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God of Vengeance

(The Rise of Sigurd 1): A thrilling, action-packed Viking saga from bestselling author Giles Kristian

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God of Vengeance

By: Giles Kristian
Narrated by: Philip Stevens
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About this listen

A glorious, bloody, perfect Viking saga of honour, courage, blood feud and revenge from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Lancelot, Giles Kristian. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Games of Thrones.

"Unrelenting pace, brilliant action and characters. A masterwork." - Conn Iggulden
"Action-packed storytelling which stirs the blood and thrills the soul" - Wilbur Smith
"Easily one of the best books I've had the pleasure to read" - ***** Reader review.

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IT BEGAN WITH THE BETRAYAL OF A LORD BY A KING...

Norway 785 AD. When King Gorm puts Jarl Harald's family to the sword, he makes one fatal mistake - he fails to kill Harald's youngest son, Sigurd.

His kin slain, his village seized, his taken as slaves, Sigurd wonders if the gods have forsaken him. Hunted by powerful men, he is unsure who to trust and yet he has a small band of loyal followers at his side. With them - and with the help of the All-Father, Odin - he determines to make a king pay for his treachery.

Using cunning and war-craft, Sigurd gathers together a fellowship of warriors - including his father's right-hand man Olaf, Bram (who men call Bear), Black Floki who wields death with a blade, and the shield maiden Valgerd, who fears no man - and convinces them to follow him.

For, whether Ódin is with him or not, Sigurd WILL have vengeance. And neither men nor gods had best stand in his way . . .

Sigurd's story continues in Winter's Fire.

 Action & Adventure Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction War & Military Scary Royalty Revenge Middle Ages

Continue the series
Winter's Fire cover art
Winter's Fire By: Giles Kristian

Critic reviews

Action-packed storytelling which stirs the blood and thrills the soul
What elevates Kristian above the many pretenders to Cornwell's crown is the style and swagger of the prose. He is a modern skald, borrowing the old rhythms to create a brutal, absorbing tale (Antonia Senior)
Unrelenting pace, brilliant action and characters. A masterwork.
A glorious, bloody, perfect Viking saga, rich with the poetry of the skald, ripe with blood and glory, vengeance and heartbreak. The characters stride from the page, alive, hungry, real . . . this is Viking writing at its very best
This is the best kind of storytelling – a saga full of blood and thunder that grabs you and doesn’t let go until long after the final page is turned
A pulse-pounding tale of blood, betrayal and honour. Hereward and his spear-brothers would definitely feel at home here
A great success . . . His knowledge of the period, and imaginative immersion in it, mean that God of Vengeance conjures up Sigurd's bloody, violent world, with all its alien beliefs and strange customs, in vivid and compelling detail (Nick Rennison)
Epic in character, atmosphere and deed . . . Kristian is a terrific storyteller . . . the writing and language are wonderfully rich, and you want to savour every bone-shattering, blood-curdling, sentence
A revenger's tale writ large . . . Kristian's latest Viking-era saga won't disappoint
A pulsating saga delivered with the sweep and power of a Norse war axe (TIM SEVERIN)
All stars
Most relevant
When Conn Iggulden praises a book it's more than enough for me to sit up and take notice. So, always keen to try a new author I have awaited the release of this book with more than a little eagerness. Was it worth the wait? Well, in brief Kristian has a new fan. This is fast-paced, bloody and brutal. Fans of Iggulden or Cornwell will find a happy new home for their ears in Kristian's care . . . if we can keep up of course because this is genuinely action packed!

Sigurd's rise is fast and compelling. The action scenes are excellent and the dark humour of the characters a consistent counterpoint. The narration from Philip Stevens is bang on and he brings the whole thing to life with plenty of enthusiasm. The scene of the vision in the marshes also shows how he can build a spooky atmosphere when required.

In summary if you like a fast-paced historical novel full of tough men, and women making and breaking oaths and don't mind your headphones getting a regular pelting of gore then this book is definitely one for you. For me, I pledge an oath upon Kristian's mighty sword-like pen to get the rest of his books as they are released on Audible. And he can hold me to that!

Blood, Betrayal, and Violent Vengeance

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One of my favourite set of books along with the Raven blood eye ones by the same author.
Brilliant voice, very descriptive and an incredible story. Feels like I’ve been watching a film rather than reading (or listening). Love it.

Brilliant

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I mean, it's pretty obvious what's going to happen during the book, no big surprises. But saying that, it was still enjoyable. Nicely paced and I really did like (and dislike) the characters.

The similes are a bit tiring in the first quarter of the book, seemingly coming every other sentence, but the author seems to find his flow thereafter. Though he does have a tendency to spell out every single obvious point! It's nicely paced and interesting enough to make me want to read/listen to the next one.

The audio performance was alright. As with many audio books it takes me a few hours to get into. It always feels as if the reader was holding something back. Like he was recording it at home and was embarrassed to really get into character and shout or exclaim at the appropriate parts. But it was still good enough to listen to.

So overall: a bit cliche, good characters and a decent enough read.

Solid story, likeable characters

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I suppose that the first book in a series will always be a little bit light on full story and characterisation given that much of it gets caught up in setting the scene, but this is very enjoyable and we'll constructed regardless.

An enjoyable beginning

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it was amazing I would recommend it. The story is gripping, the narration is spot on

great

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