The Great Heathen Army

by H.A. Culley

The Viking horde known as the Great Heathen Army invade Cent in the autumn of 865 AD and defeat the local Saxon fyrd at the Battle of Salteode. A youth called Alric is captured and his brother, thirteen year old Jørren, decides to undertake the seemingly impossible task of rescuing him. Accompanied only by a slave not much older than he is, Jørren sets out to find Alric. His quest takes him into war-torn East Anglia and up through Northumbria as far as Hadrian’s Wall. On the way he gathers a rag-tag collection of orphans and welds them into a small, tightly-knit, warband. They play a small, but important, part in the struggle against the Vikings before eventually reaching Wessex, where Alfred has just become king. Now older and an experienced warrior, Jørren joins him and over subsequent years rises in status to become one of Wessex’s ealdormen. However, the Vikings are determined to defeat Alfred and complete their conquest of England. By 871 AD it is doubtful whether Jørren or Wessex itself can survive their onslaught. This first novel in the Saga of Wessex series will enthral all readers who have come to love H A Culley’s previous books set in early medieval Northumbria.

Genres: Historical Fiction

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2020

About the author

H.A. Culley served in the Army for twenty four years during which time he had a variety of unusual jobs. These included commanding an Arab unit in the desert for three years and a tour as the military attaché in Beirut in the late seventies.
After leaving the Army he became the business manager of a large independent school for twenty years before moving into marketing and fundraising. He has also been involved in two major historical projects and now works for an educational charity.
He has given talks on historical subjects for several years and the research involved provided his inspiration for writing historical fiction.
He has three adult children and lives near Holy Island in Northumberland with his wife and two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Reviews

[John Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and exciting!

This was a full blooded roller coaster ride through the English countryside (not that it was called that then) as Saxons fought Danes for control of the land. A young boy learns to kill and inspire others, becoming a renowned warrior in his own right. He becomes a confidant and strategist for the fabled King Alfred (the great) and we witness his rise through the ranks of what passes for nobility in those days. This was an exciting tale and I look forward to reading the sequel.

[Lorreine Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time read of this authors books. I love this era and this book, about a younger son who goes on the road to find an older brother who was kidnapped by the Danes/Vikings set off at a great pace. He is 13 when the story starts and it was a little improbable that he would command such authority and have all the answers to the worlds problems. But no matter, it was a yarn and an easy read. Couple of issues: I really didn’t recognise some of the names of the villages and towns (even looking up on Wikipedia didn’t overly help). The obvious ones were fine but it would have been useful to have a short glossary or map of his routes up and down the country. This from someone who has a good knowledge of the era and knows the UK pretty darned well. Secondly, towards the end of the book there were lots of grammatical errors - simply down to poor editing. Every now and then I would have to re-read some sentences. I will read the next book, but may read some other genres before I do.

[Steve Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good storey but the protagonist advances too quickly.

A good storey but the protagonist advances too quickly. He has too much luck. There is not much more he can do.

[Maggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

ugh!!