Viking: The Plains of Althing

Norse Adventure #1

by Katie Aiken Ritter

ICELAND, 979 AD. A GOOD MAN, TRAPPED. A WOMAN IN DANGER.Two people bound by brave ideals—and torn apart by a terrible secretKel Coesson does despicable things for his chieftain, and he’s at a breaking point. But if he dares to defy the chieftain, Kel’s love Aldís will be brutally killed.An enslaved man from distant Morocco speaks about a mysterious Third Way, starting Kel down a treacherous path of treason--while shieldmaiden and healer Aldís senses an unseen presence calling her to the one place she vowed never to the Law Rock high over the sweeping plains of Althing.“We have things to discuss.” Aldís glared. “And you can’t answer my questions if you’re dead.” A stunning cast of characters—a secretive agent of a foreign jarl, a terrified young monk, a bishop eager to convert pagans, a spoiled, bloodthirsty girl, and Kel’s brutal chieftain who craves power no matter the price—bring medieval Iceland to vibrant, tempestuous life.Set in the land of fire and ice and the midnight sun, this novel is the first in a sweeping series, an Icelandic Viking saga of historical fiction spanning generations and continents.Get your copy of THE PLAINS OF ALTHING today to be part of the everlasting struggle of courage against corruption.Katie Aiken Ritter is a 2016 AWC Novel Award winner and 2017 Pirate's Alley Faulkner Society finalist."Thrilling plot twists in a deeply-researched novel. Highly recommended.”"Excellent book. You won't want to put it down!""FIVE STARS ★ ★ ★ ★ ★!!!"Readers who enjoyed Jean Auel's CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, Ken Follett's THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH series, or the History Channel's VIKINGS may appreciate this well-researched and historically-relevant novel.Themes include the hero's journey, loyalty under duress, everyday life in medieval Scandinavia, slavery in European societies, the rule of law, corruption and creeping authoritarianism, the world's first democracy at Althing, blood sacrifices and pagan beliefs, forced conversion to Christianity, and strong female, black and enslaved protagonists, all amid a dramatic landscape of fertile valleys and plunging The Plains of Althing is Book One of the Norse Adventure series.

Genres: Historical Fiction

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2020

About the author

We all dream, don't we? We work so hard, and hope that each book reader leads to another and another, and that one day our book, our beloved project, will reach our goal.

For most of us, the goal is not a dream of fame. It is simply about doing a good enough job to earn recognition from our peers and from readers - the people we exist to serve.

For some of us, it is to simply be published. For others it is the joy of having our work read. Fo many of us - and this includes me - it is to earn enough from our writing to earn enough income to pay our bills.

I want to earn my living as a writer of novels.

Before and beyond that, I want to accomplish good, quiet stuff in my life. I want to work on peace, on the environment, art, aging well. I want to be a good mom...a really, really good mom, because it's the most important thing...and a good partner to my husband.

I believe we should question everything. I'm committed to believing in the possible. I love to think about universal constants.

I believe that that kindness requires much more strength and is far more effective than self-righteousness, and that true good triumphs over evil because it's just so darned much harder to do...and that’s what makes it stronger.

I believe that truth is harder to tell than fiction, but that good fiction, well-written, tells truths in ways we might otherwise not make time or attention for. I believe that humor and music are two of the most powerful forces of change we have. Music touches us more deeply. Humor is faster.

And in case all this sounds just too too serious, I freakin' love to dance.

Live a life. Don't just practice living one.

Reviews

[Dawn Lennon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This historical novel about life in 979 A.D. Iceland had the bones of an interesting storyline, but it lost its bearings when the author tried to cram too many plots and subplots into this first book of the series. The characters and their relationships were never fully developed. The structuring of the plot was often fractured and the absence of good copyediting and proofreading created real frustration for me. In spite of this, I read the book through, hoping for bright spots, only to be disappointed, especially when the book just ended without any resolution of any aspect of the plot. Most books written in a series can stand alone no matter which one is read first. Not this one.

[James Sherland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Viking Adventure or Drama?

This was good story and there characters were all very interesting but I found the story to be more drama driven than adventuring. But I still enjoyed the book I just don't rid i will continue the series.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this story and characters. I'm reading Thunder Horse now and it's so interesting to me that the Christians who sought to convert Icelanders did not use the brutal methods those in other regions embraced.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, but it ended abruptly. Like you were at the end of a chapter, not a book. I know it's part of a series, but it wasn't even a lead in to the next book. I enjoyed the plot and the characters are easy to follow. I've started the next book in the series.