Viking Adventures

by D.M. Ritzlin (Editor ), Kenneth Morris, E.F. Benson

The sagas of Northern Europe have captivated the minds of fantasists and fictioneers for centuries. Many a mesmerizing tale has been spun using the grim grandeur of Scandinavian myths as a basis. Viking Adventures collects eight such stories, ranging from the historical to the fantastic. Among the tales included herein are short, action-packed thrillers by Poul Anderson and Ray Wynn, Kenneth Morris’ rousing account of an aged Viking who refuses to submit to Christianity, and two Nordic “Vengeance,” Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur’s pulp adventure based on the Völsung Saga, and “The Valkyries” by E.F. Benson, a prose retelling of Wagner’s Die Walküre.

Stories

“The Teuton’s Battle-song” (poem) by H.P. Lovecraft
“The Trader and the Vikings” by Poul Anderson
“The Regent of the North” by Kenneth Morris
“The Valkyries” by E.F. Benson
“The Passing of Sweyn” by Ray Wynn
“Seanachas” by Fiona Macleod
“Vengeance” by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur
“Ragnarok” (poem) by Henry Kuttner

Genres: Historical Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2021

About the author

D.M. Ritzlin founded DMR Books in 2015 with the aim of revitalizing sword-and-sorcery literature. DMR’s publications include reprints of classic material by authors such as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith, as well as brand-new collections and anthologies by some of the finest fantasy writers active today.

A collection of his own stories, Necromancy in Nilztiria, was released in October 2020.
Nilztiria is a world of adventure and strangeness, peopled by lusty heroes and callous villains. The thirteen sword-and-sorcery stories presented in Necromancy in Nilztiria place the emphasis on sorcery and mix in a touch of gallows humor.

For more information on all of his projects, visit dmrbooks.com.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viking Adventures edited by D.M. Ritzlin

This August journey with DMR Books to the far north. Eight authors present four short stories, two novellas, and two poems. The contents include:

“The Teuton’s Battle-song” (poem) by H.P. Lovecraft
“The Trader and the Vikings” by Poul Anderson
“The Regent of the North” by Kenneth Morris
“The Valkyries” by E.F. Benson
“The Passing of Sweyn” by Ray Wynn
“Seanachas” by Fiona Macleod
“Vengeance” by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur
“Ragnarok” (poem) by Henry Kuttner

DMR has once again surpassed expectations providing some deep cuts for this anthology. The oldest being "Seanachas" from 1896 and the newest being "The Trader and the Vikings" from 1958. It was surprising to see H.P. Lovecraft in this collection. I know him for his cosmic horror and was unaware he written something like this.

I had several favorites.

Of course Poul Anderson never seems to disappoint. His story, "The Trader and the Vikings", finds his protagonist on the run from a Viking raiding party. A chance encounter changes his life.

"Vengeance" by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur is a tale of passion, betrayal, and of course vengeance. With a slight twist at the end I should have seen coming.

And last but not least "The Passing of Sweyn" by Ray Wynn. What this story lacks in length it more than makes up with the sheer determination of its protagonist Sweyn. I would have liked to read more about the past exploits of Sweyn, but a casual internet search doesn't bring back anything else by Wynn.

With just about something for everyone, DMR Books is building an extensive catalog to choose from. Be sure to follow them on social media so you never miss a release. The DMR website also provides new and thoughtful articles about authors, books, and related media. And while you're there be sure to sign up for the newsletter and receive a digital copy of The Infernal Bargain and Other Stories anthology, featuring a who's who of DMR published authors.

[Gregory Mele · Rating 3 out of 5]

DMR books is building quite a library of both new works in an old-school, pulp vein, and reprints of interesting, sometimes overlooked or forgotten works, by both well-known (Tanith Lee, Manly Wade Wellman, Poul Anderson) and largely forgotten writers.

This collection is a mix of all of the above, four short stories, two novellas, and two poems by names well-known and now largely forgotten:

“The Teuton’s Battle-song” (poem) by H.P. Lovecraft
“The Trader and the Vikings” by Poul Anderson
“The Regent of the North” by Kenneth Morris
“The Valkyries” by E.F. Benson
“The Passing of Sweyn” by Ray Wynn
“Seanachas” by Fiona Macleod
“Vengeance” by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur
“Ragnarok” (poem) by Henry Kuttner

(Ostensibly, all are about the Vikings, though much like the Eddas themselves survive in post-Viking era editions, often about pre-Viking times, there's some decided vagueness about what's a Viking. Let's just say that it's a collection of Norse tales.)

As a collection, I can't lie -- it's uneven -- but there are some real gems in here, too.

Lovecraft's poem serves as a kind of prologue, contrasted to Kuttner's poem about Ragnarok, which is its epilogue. Neither is particularly excellent poetry, forgettable if not for the authors, though Kuttner's is decidedly better. Indeed, while Lovecraft produced some good poems, this entry served to remind me that of the Big Three (Howard, Smith and Lovecraft), HP was decidedly the least of the three as a poet, and while undeniably Poe's heir in the realm of horror, he lacked the elder master's poetic gifts.

Of course Poul Anderson was a master of "the Northern thing" and wrote some brilliant entries in that realm. His story, "The Trader and the Vikings", is a romance, very much like the Viking tales written in the same era by Harold Lamb, for the same market. Like Lamb's offerings, which I just read earlier this year, it's not an exemplar of Anderson's best work, limited by the publication's required formula that tries to cram an adventure and love story into six thousand words. It's fine, but not memorable.

"Regent of the North" is a tale of the dying of the old religion and a stubborn jarl's determination to sail off into the distant north rather than submit to the new faith of the White Christ. This is an evocative tale that could easily have inspired a young Bob Howard.

"The Passing of Sweyn" by Ray Wynn is a dark, powerful tale that sadly introduces us to a great character as he is dying. This very much felt like a concluding scene from a Norse saga, oddly more so than "The Valkyrie" which is a retelling of Wagner's opera, itself drawn from the Volsunga Saga/Nibelungelied. The Valkyrie is one of the older pieces in the collection and the writing style is a bit dated and stilted to convey the action and drama of the story itself. Put another way -- I'd rather just read the original epic.

Conversely, "Vengeance" by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur, which is the other novella, is also from the Volsung Saga, but a generation earlier. Brodeur, like Tolkien, was a linguist and scholar of Anglo-Saxon and Norse literature; a professor who dabbled in fiction. His story here has all of the passion and fury of the original, recast with modern writing sensibilities, and is the high-point of the collection. I enjoyed it so much I tracked down two of his novels.

Fiona Macleod was the pen name of the Scottish writer William Sharp, a "frienemy" of W.B Yeats, both within the circles of the Celtic Revival and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Macleod/Sharp was an excellent writer and the contribution here ("Seanachas") is a short cycle of loosely linked stories that begin with an invasion of Norse raiders against a community of Culdees and ends with a group of raiders being destroyed by the famed Gaelic warrior-queen Scathach, who is in a particularly foul mood at being deserted by Cuchulainn. These stories, almost vignettes, are interesting but almost tantalizing at a larger story never quite given. This is also where history falls to good story-telling as Cuchulainn and Scathach are separated from true "Vikings" by half a millennium or more. Overall, these tales and the "Death of Sweyn" felt like a prototype for Howard's aborted chronicles of Cormac mac Art and Wulfhere the Dane.

An interesting, if uneven, collection, but to my mind worth it for "Vengeance" , "Sweyn" and "Seanachas".

[Jim Kuenzli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! DMR brought it again with these fine relics; some dating to the 1800s. 6 really good stories varying in length. Plus, we get poems by Lovecraft and Kuttner. Vengeance, a story based on the Volsunga Saga is here! We have The Valkyries, a story based on the Ring of the Nibelung. A short Poul Anderson tale is excellent! No duds in this bunch.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Dan Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the old pulp era and earlier style of stories that these are. Where the heroic ideal and the spirit of adventure is the gist of the whole thing. Really liked this book and recommend it.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Viking Adventures begins with an appropriate poem from no less a Skald than H.P. Lovecraft himself, coming from a century and nearly a decade ago. It helps set the expected tone and voice for this collection and while for we 21st century readers it is hardly shocking I imagine mothers of the 1910’s would have been well horrified to have their boys read this.

“The Trader and the Viking” continues onwards then with the tale of a Northman invasion in England, an ironic, unfortunate hero, and the woman he saves. Here the language and tone once more fit well. Old Norse/Viking stories at their best are playful with the language as the original Skalds loved to recombine and reforge words. This story does that somewhat, I.e.:

“Thorolf looked up to the stars and made a mute appeal to Freyja. No he-god could handle this creature.”

The prose is strong with sharp, strong imagery depicting what seems a character driven fiction, which also fits well with the old Norse theme. The ever present irony similarly fits well-here we have Thorolf, our ‘hero’, essentially bullied by the ‘damsel in distress’. Old Norse stories liked nothing so much as irony, so I was delighted to see the story begin in such a way. Overall it’s a short, fun story set sometime near the end of the Viking era (I.e. perhaps 10th or 11th century). While short it is nuccansed enough to make one think and carry one along and is a great starter story for this volume, helping to show that Vikings come in many myriad sorts, philosophies, identities, etc.

The next story “The Regent of the North” starts with some fine symbology on the seasons which flows nicely into the presently stated fact that this is both another story set in the late Viking era at the very end of that way of life and also here our protagonist is an elder Viking at the end of his life. So here we have a beautiful, symboligical swing of seasons given in triplicate. Now, this story was written in 1915, well before Show Don’t Tell writing methodologies infiltrated the writing worlds, and as such there is a lot of strong narration coupled with strong imagery and stronger philosophy. This story seems primarily an allegorical, philosophical hero tale more than anything else to me, and therein lay its best beauty. It should be noted too that the prose has a poetic quality that is haunting and enchanting, something that the concise prose of 21st century writers to rarely touch. I.e.

“The first frosts were withering the heather; in the valley the flowers had died; the twilight of early winter, a wan iris withering, dropped mournful petals over the world. On the hills all was ghostly whiteness; . . .”

Never mind the word rep-is that not some of the most gorgeous writing you’ve ever seen? Also, that ending-it is perfection, the chefs kiss and so much more! It all fits, locks together, like the wood of a great ship forged by a master builder or a sword from a master smith, or a story from a master Skald.

“The Valkyries” begins with an informative introduction preface, explaining that he creative lineage of the following story with some colorful culturally charged directive prose. The story proper begins with characters in that are familiar yet different. It should be obvious immediately that this is not a simple retelling if the Eddas but a reimagining with a brand new tale that will likely stand somewhat at odds with what we expect. So much is different that though this may be a Viking tale in many ways it is also it’s own entity all at once with this much respin-yet there is enough familiarity and cultural essence to still call back to what it is formed of. Written in 1903, much of it is iconic too-known great fantasy writers of yesteryear probably gained inspiration of their own from this story. Here environmental effects are key, as they are in the originating opera to the best of my knowledge. The wind and the rain sally the setting with great energy as do the seasons, moving our characters along their fated paths. Overall, it is a mesmerizing piece-it is of the Viking mythology in perhaps the same way marvels Thor is-both hail distantly to the source material, but in strange new ways, where characters and setting have great differences from the eddas and sagas. There is a bit of an elephant in the insest material first between brother and sister and then something in Wodan’s love of Brunhilda, his daughter. Pushing that aside though, I think most readers will enjoy this piece.

“The Passing of Sven” is a tale of vengeance and brutal ingenuity, both of which are often part of the Viking mythos. While it is beyond bitter sweet and certainly not modern in its care towards woman (our heroine is more a trophy in this tale despite her complex feelings and actions) it holds a grim symbolical beauty that fits in nice with this collection.

Next we reach the “Seanaches” section, written all the way back in the 1890’s. Here the language once more has a vibrant, lyrical quality that makes me want to hang these pages on the wall as high art-they are so beautiful. “The Song of the Sword”, the first substory in this block, opens with a familiar scene of sailing Vikings. Lots of color toned words are used, beautiful descriptions, and the word combining trick that is reminiscent of old Norse Skald craft (I.e. Sea-cream rather than wave, wave-steads rather than ships, sun-rain for morning light, etc.) the tale starts typical with Vikings sailing, raiding, looting, murdering, raping, enslaving and doing all those things that are attributed for Vikings. The names of the characters are beautifully picked too, I. e Morna for the abducted woman our Viking hero has taken for his own on his adventure. “The Flight of the Culdees” presents an interesting parallel between Christian conflict with Vikings and the drownding of a thrall woman; there is a fine bit of irony and lots of conflict in this short tale. “Mircath” presents a fine concept story of the berserker with the added addition of laughter, which I usually do not attribute to them. It is another fast paced, grim story laced with red laughter. “The Laughter of Skatach the Queen” differs in that the tale seems more Celtic than Viking though there are ancillary Viking victims-in any event it is a short, fine story about unrequited love and desire cast in grim tones.

“Vengeance” once again returns us to the saga of the Volsungs, though written in the 1920s nearly a generation later than the earlier telling, the story is a little different, though still populated with some of the same key notes, somewhat, though with less insest (perhaps?) and more regard for the sword itself. I’d argue while there is perhaps as much emotions and pathos as the earlier piece they are more muted and understated. The story concludes with an interesting moral message that is at once reinforced and antithetical to the story itself and the over arching motif.

At last then no less great an author than Henry Kuttner delivers a poem called Ragnorak that at once hints at the larger mythos in the Eddas while providing a sort of metadiologue boiling down to the hypothesis that the Gods are dead when they are forgotten, which in characteristic old Norse irony is answered with the data that the Aesir and Vanir are not forgotten, for we have this book (and many more) right here. Indeed, that old Norse culture has enchanted writers then from at least tye 1890s to present shows that they are as popular and more so then.

Overall, for fans of historical literature and old Norse culture, I’d recommend this anthology.

[Kirsty]

The editor of this anthology did not get permission from the artist to use their art as the cover, and he's incorrectly claiming it as an Arthur Rackham piece from 1911. If you're going to publish and sell a book by using other people's art and stories, please do your research more thoroughly.

The cover is a piece from 2011 by Ash Stewart Art - please see on Deviant Art profile page Dreoilin and search for Odin and Fenrir (goodreads no longer allows links for some reason).

[James T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found these stories more so curios than lost gems. If you enjoy what DMR puts out you’ll enjoy this but none of them particularly struck a chord with me. The Passing of Sweyn was my favorite in the collection.