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King of the Wood
After being exiled from Treeland, the northern portion of North America settled by Vikings in the 15th century, Hring Kristjanson encounters many dangers--especially from Lady Yngva, the high priestess of the powerful and bloodthirsty pagan gods.
187 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
104 people want to read
About the author
John Maddox Roberts
132 books253 followersaka Mark Ramsay
John Maddox Roberts is the author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. The first two books in the series have recently been re-released in trade paperback.
John Maddox Roberts is the author of numerous works of science fiction and fantasy, in addition to his successful historical SPQR mystery series. The first two books in the series have recently been re-released in trade paperback.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 28, 2016
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths.
King of the Wood is a quick, fast-paced alternate history story by John Maddox Roberts. To some people it will read very much like a historical fiction novel. Others may see it more as a fantasy novel with “historically” places and people used to make it more easily accessible. Some will label it a “What If” tale, where the focus is “What if the Vikings had fought the Aztecs?” or such as that. No matter how you view it, King of the Wood does one thing extremely well: It entertains.
Our point-of-view character throughout the narrative is Hring Kristjanson, son of the Thane of Long Isle. This young man having been banished from the Kingdom of Treeland and excommunicated from the Christian faith for killing his half-brother. The story which unfolds showing his epic travels across an alternate North America in 1485, as he is exposed to numerous cultures, has high adventures, becomes embroiled in epic wars, and ultimately ends his life back where his journey began so many years before.
As an alternate history buff, the thing I loved the most about this story was the world John Maddox Roberts creates. Basically, in 1485, the eastern coast of the United States has been colonized by Vikings, Saxons, and other Europeans; their union creating a new country which is split into the northern Kingdom of Treeland (Christian) and the southern Kingdom of Thorsheim (pagan). South of this coastal realm is a Muslim Kingdom in Florida and stretching from the American Plains into Central America is a powerful Aztec Empire, which is even more vibrant and bloodthirsty than the real life one. All of these places coming to life as our hero travels through them; Maddox’s quick, compact style perfect for giving readers a big picture of this world, setting the tone, then diving into the action without ever bogging down into too much detail.
But what about the characters and plot? I hear some of you asking.
Overall, King of the Wood is a straight-forward but very compelling tale, which is very much in the mold of sword and sorcery (though there really isn’t any magic here). Hring’s penchant for stumbling from one horrible yet epic situation to another very reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian’s adventures among strange cultures. And like Robert E. Howard’s best known works, Mr. Roberts shifts quickly from event to event; some character growth shown, but the focus more on the journey itself, though many memorable characters pass into and out of our hero's life. They might not be the most well-developed people, but these companions and adversaries capture the spirit of the moment, burst to life quickly then burn brightly until the tale moves along. Which is actually very fitting, because Hring’s tale is much like an autobiography where the writer is hitting upon the major events of his life, telling a life story not moment by moment but important event to important event, and so it is only natural that many people pass into his orbit but do not remain ever circling him.
Intriguing, concise, and memorable, King of the Wood is a fine action-adventure set in a alternate North America. Perhaps John Maddox Roberts could have expanded this tale to a hefty 500 or 600 hundred pages or made it into a trilogy so that he could delve into the cultures, societies, and characters to a greater degree, but he chose to streamline the tale of Hring down into a very readable 256 pages. Nothing wrong with that, because, even without all those details, this is still a fine tale.
King of the Wood is a quick, fast-paced alternate history story by John Maddox Roberts. To some people it will read very much like a historical fiction novel. Others may see it more as a fantasy novel with “historically” places and people used to make it more easily accessible. Some will label it a “What If” tale, where the focus is “What if the Vikings had fought the Aztecs?” or such as that. No matter how you view it, King of the Wood does one thing extremely well: It entertains.
Our point-of-view character throughout the narrative is Hring Kristjanson, son of the Thane of Long Isle. This young man having been banished from the Kingdom of Treeland and excommunicated from the Christian faith for killing his half-brother. The story which unfolds showing his epic travels across an alternate North America in 1485, as he is exposed to numerous cultures, has high adventures, becomes embroiled in epic wars, and ultimately ends his life back where his journey began so many years before.
