Taken by Vikings at an early age, Orkan grows up in slavery. His life is work, he rarely talks or thinks beyond the task at hand. His dreams are tormented by memories of what happened to his family. He befriends a brother and sister also taken in a raid and protects them from the harsh handling among the Vikings. Through feats of courage, Orkan gains respect and his freedom. He finds himself on the verge of becoming a Viking himself, but fate intervenes, and sends him on an odyssey through the ancient world, looking for a place for himself and the brother and sister he had adopted.
It was great fun to work on this book. The writing took me to places I had always wanted to see and experience. I found the Viking age perilous, spanning a harsh period of history, but had to admire their audacity: they were the catalyst of their time: they were the external force that shaped kingdoms, alliances and new way of life.
Westward the Vikings were bent on raiding and colonizing but to the east they were more concerned with trading. It was this lesser known fact, reaching out to the east that I wanted to explore.
My hero wasn't a Viking, but an Estonian captive. This allowed me to look at Viking culture from an outside view. So welcome to the journey. Like most of my books, this story covers quite a distance, coming in contact with people and cultures long forgotten by history. As always, I am also interested in tracking evolving relationships under difficult circumstances.
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