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Burial Rites
A Viking temple and long boat lie preserved in the clinging black mud of the North Yorkshire estuary. As they are unearthed past and present merge, as huge death-cold creatures stalk and destroy through the blizzards of an eerily early winter.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
3 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Michael Scott Rohan
38 books81 followersMichael Scott Rohan (born 1951 in Edinburgh) was a Scottish fantasy and science fiction author and writer on opera.
He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel Run to the Stars and the non-fiction First Byte. He then collaborated with Allan J. Scott on the nonfiction The Hammer and The Cross (an account of Christianity arriving in Viking lands, not to be confused with Harry Harrison's similarly themed novel trilogy of the same name) and the fantasy novels The Ice King and A Spell of Empire.
Rohan is best known for the Ice Age-set trilogy The Winter of the World. He also wrote the Spiral novels, in which our world is the Hub, or Core, of a spiral of mythic and legendary versions of familiar cities, countries and continents.
In the "Author's Note" to The Lord of Middle Air, Rohan asserts that he and Walter Scott have a common ancestor in Michael Scot, who is a character in the novel.
[copied and adapted from en.wikipedia.org]
He had a number of short stories published before his first books, the science fiction novel Run to the Stars and the non-fiction First Byte. He then collaborated with Allan J. Scott on the nonfiction The Hammer and The Cross (an account of Christianity arriving in Viking lands, not to be confused with Harry Harrison's similarly themed novel trilogy of the same name) and the fantasy novels The Ice King and A Spell of Empire.
Rohan is best known for the Ice Age-set trilogy The Winter of the World. He also wrote the Spiral novels, in which our world is the Hub, or Core, of a spiral of mythic and legendary versions of familiar cities, countries and continents.
In the "Author's Note" to The Lord of Middle Air, Rohan asserts that he and Walter Scott have a common ancestor in Michael Scot, who is a character in the novel.
[copied and adapted from en.wikipedia.org]
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 17, 2023
The author (pen name of two collaborators) definitely knows Norse mythology, but this was an odd tale that took quite a bit to follow. A team of archeologists a few years back unearthed an ancient pagan temple that the Vikings built along the English sea coast. Now, due to some sophisticated computers and sonar, etc., they believe they have found a Viking Dragon ship in the nearby estuary. So we start with the coffer dam already built and the new dig in progress. The chief archeologist, one Hal, is an expert on the Vikings and hails from a university in Texas. The crew is a mix of English and American volunteers.
Definitely a Dragon ship! The dig goes slowly as the ship's pieces are carefully transplanted into storage tanks to preserve the old wood and what not-- it has been buried in mud for almost 1000 years after all. One day, the crew finds a massive chest, still intact, and another underneath it. Oh so carefully, they take one chest to the nearby Viking museum, leaving the other for later. That same day, the night guard at the coffer dam finds an intruder there and all hell breaks loose. Worse, the museum gets trashed at the same time. Obviously, from the title and the lurid cover art, the crew 'awakened' an ancient Viking King (and his queen) and he is not happy...
The prose of Burial Rites (that is the title of the US release) takes some getting used to, with all the slang and idioms; it is almost like trying to read Walsh for the first time. Scot also gives us a broad cast and takes the first half of the novel introducing them before the 'storm'; Besides Hal, we have his graduate assistants, several colorful locals, the local cop among others. While I at times struggled with the banter among the characters (including Hal, who tends to drop in Danish right and left), it did give it a rather authentic feel. Scot also takes us into the realm of the Norse gods and mythos and that gets a little heavy at times as well. Overall, interesting story, although it became a bit predictable after a little bit. Some good foo at times, and the freezing weather involved came as a treat as I read this during a brutal heatwave. 2.5 stars, rounding up.
Definitely a Dragon ship! The dig goes slowly as the ship's pieces are carefully transplanted into storage tanks to preserve the old wood and what not-- it has been buried in mud for almost 1000 years after all. One day, the crew finds a massive chest, still intact, and another underneath it. Oh so carefully, they take one chest to the nearby Viking museum, leaving the other for later. That same day, the night guard at the coffer dam finds an intruder there and all hell breaks loose. Worse, the museum gets trashed at the same time. Obviously, from the title and the lurid cover art, the crew 'awakened' an ancient Viking King (and his queen) and he is not happy...
