The Road to Miklagard

Viking Saga #2

by Henry Treece

Harald is now a young man, his father has died. He has a complicated series of adventures which takes him to a giant's treasure cave in Ireland, then Jebel Tarik (Gibraltar), then to Miklagard (the Viking's name for Constantinople) where he joins the famous Varangian Guard. Eventually Harald returns home to Norway via the great ship-portage on the Dnieper.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Young Adult, Adventure, Childrens

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

Henry Treece (1911-1966) was a British poet and writer, who also worked as a teacher and editor. He wrote a range of works but is mostly remembered as a writer of children's historical novels.

Reviews

[Naaytaashreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

" Now the battered Vikings had no heart left for anything but to huddle close to each other, in whatever shelter they could find, which was little enough. Even the stoutest stomached of them had been sick, and not a man but was frozen until he could hardly speak."


I did not enjoyed the sequel as compared to the first one.
However Henry's writing continues to amaze me and get me suck into the story telling.

I actually do enjoy the journey Harald has to take in with this one.
I feel like this was the time for his character to grow, see and learn by himself.
The adventures he went through, the things he sees, the friends and enemies he made.

I actually enjoyed the second half of the book more.
The dialogue continues to intrigued me and I am glad for he met the giant again.

[Tony Tubb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treece's usual beautiful dialogue and deep research contribute to an exciting story continuing this historical saga.

[Garry Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me 30 years, but I got to Miklagaard eventually, in 1999. The emperor was long gone, and the Varangar disbanded.

[Mawson Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this, and all the Treeces, when I was 11 and 12. They became a vital part of my imagination. At the time I practically memorized this one. Four stars for the enjoyment it gave me.

[Ernest Marlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this.

[scarlettraces]

I have the set with the Victor Ambrus covers (this is important).

[Dave Appleby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harald Sigurdson sets off a-viking in charge of his own ship. He travels to Ireland, seeking fabled treasure. Battles and adventures ensue. With a variety of companions including Haro, Radbard and Giant Grummoch, Harald's travels take him to Jebel Tarik (Gibraltar) and thence to Miklagard (the Viking name for Byzantium, also known as Constantinople, now Istanbul).

This is a classic picaresque except that the main character is not a humorous trickster who survives on his wits but a defiant fighter whose main strategy is to threaten and bluster. Strangely, this seems to work. He is, perhaps, a typical Viking hero but I found him charmless.

There is a great deal of action in this book which presumably appealed to the young me (I first read this book as a pre-teen). The chronology moves in spurts: some days are treated in great detail, in other places weeks pass in a paragraph. This made the narrative feel jumpy and the adult me thought that much of the story was treated superficially. This, combined with my adult reaction to the character, made me rather indifferent to the story.

But I loved it as a kid!

[Tim Poole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice tale. It's now the third Henry Treece book I've read, and I've enjoyed them all. He gets the basics right in my view, interesting plot that moves along nicely, good characters with personality, and some well choosen descriptors.

[Calum Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable follow-up to Viking Dawn, with our young Viking hero off on another pan-European adventure. Treece's research is clear and extensive but he wears it with a light touch - the narrative zips along at pace, with adventures galore, and characters dropping like flies. That the characters, including our hero, never really come alive is my only real criticism but this is very fine YA fiction, especially for its era.

[Matilda Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harald travelled to Jebel Tarik (Gibraltar) to raid coastal villages, along with a Danish bard named Arkil. Then he heard of a great giant, named Grummoch, who was hiding in a cave with a huge hoard of treasure. He had been causing nearby villages problems, and Harald agreed to put an end to him. During the raid, Arkil was killed, along with many of Harald's followers, for Grummoch was as tall as one and a half men.

Afterwards, Grummoch was taken prisoner, but agreed to become friends and stand by another. Grummoch's life had not been particularly pleasant. He had once struck one of the boys in his village for teasing him about his size and accidentally killed him. Then his mother had banished him from the village on pain of death should he return. Poor lonely Grummoch had retired to the mountains and lived off what he could steal from nearby villages.

With Grummoch and the remaining of his Viking companions, Harald was captured by a chieftain of a nearby city. They became trusted by the chieftain after they stopped a group of robbers from stealing his treasure. Then they were promoted to guards and one of the Vikings, Haro, fell in love with the chieftain's daughter, Marriba.

Unfortunately, Marriba was in love with the Prince of Miklagard (the Viking name for Constantinople). Marriba feigned sickness, and her father asked the Vikings to take her north where the weather was cooler and that they obey her every command. But as soon as they had set sail, Marriba stopped pretending and ordered they head towards Miklagard. Harald unwillingly changed course.

When they reached Miklagard, they were imprisoned by the evil queen, Lady Irene. Because Marriba was Muslim, Irene wouldn't let her son marry her, and ordered for her to be locked up and beheaded. The Prince of Miklagard was persuaded to sign her death contract, after which Marriba realised he didn't love her at all.

Harald and his friends managed to rescue Marriba and they travelled back to their homeland and shared between them the treasure of Miklagard which they had stolen. Marriba had promised to marry Haro, so he didn't need a share of treasure, for he had found the greatest treasure in the world.

I enjoyed this book very much. I love the way Henry Treece writes and I can't wait to read the next book in the series to find out what happens next!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of the Viking Saga is probably my favorite because it involves the Romans. I thought that it is sometimes disturbing when you think of the scenes in your head.