The United States of Vinland: Four Tales From Norse America: The Landing, Young Ravens and Hidden Blades, Red Winter, and Loki's Rage

by Colin Taber

Welcome to Norse America!In this collection you will find the first four instalments of a grand retelling of history. The beginnings of a glorious saga befitting the Viking age!The Norse settled Greenland in 985AD and reached continental North America not long after - almost five centuries before Columbus - but left.What if they had stayed?Imagine what may have happened, how the world we know might be different…Would the British still have built their great empire? What of the Spanish, Portuguese and French imperial expansions?What about the two catastrophic world wars our timeline has endured?Would there still have been some kind of American Revolution and Civil War? In such an alternate history, might the American Bible Belt celebrate the All-Father Odin, Freya and Thor instead of Jesus Christ?



What kind of America might have arisen?We begin with The Landing as the Norse arrive on the shores of what we know as Canada's Labrador. From there we will watch the first of them explore, live, love and in some cases fall. In time they will raise halls and found their first settlements as their colonies spread. They will meet other peoples and face great challenges. Bitter winters will come, but they will be followed by hope-filled springs. And all the while the Norse Gods will look upon the work of their mortal followers as a new civilisation grows.Join me as we rewrite history!This boxed set

United States of Vinland #1: The Landing A Short Tale From Norse America #1: Young Ravens & Hidden BladesUnited States of Vinland #2: Red Winter United States of Vinland #3: Loki's Rage Over 1300 pages of Viking exploration and adventure!United States of Vinland #4: Odin's Hall will release in the second half of 2022.

Genres: Alternate History, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

1190 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2018

About the author

Colin Taber lives in Sydney, Australia. He's done many things over the years, from working in banking, to retail, dish-pigging, publishing, landscape design, and even tree farming. All he really wants to do, though, is to be left to write. Thankfully that day is now here..

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a long book. I quit reading for awhile to read something else and then picked it up again. No explicit sex, but quite a lot of violence as there is a war that goes on between the original inhabitants, who become slaves to two groups of settlers and those who have enslaved them. The group of settlers who don't have slaves are also involved as they help their fellow Norse. There is a lot that goes on before and after this war. When I was finished I wanted to know what happens after where the book left of. I think there is a sequel and I want to read it.

[Koit · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure this qualifies as very thoughtful literature, but it was definitely easy to read. Mr Taber’s adventures in the Labrador/Newfoundland area were quite fun, if not very complex — and by which I mean that one could probably guess the ending of the series from the first book. But, that’s not always a bad thing.

I did start questioning how far this cliche-riddled attitude would go, but fortunately it found it’s natural course between two crazed brothers, a noble soul, and serving the Norse gods. There could have been more of a description of how Norse life occurred. At present, there is talk of farmsteads, villages, and people spreading from vale to vale, but there’s little detail.

And, of course, what I would have liked to see a lot more was a good description of the natural wilderness of ‘Norse Markland’ along with the ups or downs of it. Similarly, the ‘Valefolk’ were pretty random in how they came into the story, what they believed, how they behaved, etc… — again, much more could have been interwoven into the story to actually describe some aspects of this new world the Norse went to.

So, there wasn’t perhaps as much world-building than I hoped going in, but it still makes for a solid adventure story. While this series is not going to win any prizes, I am more than likely to continue on with the next instalment when it comes out.

This review was originally posted on my blog.

[Mrs · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise had so much potential. What would happen if the North American Continent was settled by a different group of Europeans? How would the history unfold, would it be one country, 20...?

Instead, the author got lost in the weeds of brutal war between two groups of men from the same original settlement event. One holding a grudge over the other for an unjust murder. There was little to no character development and as a result, I had little affection for anyone in the story. Half way through the book, we were still in the early days of this on-going fight between a crazy blood thirsty and brutal man and his clan and a (more) kind and accepting man and his clan...

At the half way point, when i found myself quickly thumbing through the pages looking for a point when I didn't read about battle axes to the head.... I gave it up. There are too many other books that are better done to justify wasting my time trying to like this book. If you are into hand to hand combat and love pre-modern war epics, then this might just be the book for you... Otherwise... save your time.

[Catherine K Goodell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise, slow start

I want to like this book much more than I do. The writing is clumsy, pace is glacial and there are far too many pages of generic battle scenes. And I'm hoping for more character development, with the principals at least being given an interior life to make them more than pawns for the plot.
However, i will continue reading.

[Mary Fielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darn good tale

I am looking for to more of this series. Vikings and the challenges of the new world, what more could you want.

[Thomas Iles · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written

I was often lost. There is little to no character development. Zero plot and endless wording that just goes on and on. On and on going nowhere!

You might think a 50 page battle great. Said antagonist is hunted down as a dog and then it just goes on and on and on. 50 pages plus and goes in circles without even any good battle scenarios.

That is no spoiler either for nigh every such situation encountered it is the same. The book is boring as hell and it just gets worse, in the few battles that do exist! It stinks. It's hero's are boring. The enemies to evil. Yet hmm also brothers!?!?

Sadly I think the author is one of those modern Norse gods freaks and this is his attempt to frame it down our throats!
Odin kin n as me hinnie!

[Ann McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm half-way through book 3- interesting premise, but I was really hoping to see more of what the modern world would have been like had the Norse developed the land, and did Christianity finally come to the people there. These books don't cover much territory- 20 years after the landing, etc, and the same people, so no real story development, and very violent- much axing and swording and beheading- but I'm finding a certain "intrigue" to it, so I'll finish the series and hope that Colin Taber puts some more out.

[joseph rodgers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read three of the U S of Vinland books so far -- It's getting to be a bit of a "shaggy dog" story in that the last two books have reiterated a lot of the material (virtually word-for-word) from the first book. It seems we are no further along in the saga although there is more detail given on events that have already been written of. Not very conducive to purchase more of the series.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Very well written. Hard to put down. But also a struggle in places. Certainly well worth the long read but like so many stories nowadays the ending is seriously ambiguous. More than a little annoying to know that your questions will be answered in some vaguely distant sequel.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful and entertaining 'what if' regarding Norse settlement beyond Iceland and Greenland into what is now eastern Canada during the Middle Ages. I'm looking forward to more stories in the series.

[Teresa Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vinland, an alternate history.

I early enjoyed this collection and can’t wait to read the continuation of the saga. The tale is of settlers, a hard life and the dreams of some to build a better life!

[john temple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely enjoyable tale

This is the first novel I've come across with the Norse landings in North America a success to this extent, usually they were part of a back story in other novels. The viewpoint of the novel is unique and makes for a very interesting and hugely enjoyable read

[Jerramy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting look at alternate history. The characters are compelling and draw you in. The story progresses well through the ages.

[Kenneth Lynch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading, tended to get a bit bogged down at times but felt it was worth the read

[Matt Kelland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first two books and gave up. Slow, lackluster storytelling with very little character development, or any sense that this was the start of an epic alternate history.

[Lori Elms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long.

The story is very good. It's also exciting and bloody. I enjoyed it very much, but it is so long. I feel like I've been reading it for weeks.

[Dan Petolescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great gripping story

I loved the books, binge read through all of them. Too bad there are no more books in the series!

[Robert W. Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale of alt history

This is a great tale of Norse landing in the Americas long before 1492. The tales are engrossing and great storytelling. My only complaint is not having more to read.