The Road of the Sea Horse

Last Viking #2

by Poul Anderson

The giant Norse warrior-king Harald Hardrede strives to forge a mighty empire by conquering the North in the second volume of the epic Last Viking Trilogy

He is a savior to the hordes of loyal Norsemen who would gladly give their lives battling at his side and a dreaded scourge to anyone who resists his dreams of empire. Now, Harald Hardrede--who, legend has it, has never been defeated in battle or sport--has returned to Norway, the land of his birth, after years of serving foreign rulers in faraway realms. The lessons of Constantinople are not lost on the giant Viking warrior, as he sets out to unite the northlands under his sole rule and create an empire to rival the great powers of Europe. Harald's task will not come easily and will demand great sacrifice, for the resisting Danes love their current king, and the proud people of the Throndheimsfjord would rather die than relinquish their cherished independence. But the fabled "Lightning of the North" will not be deterred, for he is determined to carve his place in history--or die in the process.

Multiple-award-winning author Poul Anderson's thrilling three-volume series, the Last Viking Trilogy draws from Norse legend and lore to prove he is as adept at epic historical fiction as he is at science fiction and fantasy. Norway's most glorious hero comes alive in The Road of the Sea Horse, a magnificent tale of war, adventure, bloodlust, and loyalty.

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1980

About the author

Pseudonym A. A. Craig, Michael Karageorge, Winston P. Sanders, P. A. Kingsley.

Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories. He received numerous awards for his writing, including seven Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards.

Anderson received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948. He married Karen Kruse in 1953. They had one daughter, Astrid, who is married to science fiction author Greg Bear. Anderson was the sixth President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, taking office in 1972. He was a member of the Swordsmen and Sorcerers' Guild of America, a loose-knit group of Heroic Fantasy authors founded in the 1960s, some of whose works were anthologized in Lin Carter's Flashing Swords! anthologies. He was a founding member of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Robert A. Heinlein dedicated his 1985 novel The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to Anderson and eight of the other members of the Citizens' Advisory Council on National Space Policy.[2][3]

Poul Anderson died of cancer on July 31, 2001, after a month in the hospital. Several of his novels were published posthumously.


Series:
* Time Patrol
* Psychotechnic League
* Trygve Yamamura
* Harvest of Stars
* King of Ys
* Last Viking
* Hoka
* Future history of the Polesotechnic League
* Flandry

Reviews

[Kemery Myers · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

The Road of the Sea Horse improves the storytelling of Harald Hardrede by implementing better writing techniques and a much needed showing versus telling technique. That being said, the highly meticulous historical fiction aspect to the story drags it down quite often in terms of progression, pacing, and personal investment. The story is a slight step up in terms of plot and intrigue over The Golden Horn.

Full Review: essentialreadingsandreviews.blogspot....

[Carl Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Last Viking” Series

One does not need to familiarize oneself very much with Poul Anderson’s works before learning that he had – and sometimes freely and indulged – a serious “Viking obsession”. For those who like slight old-fashioned fantasy or historical fiction set in the Viking Age, this is a good thing.

“The Last Viking” series was published as a trilogy of three separate paperbacks in 1980. In fact, these were co-written with Poul’s wife, Karen Anderson, though her name does not usually appear in the credits on published versions. No individual book exceeds 300 pages, making the series as a whole still shorter than a modern fantasy or historical fiction novel.

Together, “The Last Viking” series recounts in fictionalized form the life and times of Harald “Hardrada” (i.e., the “hard-ruler”) Sigurdarson (Old Norse: Haraldr harðráða Sigurðarson), king of Norway in the early/mid-11th century AD. The Andersons were not the first modern authors to tackle this subject nor were they to be the last.

Harald himself was a colorful, complicated figure whose eventful career took him from Scandinavia to Byzantium before it ended in England. The main source for his life is his saga within the Heimskringla compendium of sagas of Norwegian kings (where it is perhaps the most readable for a modern audience), though the Andersons make a point of having dug into other medieval Danish, Byzantine, German, and English sources to round out their own take on Harald’s tale. This is, overall, not a bad thing, though they sometimes seem a little too beholden to their sources, cramming anecdotes or references to anecdotes – not to mention a fair bit of historical background into expository dialogue or plain info-dumps. One sometimes feels that there is perhaps more than enough detail for books of these lengths; or, alternatively, the books needed to be longer to provide adequate scope to the material. These are, moreover, mid-20th-century (more than even late-20th-century) novels, but with deep roots in the historical novels of previous generations. Though not going “full William Morris”, the Andersons use archaic or archaizing terms freely (many modern readers may need to reach for a well-stocked dictionary) and cleave system for Anglicizing Old Norse names that may occasionally cause even the silent reader to stumble.

On the other hand, at their best, the narrative and descriptions are rich with evocative prose, and there’s little doubt that the authors (presumably Poul, especially) have a deep feeling for their subject and setting. If one has a taste for Viking-Age adventure helmed by a driven, somewhat flawed, but always compelling protagonist in somewhat stentorian but often vibrant language, then the Andersons will deliver for you in “The Last Viking” series.

The Road of the Sea Horse (The Last Viking, #2)

The second book in the series, The Road of the Sea Horse, covers the life of Harald Harðráða from c. 1046 to c. 1061. Having returned to Norway after a formative career as a mercenary commander in the Byzantine Empire, Harald finds his nephew Magnus (illegitimate son of Harald’s half-brother St. Óláf) on the throne. Harald essentially strongarms Magnus into an agreement to share the rulership of Norway, but also throws his weight into the ongoing conflict between Magnus and Svein Estridsson (despite a brief political dalliance with Svein before joining with Magnus) over the rulership of Denmark. Historically, Magnus then died the very next year, and the convenience of this to Harald has long raised questions for scholars about the extent to which Harald had a hand in the matter. In the Andersons’ novel, Harald might be said to have indeed worked to have brought about Magnus’s death, if not perhaps having been directly responsible – and one has the sense that this is exactly what the Anderson’s Harald (and perhaps the historical Harald) wanted people to think: “I have not technically done anything wrong – but you ought to understand that you shouldn’t get in my way”.

That said, much of the narrative in this book deals precisely with things that get in Harald’s way. Harald has been fired by his experiences with the Byzantine Empire to bring what he sees as a stronger, more stable, and more modern style of kingship to Norway, ideally Denmark – and, indeed, beyond. He muses over the hope of restoring (perhaps bettering) the “North Sea Empire” of King Knut, which (during Harald’s childhood and exile) had included Denmark, Norway, and English (as well as, at least briefly, parts of Sweden). To this end, Harald seeks to consolidate power in Norway by crushing local enemies or binding local allies to him. He also, somewhat obsessively, campaigns year after year in Denmark, winning considerable plunder, though without ever decisively defeating Svein – and his Norwegian levies eventually begin to tire of this interminable foreign adventurer.

Harald’s political and military frustrations are mirrored by his personal ones. Having left his “one true love”, the Byzantine noblewoman Maria, behind when he fled Byzantium, Harald has married Elizabeth (daughter of Yaroslav of the Kyivan Rus') largely out of expedience. But his and Elizabeth’s personalities are not terribly well matched, and Harald formally installs the fiery Thora (daughter of one of Harald’s nobles) as an official concubine. Unsurprisingly, there is little love lost between Elizabeth and Thora; both bear Harald children, though Harald mostly struggles to understand or get on with any of them. Yet with time, Thora’s own strong personality contributes to plenty of conflict between her and Harald, and Harald’s semi-(un)officially bigamous domestic situation sputters along with Harald never quite being able to achieve what he wants – largely contingent on his failure to get everyone around him to do what he wants.

If there is a theme to this second book in The Last Viking series, it is that of Harald’s frustration that no one understands or cooperates with his glorious purpose – without understanding (or at least caring) that his purpose is more annoying than glorious those around him. Harald’s single-minded vision and ambition are also his flaw and his tragedy. The Andersons do fine work in allowing the reader to simultaneously sympathize with Harald even as we see his problems more clearly than he ever will.

The novel ends with a brief episode (based on passages from Adam of Bremen’s History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen) in which Harald leads an exploratory fleet into the Arctic seas, hoping to find a fabled and marvelously clement land of Hyperborea. In the event, they find only mists and ice. At last bowing to the grumblings of his followers, Harald turns back from this venture – though one would be right to expect he’s not yet done trying to make a mark on his world.

[Michael Drakich · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a note, I read all three books of the series before writing this review.

This series is an interesting juxtaposition of fantasy and actual history. Prior to reading these books, I had actually reviewed what historical facts I could garner on the main character Harald Sigurdsson to use in my novel, Lest The Dew Rust Them, so the major facts in the novel are exact, while clearly, the minutiae details are fabrications by the author. Because all of the major facts are true, do I consider the novel an historical fiction or an actual historical? I am somewhat torn between the two distinctions.

I would recommend this series to any history buff who would appreciate a personal embellishment to the facts.

This second book takes Harald home to Norway where he becomes king then spends many years on a fruitless attempt to conquer Denmark and take firm control of the country he rules. Unlike the first book, this lacked the same level of emotion for Harald and, at times, became tedious. I would only give this book two and a half stars, but Goodreads doesn't allow half stars so you see my reviewed scored at three stars.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like this one as much as the first book. I think it's mostly because I'm finding it very hard to like/root for Harald. He seems like kind of a jerk - really, there are stronger words that fit better, but I'll go with that one.

Towards the end, he seems to be softening a bit, so I will read the last book in the trilogy, which I didn't think I would partway through this one. Anyway, not badly written, but a very unsympathetic protagonist through most of the book.

[Bradley Mork · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like tales about Vikings you'll like this.

[Maggie]

Bx,Rokp

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poul Anderson's Last Viking trilogy is just wonderful. They are, "The Golden Horn," "The Road of the Seahorse," and "The Sign of the Raven." It tells the story of Harald Hardrede, a giant of man who lived a real life Heroic Fantasy. The books are fictional, but are based on a real man and many of his real experiences.

[Sverre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I reviewed under Book 1 'The Golden Horn'