The prose of Burial Rites (that is the title of the US release) takes some getting used to, with all the slang and idioms; it is almost like trying to read Walsh for the first time. Scot also gives us a broad cast and takes the first half of the novel introducing them before the 'storm'; Besides Hal, we have his graduate assistants, several colorful locals, the local cop among others. While I at times struggled with the banter among the characters (including Hal, who tends to drop in Danish right and left), it did give it a rather authentic feel. Scot also takes us into the realm of the Norse gods and mythos and that gets a little heavy at times as well. Overall, interesting story, although it became a bit predictable after a little bit. Some good foo at times, and the freezing weather involved came as a treat as I read this during a brutal heatwave. 2.5 stars, rounding up.
April 22, 2022
Woe to me... I am fairly disappointing with me - and the book of course.
I bought several Michael Scott Rohan novels - because of the awesome covers and this one was awful Maybe I will try another just from Michael Scott Rohan but to be honest I am heartbroken with this. I couldn't connect to anyone, couldn't connect the story.
So basically the main plot was about a group of people who discover a viking ship and then people started dying. This sounds really good stuff and could go anywhere but it didn't. I couldn't connect to the characters and the way the book was written.
Oh well... Can't advise to anyone. Let see another (Run to the stars)
I bought several Michael Scott Rohan novels - because of the awesome covers and this one was awful Maybe I will try another just from Michael Scott Rohan but to be honest I am heartbroken with this. I couldn't connect to anyone, couldn't connect the story.
So basically the main plot was about a group of people who discover a viking ship and then people started dying. This sounds really good stuff and could go anywhere but it didn't. I couldn't connect to the characters and the way the book was written.
Oh well... Can't advise to anyone. Let see another (Run to the stars)
October 18, 2013
Ok, a spoiler 1st- "Michael Scot" is actually Michael Scott Rohan & Allan Scott.
This is a cracker- an archaeological dig in Staithby on the Yorkshire Coast turns up a Viking burial. Shortly afterward, people start to die in mysterious circumstances..... what was in the 2 old wooden chests? What is "The odd dance"? Why has it started snowing so early?
There are a number of flaws with this book, particularly with some of the characterisations: however, the story is thoroughly entertaining & carries the reader over those problems.
Think of this as a book equivalent of a Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story, or a Hammer horror: no deep insights into the human condition, but a couple of hours worth of rattling good yarn.
This is out of print (not sure if it's available electronically), but if you see it secondhand do grab a copy.
This is a cracker- an archaeological dig in Staithby on the Yorkshire Coast turns up a Viking burial. Shortly afterward, people start to die in mysterious circumstances..... what was in the 2 old wooden chests? What is "The odd dance"? Why has it started snowing so early?
There are a number of flaws with this book, particularly with some of the characterisations: however, the story is thoroughly entertaining & carries the reader over those problems.
Think of this as a book equivalent of a Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story, or a Hammer horror: no deep insights into the human condition, but a couple of hours worth of rattling good yarn.
This is out of print (not sure if it's available electronically), but if you see it secondhand do grab a copy.
July 24, 2020
This ebook is part of the Gateway Science Fiction collection published by Gollancz where they are reprinting classic out of print Science Fiction in their famous yellow jacket. However this is not science fiction and is more a horror story with one important chapter that briefly takes us into the realm of fantasy based on Norse mythology. Different and enjoyable but the chapters are a bit too long which is why it's not a five star.
March 2, 2022
This genre is not my usual choice. 4 stars for the good writing. The characters seemed thinly drawn, except for "Hal" who isn't all that likeable but I wanted to find out what happened to him. If you like supernatural adventure with lots of sex, gory violence, undead monsters and heroic ordeals, it's all there. Not for kids.
April 17, 2025
2.5 stars. I enjoyed the Viking lore and history, but the story just didn't do it for me. I couldn't really attach myself to any of the characters. Overall, it just fell short.
November 18, 2012
Quite good.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews