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Legend of the Last Vikings - Taklamakan
The Indiana Jones of the 11th Century!
Finalist – ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award
A VIKING EPIC!
Action, Adventure and Romance from Norway, across the Steppe and along the Silk Route into China’s notorious Taklamakan desert! Experience friendship, dignity, honour, love, betrayal and greed against the backdrop of a hostile environment which gives no quarter – just what one expects from a Viking.
As the Viking age is brought to an end in 1066 with ignominious defeat at the battle of Stamford Bridge, a rag-tag group of Vikings conclude the quiet life is not for them and they decide to go-a-Viking one last time.
They retrace a journey of their youth across the European Steppe and down the mighty Dniepr River to Byzantium. However a chance discovery in a Kiev library leads them to venture even further afield - to Astrakhan, across the Caspian sea, up the mighty Oxus river, through Parthia and Bactria and along the ancient Silk Route into Asia and Tian Xia (China).
Engaged in a battle not of their choosing, they inflict fatalities on the sinister and evil Black Scorpions who want to exact their revenge. Pursued, they flee by night across the Roof of the World and meet the remnants of the "lost" European tribe of Asia, the Hepthalites, who offer them protection in their city, hidden in the Tien Shan - the Celestial Mountains. A place where romance is kindled and love unexpectedly blossoms.
During their winter sojourn in the Hidden City they gather more clues, and in the spring continue with their quest, on into the Taklamakan desert. The desert so called by locals because those who venture in seldom venture out. More danger and peril lies in wait for this rag-tag Viking crew as they travel along the Silk Route - the world's first super-highway.
At the eastern end of their journey they meet the Lang Ren, the Wolf people of Lou Lan, outcasts thieves and criminals living in an abandoned city in the desert. A city without water. A city about to die. A city in which the final clue to their quest is uncovered.
What fate awaits this rejected element of Asian society? Can this motley crew intercede on their behalf?
Will the fundamental cultural differences between the Vikings, Jews and Moslems in the group cause them to self destruct, or will the adversities they face cause them to overcome these differences and become a unified fighting unit?
Finalist – ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award
A VIKING EPIC!
Action, Adventure and Romance from Norway, across the Steppe and along the Silk Route into China’s notorious Taklamakan desert! Experience friendship, dignity, honour, love, betrayal and greed against the backdrop of a hostile environment which gives no quarter – just what one expects from a Viking.
As the Viking age is brought to an end in 1066 with ignominious defeat at the battle of Stamford Bridge, a rag-tag group of Vikings conclude the quiet life is not for them and they decide to go-a-Viking one last time.
They retrace a journey of their youth across the European Steppe and down the mighty Dniepr River to Byzantium. However a chance discovery in a Kiev library leads them to venture even further afield - to Astrakhan, across the Caspian sea, up the mighty Oxus river, through Parthia and Bactria and along the ancient Silk Route into Asia and Tian Xia (China).
Engaged in a battle not of their choosing, they inflict fatalities on the sinister and evil Black Scorpions who want to exact their revenge. Pursued, they flee by night across the Roof of the World and meet the remnants of the "lost" European tribe of Asia, the Hepthalites, who offer them protection in their city, hidden in the Tien Shan - the Celestial Mountains. A place where romance is kindled and love unexpectedly blossoms.
During their winter sojourn in the Hidden City they gather more clues, and in the spring continue with their quest, on into the Taklamakan desert. The desert so called by locals because those who venture in seldom venture out. More danger and peril lies in wait for this rag-tag Viking crew as they travel along the Silk Route - the world's first super-highway.
At the eastern end of their journey they meet the Lang Ren, the Wolf people of Lou Lan, outcasts thieves and criminals living in an abandoned city in the desert. A city without water. A city about to die. A city in which the final clue to their quest is uncovered.
What fate awaits this rejected element of Asian society? Can this motley crew intercede on their behalf?
Will the fundamental cultural differences between the Vikings, Jews and Moslems in the group cause them to self destruct, or will the adversities they face cause them to overcome these differences and become a unified fighting unit?
- GenresHistorical Fiction
511 pages, Hard Back
First published January 1, 2006
7 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
John Halsted
45 books8 followersJohn Halsted was educated at Westville Boys High, just outside Durban, South Africa, where he spent more time on the sports field, gaining honours for athletics, and just managing to graduate. His lack of interest in academic school work led his teachers and parents to despair, while his coach rejoiced.
In the two years following high school he commenced national service in the South African Air Force and spent more time on athletics tours and having a good time, never fully committed to the defence of apartheid, as his Sergeant Major will readily testify. After completing his national service he spent the better part of eighteen months cycling around Europe.