As an alternate history buff, the thing I loved the most about this story was the world John Maddox Roberts creates. Basically, in 1485, the eastern coast of the United States has been colonized by Vikings, Saxons, and other Europeans; their union creating a new country which is split into the northern Kingdom of Treeland (Christian) and the southern Kingdom of Thorsheim (pagan). South of this coastal realm is a Muslim Kingdom in Florida and stretching from the American Plains into Central America is a powerful Aztec Empire, which is even more vibrant and bloodthirsty than the real life one. All of these places coming to life as our hero travels through them; Maddox’s quick, compact style perfect for giving readers a big picture of this world, setting the tone, then diving into the action without ever bogging down into too much detail.
But what about the characters and plot? I hear some of you asking.
Overall, King of the Wood is a straight-forward but very compelling tale, which is very much in the mold of sword and sorcery (though there really isn’t any magic here). Hring’s penchant for stumbling from one horrible yet epic situation to another very reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian’s adventures among strange cultures. And like Robert E. Howard’s best known works, Mr. Roberts shifts quickly from event to event; some character growth shown, but the focus more on the journey itself, though many memorable characters pass into and out of our hero's life. They might not be the most well-developed people, but these companions and adversaries capture the spirit of the moment, burst to life quickly then burn brightly until the tale moves along. Which is actually very fitting, because Hring’s tale is much like an autobiography where the writer is hitting upon the major events of his life, telling a life story not moment by moment but important event to important event, and so it is only natural that many people pass into his orbit but do not remain ever circling him.
Intriguing, concise, and memorable, King of the Wood is a fine action-adventure set in a alternate North America. Perhaps John Maddox Roberts could have expanded this tale to a hefty 500 or 600 hundred pages or made it into a trilogy so that he could delve into the cultures, societies, and characters to a greater degree, but he chose to streamline the tale of Hring down into a very readable 256 pages. Nothing wrong with that, because, even without all those details, this is still a fine tale.
June 16, 2016
Hring Kristjanson, son of a the thegn of Long Isle, has been cast out of his religion (Christianity) and his nation (Treeland) for the crime of killing his half-brother (which he did, somewhat accidently, when filled with blood-lust during training). The book is something of an epic fictional biography of a man and his actions in North America, starting in 1485 when he is exiled.
Roberts has created an alternate world which breaks from our own time-line in 995 AD. In 995 AD, some pagan Norsemen, refusing to be converted to Christianity, set sail and eventually arrive on what would later be named North America in our time-line. They establish a country of their own (which they call Treeland), stretching, mostly along the coast, from our Maine to our Virginia. Later pagans follow (including some fleeing Ireland). Then in 1066 AD, William the Conqueror invades and captures England. Instead of buckling under to his rule, the Christian Saxons flee to America and Treeland. After living together for less than roughly 100 years, the pagan south and the Christian north split into two separate countries, with the Potomac as the boundary (the Pagans take the name of Thorsheim and the Christians retain the name of Treeland). About five years after the split, a new settlement and kingdom is created in our Florida by Muslim Spain (not fleeing Muslims, but colonizing Muslims from Muslim Spain). Meanwhile, the Aztec Empire continues to be very powerful and mighty, maybe the most powerful empire in the North America of 1485.
Those that have found a paperback copy of this book, maybe the first Tor printing of April 1986, might be confused by the blurb on the front cover: "Vikings clash with Mongol hordes and America is the prize!" The blurb is very misleading, and mostly incorrect. I don't want to give too much detail away, but will note that the Mongol Empire does play a factor later in the book.
The book is very well crafted, the plot is strong, where other authors would spend hundreds of pages describing certain activity, Roberts quickly, effectively, and nicely conveys the same information in a much smaller number of pages. The characters are very well-developed. The description of the Aztec Empire and the Mongol/Khan invading army is very good, while the Treeland, Thorsheim and Muslim Empire is a lot thinner. The Incan Empire is barely touched on, just a very basic mention, without noting any names (empire on the southern continent). I don't recall any magical creatures or the like, though the pagan religious practices described in the book, I suppose, move it into the Fantasy genre. The violence and descriptions of nudity and like activity definitely move this book out of the realm of books children should read. At the very least, the book should be treated as rating PG-13. Overall, I would give the book 4.38 stars.
Roberts has created an alternate world which breaks from our own time-line in 995 AD. In 995 AD, some pagan Norsemen, refusing to be converted to Christianity, set sail and eventually arrive on what would later be named North America in our time-line. They establish a country of their own (which they call Treeland), stretching, mostly along the coast, from our Maine to our Virginia. Later pagans follow (including some fleeing Ireland). Then in 1066 AD, William the Conqueror invades and captures England. Instead of buckling under to his rule, the Christian Saxons flee to America and Treeland. After living together for less than roughly 100 years, the pagan south and the Christian north split into two separate countries, with the Potomac as the boundary (the Pagans take the name of Thorsheim and the Christians retain the name of Treeland). About five years after the split, a new settlement and kingdom is created in our Florida by Muslim Spain (not fleeing Muslims, but colonizing Muslims from Muslim Spain). Meanwhile, the Aztec Empire continues to be very powerful and mighty, maybe the most powerful empire in the North America of 1485.
Those that have found a paperback copy of this book, maybe the first Tor printing of April 1986, might be confused by the blurb on the front cover: "Vikings clash with Mongol hordes and America is the prize!" The blurb is very misleading, and mostly incorrect. I don't want to give too much detail away, but will note that the Mongol Empire does play a factor later in the book.
The book is very well crafted, the plot is strong, where other authors would spend hundreds of pages describing certain activity, Roberts quickly, effectively, and nicely conveys the same information in a much smaller number of pages. The characters are very well-developed. The description of the Aztec Empire and the Mongol/Khan invading army is very good, while the Treeland, Thorsheim and Muslim Empire is a lot thinner. The Incan Empire is barely touched on, just a very basic mention, without noting any names (empire on the southern continent). I don't recall any magical creatures or the like, though the pagan religious practices described in the book, I suppose, move it into the Fantasy genre. The violence and descriptions of nudity and like activity definitely move this book out of the realm of books children should read. At the very least, the book should be treated as rating PG-13. Overall, I would give the book 4.38 stars.
September 4, 2019
This is a delightful, though not perfect, 30 year-old forgotten gem in the "alternate history" sub-genre, built around two notable changes in our timeline: 1) the Norse actually settle Newfoundland and then spread down the coast, rather than abandoning it and 2) the Mongols were successful in their efforts to conquer Japan. This takes us to a rather different early 15th century in North America, with a pair of Norse kingdoms (one Christian, one pagan), a larger, better armed Aztec Empire (thanks to the Norse introduction of horses and iron-working in the 11th century), and a restless, Asiatic empire that has begun exploring the west coast of North America.
The story is written very much like a Norse Saga, with all that implies. Mostly, it works. Usually, I admire pre-1990s fiction (which led to the birth of BFF -- Big, Fat, Fantasy) for its economy and ability to create exciting worlds and interesting ideas in 75 - 80K words, rather than 200 K. Maddox, who gained fame as a Conan pastiche writer after this but then went on to do historical mysteries, is a crisp, vivid writer who knows his way around his history, but here the economy fails him: the story is so sweeping that it is really two, possibly three, tales in one, and the last act is rushed, becoming a series of short transitional sections of a few paragraphs to take us to the next set-piece battle. In the process, both Mongols and Aztecs, particularly the latter, start to become their standard stereotypes, undermining the careful world-building done in the first two-thirds. The epilogue is a jump of 20 years or so, but the last chapter has so many jumps, it doesn't really feel much different.
The end result is a tight little alternative history novel that is a fun, original read, but less than it could have been, particularly in giving any great characterization to all but our view point hero, with even another fifty or sixty pages.
The story is written very much like a Norse Saga, with all that implies. Mostly, it works. Usually, I admire pre-1990s fiction (which led to the birth of BFF -- Big, Fat, Fantasy) for its economy and ability to create exciting worlds and interesting ideas in 75 - 80K words, rather than 200 K. Maddox, who gained fame as a Conan pastiche writer after this but then went on to do historical mysteries, is a crisp, vivid writer who knows his way around his history, but here the economy fails him: the story is so sweeping that it is really two, possibly three, tales in one, and the last act is rushed, becoming a series of short transitional sections of a few paragraphs to take us to the next set-piece battle. In the process, both Mongols and Aztecs, particularly the latter, start to become their standard stereotypes, undermining the careful world-building done in the first two-thirds. The epilogue is a jump of 20 years or so, but the last chapter has so many jumps, it doesn't really feel much different.
The end result is a tight little alternative history novel that is a fun, original read, but less than it could have been, particularly in giving any great characterization to all but our view point hero, with even another fifty or sixty pages.
November 8, 2015
Well now, this book was a really rare gem. It is historical fiction with a heavy overlay of fantastical possibility. The writer blends many elements of the Americas together and involves cultures of many kinds. This is kind of a what if "these" peoples and "those" peoples ever butted heads. This book has been around for many years and I was turned onto it by a good friend, as we have a serious love for Conan books, and the writer has written some of the newer sets of these novels. Very good and fast read, but it leaves you wanting more.
Danny
Danny
December 3, 2019
This book changed my perspective on fantasy. It was the first I read that didn't have that mythic feel that permeates Tolkien's work. These characters were real and gritty. A warrior who can kill anyone (as evidence by some truly gruesome fight scenes) is transfixed by the beauty of a woman bathing in a stream. This was also the first time I heard anything about Vikings having come to the Americas, interacting with the natives. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the story was based on fact. I really enjoyed this book. Recommended!
September 8, 2017
A pretty solid heroic fantasy novel. The setting is a 'what if?' of North America if they Vikings had built a kingdom there.
Hring is banished for killing his brother. During his seven years he travels the continent trying to fulfill his wyrd. From the forests of Treeland in the northeast to the blood soaked pyramids of the Aztec in the south to the Great Plains in the west.
Recommended!
Hring is banished for killing his brother. During his seven years he travels the continent trying to fulfill his wyrd. From the forests of Treeland in the northeast to the blood soaked pyramids of the Aztec in the south to the Great Plains in the west.
Recommended!
July 11, 2009
I enjoyed it.
June 21, 2009
Why did I even get this book? I am not a fan of John Maddox Roberts. I've read 3 or 4 of his books - never was impressed.
But the idea of an alternate history in which the Norsemen establish kingdoms in North America was too good to pass up. I should have passed it up.
He compresses 30+ years of a man's life into 253 pages and there is so little character development, Robert E Howard could give me five pages and I would know what drives the man, what's in his soul - be it Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, etc.
It was like reading an outline for a series of books. The different scenarios Roberts present were intiguing but he barely scratches the surface.
Even his descriptions of the Aztec sacrifices - in the hands of a more skillful writer i could have felt the knife, I could have heard the sounds, I could have smelled the blood. The horror would have been real.
Roberts had some really good ideas - I wish he would have done more with them.
But the idea of an alternate history in which the Norsemen establish kingdoms in North America was too good to pass up. I should have passed it up.
He compresses 30+ years of a man's life into 253 pages and there is so little character development, Robert E Howard could give me five pages and I would know what drives the man, what's in his soul - be it Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, etc.
It was like reading an outline for a series of books. The different scenarios Roberts present were intiguing but he barely scratches the surface.
Even his descriptions of the Aztec sacrifices - in the hands of a more skillful writer i could have felt the knife, I could have heard the sounds, I could have smelled the blood. The horror would have been real.
Roberts had some really good ideas - I wish he would have done more with them.
November 28, 2012
King of the Wood is a story about a warrior who is banned from his tribe of Norseman living in America for killing his half brother. He begins an arduous journey across the land, first meeting and becoming linked to a witch/priestess then eventually escaping from her and heading south. Along the way he has many high adventures including getting lost at sea, becoming part of the Aztec empire, journeying north from there where he becomes embroiled in Monguls and ends up conquering the aztecs, and stopping their horrendous ritual slaughters. The book is very interesting, though I was not a fan of the ending it was still a great read. I highly recommend it, though there are points of this book that become a bit too graphic in the storytelling. As much as I enjoyed this book, I enjoyed John Maddoc Roberts 'Conan' books a good deal more. But this should be read if you are a fan of this type of story, it is a very good book, enjoy,.
September 21, 2012
An old favorite of mine. A delightful mix of Saxons, Vikings, Aztecs and Mongols all fighting in a very different North America. Highly recommended
February 8, 2016
A great all around fantasy for Conan fans.
February 16, 2016
Interesting alternate history of the Vikings in North America. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews