day-to-day lives, customs, government, technology, and even their economy--all neatly intertwined with the story. Raef's reflections on religion sustain the character-developmental side of the narrative equation. It leaves me enthusiastic about picking up the next one in the series.
As usual with Holland, social-historical aspects are all in place. New cultures are on display, including details of their day-to-day lives, customs, government, technology, and even their economy--all neatly intertwined with the story. Raef's reflections on religion sustain the character-developmental side of the narrative equation. It leaves me enthusiastic about picking up the next one in the series.
October 13, 2011
This is my favorite of the Soul Thief series. It follows Raef and Conn Corbansson through Rus (old Russia, a melting pot of Vikings, Slavs, Huns, Arabs, etc.) and south towards the Black Sea. It's mostly an adventure and warring tale, but still has a bit of romance and heart, especially at the end. It does a good job of capturing the Viking spirit and of portraying the cultural sea change that happened as Russia embraced Byzantinism. It also explores what it might have been like for a Norseman to encounter classical culture and the imperial mindset.
Raef is my favorite character of the series, and he shines here. Holland does some of the best writing about sailing and sea battles that I've read, and that is plentiful here, too.
Read on the Nook- Nook version is clean.
Raef is my favorite character of the series, and he shines here. Holland does some of the best writing about sailing and sea battles that I've read, and that is plentiful here, too.
Read on the Nook- Nook version is clean.
September 7, 2010
Vikings!!! Who would have thought there was a sub-genre of romance/magic/fantasy/adventure/historical fiction about vikings? Why wasn't I informed? Brave men, beautiful women, blood, treachery, longships, gold, swords, battling faiths.
Probably I won't find a lot of great truths revealed, but I'm diving in.
Probably I won't find a lot of great truths revealed, but I'm diving in.
October 23, 2022
It has been a while since I read the book, but all Holland’s books flow easily, grab and hold your interest. Angel and the Sword was the first that I read, then I continued to read with enjoyment all her other books that our library had available.
If you like Bernard Cornwell, such as his Saxon Series/The Last Kingdom — then you’ll enjoy Hollands.
If you like Bernard Cornwell, such as his Saxon Series/The Last Kingdom — then you’ll enjoy Hollands.
December 28, 2008
I usually like this author but I couldn't get into this book. I didn't even finish it. I have too many other good books waiting to be read so I didn't want to waste time on a books I wasn't enjoying.
March 23, 2010
Not on the literary plain with Soul Thief. The death of a primary character left the tale empty.
November 2, 2013
I enjoyed this series. It is a shame I started with book 5. The author does an outstanding job of creating times past.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews