Call of the Wolf

Viking Chronicles #1

by Paul W. Perkins

Brutality is what they were known for; marauders forged in the icy north. Yet, Vikings weren't always looters and thieves. They honored home and the land, community and friends. Magnus, son of Vargr, wanted to see the world more than anything else, but his dream collided with the ruthless spread of Charlemagne's kingdom. Two lives destined to change the course of history; the fate of families for generations to come.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2015

About the author

For an author writing is as necessary as breathing. They don't write for money or to court literary fame, but because they believe they have something to say. It matters not that anyone will read or listen, the words must be written, and if in the process someone is blessed -- all the more wonderful

Dr. Perkins has written for a long time, but only recently has sought to publish his work and venture into new genres. He believes in education, finally earning his doctorate at the age of 55. He believes that learning never ends, giving fodder to the imagination and breathing life into the characters on his page. His hope is to continue telling stories for a new generation of readers and aspiring authors.

Dr. Perkins' first novel is "Centurion: From glory to glory", but is not his first book. He has written "Legacy to my sons", "The Lost Shepherd", "The prayer of a transformed life", "The Cost", and a verity of Christian Youth Devotionals.

Reviews

[Merhababob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first in this series of books. It was well written (although in the Kindle version there were a few typos).
The start of each chapter was headed by the year in the stories timeline. This was helpful as there were moments I needed to refer back to it to ensure I knew when events actually took place as each chapter (like many books) jumped from character to character and their individual plights throughout the story.
I did get 'involved' in the story and have now moved onto the second installment, which is getting me invested further.
I wouldn't necessarily say this is the best book I've ever read but am definitely enjoying it.

[Emmaa22 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Viking drama - but I (unusually) couldn't finish it - the story leapt about all over the place and none of the individual chapters were engaging enough to suck me in and make me want to follow it through to the end. Some of the chapters had some relevance to the title, but I wasn't drawn in or intrigued.

[kattie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Call of of the wolf

I liked this story, I recommend everyone to read this book, I look forward to reading more of her books. Kattie

[G Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disjointed

A mishmash of characters with little story line to bind them. Overall theme lost in the anarchy. Would be better as a series of short stories.

[F E W Timberlake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

An interesting story but a little difficult to follow at times. The story seemed to jump from one environment to another without any explanation.

[Yibbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It held my interest, and I know more about Viking mythology than I did before. I was pleasantly surprised by how clean it was. The language was clean. Other situations, wedding celebrations and burial rituals, were handled with delicacy.
But I felt lost through most of the book. The story got starts out following one warrior and then drops him and jumps to another boy, then to that boy's son. When I had figured out that the first man wasn’t coming back and was settling into the story of the father and son, it took a sudden jump to another kingdom and from there into the court of Charlemagne. I was so lost. Finally, right at the end, it started pulling together. Maybe it would have helped if I had paid more attention to the dates at the top of the pages. The transitions were just too abrupt. For example, Mangus is a young man longing to go to sea, but set on another quest by his father; then he’s steering a ship and thinking about his son who’s 12. There wasn’t a bit of transition.
Each section was interesting. You were drawn right into the action and setting. Unfortunately, they weren’t put together well.
Oh, and who exactly is the hero of this story? Mangus? Arne? Ogier? King Sigfred? Gunfred? Charlemagne?
I couldn’t tell you what this book is really about. Could it be a slightly novelized history textbook? Is it a tragedy? Is it a heroic saga? An extraordinarily long prequel? A history of religious conflicts? It’s some of all of the above, but not really any of them to any depth.
There is a lot of talk about the struggle between the god’s of the Vikings and the Christian God. It has a distinct Catholic flavor. The author manages to stay strictly neutral. His characters line up on either side, but I couldn’t tell which side he favored if any.

[Richard R., Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were good but I got confused at times with the flow of the book. Most of the chapters had a year included in the chapter title but at times it seem to add to the confusion of the flow of the book. Also, there were incidents that were given a whole chapter and then are never referred to again. For example, early in the book Magnus, a main character, was severely wounded on a botched trading voyage but we never hear about the wound or his recover again. The individual vignettes are well written and interesting but there is no cohesion to the book.