On returning to South Africa in 1980 he found a job as a shipping clerk and when the opportunity presented itself he transferred to Johannesburg, only so he could continue his athletics career. In 1982 he found himself managing a container depot. It was here that he was run over by a seven-and-half-ton forklift truck and his athletics career brought to a screaming halt – both literally and figuratively. He spent three months in an orthopaedic hospital recuperating. It was also at this time that the Western nations applied strict sanctions against South Africa due the country’s apartheid policies and the shipping industry all but died. Not long after leaving hospital he found himself out of a job without any marketable skills. The easy times were over, he had to skill up.
In 1983 he found employment as an internal auditor with a major motor manufacturer. Searching for the ideal career he later transferred to the Accounts and Finance department. In 1985 he went to night classes and trained as a computer programmer transferring (again) to the I.T. department.
In 1986 he met his future wife Joy, a Kiwi Occupational Therapist, on assignment from the International Leprosy Mission, at Westfort Hospital, Pretoria. They married in 1987 and in 1988 moved to Auckland, New Zealand where they had two children.
In 1991 the family were transferred from Auckland to Wellington. In 1994 he changed career stream (again) to project management, finally finding his ideal career which gives him the fun, the challenge and the variety he requires. Their third child was born in 1996 and their fourth and final (he hopes) in 1998.
In 1999 the family moved to England, the birth place of his Grandmother. In 2001 he made a poignant journey to Poland where his father was a PoW. Always relishing a challenge he has cycled 300m/480km from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through France and 500m/800km across northern Spain on the Way of St James.
In 2000 he started a part-time MBA at Bath University, which he successfully completed in 2002. On completion of his MBA he realised just how much time he had on his hands and commenced an in-depth personal study of Viking history (from which his family are allegedly descended) and the history of the Silk Road.
When the exercise was complete he tried compiling a text book but found the content too dry. Taking a lead from his favourite authors he placed a few characters into the period and had them travel a route he one day would like to take himself - and history was brought to life. The result was "Legend of the Last Vikings - Taklamakan".
During the publication of the novel he brought his project management skills to bear and was so proactive in managing the publishing company that they asked him to join the organisation as the CEO/President. A role he accepted.
In between running a small but growing publishing house, John is currently researching and writing the sequel to Legend of the Last Vikings - Taklamakan.
In the two years following high school he commenced national service in the South African Air Force and spent more time on athletics tours and having a good time, never fully committed to the defence of apartheid, as his Sergeant Major will readily testify. After completing his national service he spent the better part of eighteen months cycling around Europe.
On returning to South Africa in 1980 he found a job as a shipping clerk and when the opportunity presented itself he transferred to Johannesburg, only so he could continue his athletics career. In 1982 he found himself managing a container depot. It was here that he was run over by a seven-and-half-ton forklift truck and his athletics career brought to a screaming halt – both literally and figuratively. He spent three months in an orthopaedic hospital recuperating. It was also at this time that the Western nations applied strict sanctions against South Africa due the country’s apartheid policies and the shipping industry all but died. Not long after leaving hospital he found himself out of a job without any marketable skills. The easy times were over, he had to skill up.
In 1983 he found employment as an internal auditor with a major motor manufacturer. Searching for the ideal career he later transferred to the Accounts and Finance department. In 1985 he went to night classes and trained as a computer programmer transferring (again) to the I.T. department.
In 1986 he met his future wife Joy, a Kiwi Occupational Therapist, on assignment from the International Leprosy Mission, at Westfort Hospital, Pretoria. They married in 1987 and in 1988 moved to Auckland, New Zealand where they had two children.
In 1991 the family were transferred from Auckland to Wellington. In 1994 he changed career stream (again) to project management, finally finding his ideal career which gives him the fun, the challenge and the variety he requires. Their third child was born in 1996 and their fourth and final (he hopes) in 1998.
In 1999 the family moved to England, the birth place of his Grandmother. In 2001 he made a poignant journey to Poland where his father was a PoW. Always relishing a challenge he has cycled 300m/480km from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through France and 500m/800km across northern Spain on the Way of St James.
In 2000 he started a part-time MBA at Bath University, which he successfully completed in 2002. On completion of his MBA he realised just how much time he had on his hands and commenced an in-depth personal study of Viking history (from which his family are allegedly descended) and the history of the Silk Road.
When the exercise was complete he tried compiling a text book but found the content too dry. Taking a lead from his favourite authors he placed a few characters into the period and had them travel a route he one day would like to take himself - and history was brought to life. The result was "Legend of the Last Vikings - Taklamakan".
During the publication of the novel he brought his project management skills to bear and was so proactive in managing the publishing company that they asked him to join the organisation as the CEO/President. A role he accepted.
In between running a small but growing publishing house, John is currently researching and writing the sequel to Legend of the Last Vikings - Taklamakan.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 26, 2007
Here is are a few reviews done before I joined GoodReads:
This is a wonderful blend of fact and fiction, putting flesh on the dry bones of history, demonstrating the insatiable restless human desire for discovery, adventure and the pursuit of knowledge.
Be drawn into a classic sojourn which spans many religions and beliefs and incorporates the ingredients of friendship, dignity, honour, love, betrayal and greed; against the backdrop of a hostile environment which gives no quarter – just what one expects from a Viking.
An intellectual read, leaving the door open with a promise of more to come … Riveting stuff!
Paul Sweetland
EXCELLENT! The book tells a story that captures the reader on several levels. What appears to be an historical novel becomes an adventure set in a background of rich experiences and wide diversity. This adventure, alongside the stories of the different settlements and religions, and that of a moving
love story, means that this book provides a compelling and exciting journey of discovery for both the characters in the book and the reader themselves.
Laura Stannard
An adventure which skilfully combines history and fiction into a page-turner. A wonderful story.
David Lighterness
This is a wonderful blend of fact and fiction, putting flesh on the dry bones of history, demonstrating the insatiable restless human desire for discovery, adventure and the pursuit of knowledge.
Be drawn into a classic sojourn which spans many religions and beliefs and incorporates the ingredients of friendship, dignity, honour, love, betrayal and greed; against the backdrop of a hostile environment which gives no quarter – just what one expects from a Viking.
An intellectual read, leaving the door open with a promise of more to come … Riveting stuff!
Paul Sweetland
EXCELLENT! The book tells a story that captures the reader on several levels. What appears to be an historical novel becomes an adventure set in a background of rich experiences and wide diversity. This adventure, alongside the stories of the different settlements and religions, and that of a moving
love story, means that this book provides a compelling and exciting journey of discovery for both the characters in the book and the reader themselves.
Laura Stannard
An adventure which skilfully combines history and fiction into a page-turner. A wonderful story.
David Lighterness
May 28, 2010
REVIEW 'Legend of the Last Vikings' Taklamakan.
The way of the Viking is East... in an epic adventure through Europe and Asia. Lord Ulf Uspakson and his crew of adventurers sail, row and fight their way against unseen enemies. Foes who seek nothing less than their death...
This is a mystery with an uncertain end for the Viking Lord and skilled combatants as they retrace the steps of the 'Legend of the Last Vikings' Taklamakan.
John Halsted is an expert and historian in Viking lore and is able to bring this gripping adventure to life. This is a novel I would highly recommend.
The way of the Viking is East... in an epic adventure through Europe and Asia. Lord Ulf Uspakson and his crew of adventurers sail, row and fight their way against unseen enemies. Foes who seek nothing less than their death...
This is a mystery with an uncertain end for the Viking Lord and skilled combatants as they retrace the steps of the 'Legend of the Last Vikings' Taklamakan.
John Halsted is an expert and historian in Viking lore and is able to bring this gripping adventure to life. This is a novel I would highly recommend.
January 30, 2013
a viking that was too nice, natives who seemed to know too much of their own history like elderly professors and dialogue that comes straight from a first time novel, lots of high speed traveling with not enough description or detail to feel wowed by any of the many countries the vikings travel through and so many characters that overwhelm the mind. The plot idea is good but the whole story needs a rethink and a rewrite.
November 27, 2015
Excellent story! I really enjoyed this book of adventures of a bunch of Vikings. There is so much history and so many well-researched places and facts. Impressive work. I need to read more by this author.
In a nutshell a bunch of Vikings travel from Norway to China via Kyiv, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and back. A lot of adventures on the way. Impressive!
In a nutshell a bunch of Vikings travel from Norway to China via Kyiv, Central Asia, Afghanistan, and back. A lot of adventures on the way. Impressive!
March 5, 2012
A great book,it keeps you stuck the pages even when theirs nothing happening,which is very rare.
There amy'be no blood and gore but it doesn't matter,if anything it would spoil it if there was.
Go read it you'll enjoy...
There amy'be no blood and gore but it doesn't matter,if anything it would spoil it if there was.
Go read it you'll enjoy...
Want to read
November 10, 2007if i can ever find a fucking copy...
Currently reading
July 14, 2009It's looking very good so far.
January 31, 2017
This is a very well researched work. We usually think of Vikings sailing west to the New World, but in this case we have an interesting twist and see them heading east to the Old one.
June 6, 2015
I absolutely loved this book! I wish I could give it a 10!!!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews