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The Elder King: Book 5 of the Saga of Erling Skjalgsson
In a land divided, Erling Skjalgsson rules the West-land of Norway in peace and justice. But a rumor is abroad in the land, songs and tales of a man of destiny coming from across the sea, a man who would be king. Can Erling keep a fractious alliance of chieftains together long enough to defend their freedoms from an ambitious princeling whose ruthlessness knows no limits, and who believes himself the instrument of God? Meanwhile, Erling's priest, Father Ailill, must balance his clerical vows against his growing love for a woman on the run, a woman with a dark secret and a bizarre fate. Meanwhile, in the mountains, the Elder King waits. He is ancient. He is wise. He is powerful. And he is entirely mad. In the face of his deadly plan for the whole world, bitter enemies must put aside their differences and make a last stand together.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 15, 2019
5 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Lars Walker
19 books30 followersWalker is a native of Kenyon, Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis. He has worked as a crabmeat packer in Alaska, a radio announcer, a church secretary and an administrative assistant and is presently librarian and bookstore manager for the schools of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations in Plymouth, Minnesota. He is the author of "The Year of the Warrior" and other novels and is the editor of the journal of the Georg Sverdrup Society. Walker says, I never believed that God gave me whatever gifts I have in order to entertain fellow Christians. I want to confront the world with the claims of Jesus Christ.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 25, 2019
Take Major Mythic Story; kick it HARD in the nose; and then...DANCE! (while you can)
On the off-chance that you HAVEN'T read Lars Walker until now, you are in for a treat. When “The Elder King” became available on March 14, I murmured “HOORAY!”The only reason I was that restrained is because of the overwhelming backlog of reviews I owe, of excellent books written by excellent writers. I really did NOT want to disrupt my queue! However, I downloaded the book, and then let my affection and Need to Read take over.
Sometime in the past year, my youngest bio-son, Moose, submitted his DNA for analysis. My family is reportedly come out of Scotland, but Moose showed some significant Scandinavian genes. After contemplation, the solution occurred to me: VIKINGS!
Nasty, filthy, church-burning, slave-taking, child-stealing, woman-raping, priest-killing VIKINGS! The way I read it, at some point, they had raided Scotland, and left a forced genetic heritage behind. Oh, those vile Vikings! However, it occurred to me that I have no way of knowing what the story TRULY is. Maybe we should consider that our family was able to encourage the famed warriors, workers, and fishermen to join our clan. Or, perhaps, it might be more true to say that Moose and I are Vikings. I really don't know, and am not sure I ever will.
However, here is what I DO believe: whether you take the classic line, which is that Vikings were the scourge of the seas and coast, OR you take the point-of-view of some of the modern fantasist historians, who say the Vikings were merely peaceful traders; if you take an extreme position, you are going to miss the truth about what these people did.
And Walker does an EXCELLENT job of bringing that to life.
He does so through the eyes of a young Irish lad, who was taken in a slave raid, and pretended to be a priest, in order to seek better conditions. As it happened, the thing imagined became the thing fulfilled, and young Ailill has truly become God's priest to the folk he lives among, most especially to Erling Skalggsson, the local ruler.
The story is a delightful mix of the natural and the supernatural. Fights, harvests, hunger and feasts, power struggles, and young people who want to get off somewhere private and fool around, all form a integral part of the story. Walker has the gift of making the far-away and long-ago seem as reasonable as making a list to cut the grass and have the tires rotated on the truck. We feel the crunch of the frosty ground, and we smell the rich aroma of the pork juice running down the arm of our dinner companion.
You MUST understand, though, that this isn't a mundane story. It's the story about cataclysmic actions in heavenly places, to include other-worldly interventions in the daily lives of EVERYBODY, not just priests and kings.
It's also a good thought-piece on how people can impose their own perspective on divine truths. As I was reading this, at some point I reflected back on the scene from Monty Python's “Life of Brian,” where Brian is running away from Jerusalem, followed by the crowd who want to claim him as the Messiah, and he loses a shoe. May not be EXACTLY the same principle behind Manicheeism or Arianism, but I wouldn't bet big against it.
An outstanding, entertaining, engaging, and even informative book. I have but ONE criticism, and that's not a book criticism: The nasty thing that the old guy with one eye did to the priest? That's the nastiest thing ever.
On the off-chance that you HAVEN'T read Lars Walker until now, you are in for a treat. When “The Elder King” became available on March 14, I murmured “HOORAY!”The only reason I was that restrained is because of the overwhelming backlog of reviews I owe, of excellent books written by excellent writers. I really did NOT want to disrupt my queue! However, I downloaded the book, and then let my affection and Need to Read take over.
Sometime in the past year, my youngest bio-son, Moose, submitted his DNA for analysis. My family is reportedly come out of Scotland, but Moose showed some significant Scandinavian genes. After contemplation, the solution occurred to me: VIKINGS!
Nasty, filthy, church-burning, slave-taking, child-stealing, woman-raping, priest-killing VIKINGS! The way I read it, at some point, they had raided Scotland, and left a forced genetic heritage behind. Oh, those vile Vikings! However, it occurred to me that I have no way of knowing what the story TRULY is. Maybe we should consider that our family was able to encourage the famed warriors, workers, and fishermen to join our clan. Or, perhaps, it might be more true to say that Moose and I are Vikings. I really don't know, and am not sure I ever will.
However, here is what I DO believe: whether you take the classic line, which is that Vikings were the scourge of the seas and coast, OR you take the point-of-view of some of the modern fantasist historians, who say the Vikings were merely peaceful traders; if you take an extreme position, you are going to miss the truth about what these people did.
And Walker does an EXCELLENT job of bringing that to life.
He does so through the eyes of a young Irish lad, who was taken in a slave raid, and pretended to be a priest, in order to seek better conditions. As it happened, the thing imagined became the thing fulfilled, and young Ailill has truly become God's priest to the folk he lives among, most especially to Erling Skalggsson, the local ruler.
The story is a delightful mix of the natural and the supernatural. Fights, harvests, hunger and feasts, power struggles, and young people who want to get off somewhere private and fool around, all form a integral part of the story. Walker has the gift of making the far-away and long-ago seem as reasonable as making a list to cut the grass and have the tires rotated on the truck. We feel the crunch of the frosty ground, and we smell the rich aroma of the pork juice running down the arm of our dinner companion.
You MUST understand, though, that this isn't a mundane story. It's the story about cataclysmic actions in heavenly places, to include other-worldly interventions in the daily lives of EVERYBODY, not just priests and kings.
It's also a good thought-piece on how people can impose their own perspective on divine truths. As I was reading this, at some point I reflected back on the scene from Monty Python's “Life of Brian,” where Brian is running away from Jerusalem, followed by the crowd who want to claim him as the Messiah, and he loses a shoe. May not be EXACTLY the same principle behind Manicheeism or Arianism, but I wouldn't bet big against it.
An outstanding, entertaining, engaging, and even informative book. I have but ONE criticism, and that's not a book criticism: The nasty thing that the old guy with one eye did to the priest? That's the nastiest thing ever.
March 28, 2019
I’ve read all of Lars Walker’s novels and love the flow and feel of this one. It’s a fun adventure that raises interesting questions while maintaining a strong historical base.
While each of the Erling Skjalgsson novels can stand alone, the characters change and mature naturally from the book to book. They refer to past events without revealing the whole story, so you may have a few questions if you start with The Elder King, but I hope that encourages you to pick up the other books.
The Elder King begins with a colorful statesman telling the narrator, an Irish priest who has lived many years in Viking Norway, about a Christian relic he claims to protect: a nail from the cross of Christ. The priest doesn’t believe him until he touches it and sees a frightening vision of a king.
“Behold, I come quickly. I come to break the world — to break old laws, and old ways, and old friendships and brotherhoods. Truth itself will seem a lie, and no man will know what is right. Not even I. . . .”
The two men acknowledge this vision, as with others, barely informs them of anything, and they plunge into a pool of deception and diplomacy that feels like normal, human interaction until it becomes clear that it isn’t. There’s an impressive naval battle, neighbor fighting neighbor, a troll, and even scorned love. It’s a ripping good read.
While each of the Erling Skjalgsson novels can stand alone, the characters change and mature naturally from the book to book. They refer to past events without revealing the whole story, so you may have a few questions if you start with The Elder King, but I hope that encourages you to pick up the other books.
The Elder King begins with a colorful statesman telling the narrator, an Irish priest who has lived many years in Viking Norway, about a Christian relic he claims to protect: a nail from the cross of Christ. The priest doesn’t believe him until he touches it and sees a frightening vision of a king.
“Behold, I come quickly. I come to break the world — to break old laws, and old ways, and old friendships and brotherhoods. Truth itself will seem a lie, and no man will know what is right. Not even I. . . .”
The two men acknowledge this vision, as with others, barely informs them of anything, and they plunge into a pool of deception and diplomacy that feels like normal, human interaction until it becomes clear that it isn’t. There’s an impressive naval battle, neighbor fighting neighbor, a troll, and even scorned love. It’s a ripping good read.
March 5, 2020
Once again Lars Walker delivers an eye-opening perspective on various historical events while incorporating mythological and surreal elements. Norse folk elements comes to life, but in Walker's hands, so too, does Christ, even as His Kingdom comes to the Viking world.
This book really played with tensions. The poor priest Ailill, whom you come to love as a man of faith and action and unabashedly real humanity, has to face three of the greatest challenges for a celibate Christian: romantic love, relics, and . . . Arianism! With a shockingly early possibility of Arianism in Norway!
And what does one do when reality itself, truth, love, and sacrifice seemingly disappear from before your very eyes? Wow.
Once again Erling faces the prospect of an Norwegian King. Once again hopes rise, followed by many questions and concerns for the future. What is true? What paths are being laid down? Will hubris or humility rule the day?
I'll read this again. It's multilayered, poignant, and epic. Lars Walker really breaks open the possibilities of storytelling.
This book really played with tensions. The poor priest Ailill, whom you come to love as a man of faith and action and unabashedly real humanity, has to face three of the greatest challenges for a celibate Christian: romantic love, relics, and . . . Arianism! With a shockingly early possibility of Arianism in Norway!
And what does one do when reality itself, truth, love, and sacrifice seemingly disappear from before your very eyes? Wow.
Once again Erling faces the prospect of an Norwegian King. Once again hopes rise, followed by many questions and concerns for the future. What is true? What paths are being laid down? Will hubris or humility rule the day?
I'll read this again. It's multilayered, poignant, and epic. Lars Walker really breaks open the possibilities of storytelling.
April 13, 2019
A very enjoyable read. Lars does a good job of blending political, historical, etc. trends of the time as the backdrop of what is happening but it is characters that really drive this. Highly recommend.
April 11, 2019
Great storytelling
Wonderful historical fiction with unexpected elements and deeper spiritual thoughts. Action, adventure, and insight into Nordic culture of the 11th century.
Wonderful historical fiction with unexpected elements and deeper spiritual thoughts. Action, adventure, and insight into Nordic culture of the 11th century.
March 19, 2022
I continue to love this series for its strong characters and its exploration of serious themes without being preachy, despite the protagonist being a priest.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews