A 17-year-old Viking learns the horrible nature of warfare during his first raid The warriors of Lidsmod's village live for war. When the waters thaw, they set their ships upon the waves, ranging up and down the coasts of Scandinavia in search of loot and throats to cut. In this culture built on violence, songs are sung of bloody battles and fallen warriors are rewarded with a lifetime in Valhalla. Today, Lidsmod will join the fray. In the newly builtRaven, he will sail across the seas in search of a palace of gold rumored to sit near the English coast. He yearns for glory, but he will find something far more surprising. The golden palace is an abbey, home to English monks who strive to keep the torch of knowledge burning during the Dark Ages. There, a 13-year-old boy named Wiglaf learns the art of healing, unaware that death is approaching aboard a Viking ship.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 14-17 years.

There are 201 pages in this book. This book was published 2015 by Open Road Media Teen & Tween .

Michael Cadnum is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for adults and young adults, including the contemporary novels Rundown, Heat , and Edge (all Viking) and the historical novel In a Dark Wood (Orchard/Puffin). Michael Cadnum lives in Albany, California. copyright (c) 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.