Expulsion: A Tale Of Two Vikings

by John Broughton

Ireland, 902 AD. Two powerful Irish clans unite to expel the Norse chieftains from Dublin. In the fray, Jarl Òttar saves the life of the Norse fighter, Ragnall ua Imair, son of his lord and scion. The Viking diaspora leads takes the leaders far from Dublin. Their destinies intertwined, Òttar and Ragnall navigate through the dangerous 10th century life, from Europe all the way to the Far East. But their real ambition still lies in the north, in the family thrones of Jorvik and Dublin. John Broughton's 'Expulsion' is a historically accurate, riveting adventure set in the medieval times, where riches and power are in the reach of the resourceful, and death is always just one step away.

342 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2022

About the author

John Broughton was born in Cleethorpes in Lincolnshire, studied at the local grammar school and went on to take an honours degree in Medieval and Modern History at the University of Nottingham, where he also studied Archaeology.
John retired in January 2014 and chose the period that fascinates him most – the Anglo-Saxon period – as the setting for his first historical novel. Since then, he has had 28 novels published by Next Chapter Publishing. Most are historical novels, but he also writes murder mysteries, fantasy and sci-fi.

Reviews

[Brian Porter]

Vikings at war, a superb tale

As always John Broughton brings his historical fiction to life with a double strategy. First of all he has clearly researched his subject well and secondly he mixes the facts about the time frame in which the book is set with his fictional tale, populated with realistic and believable characters.
There’s plenty of action, as the Vikings, having been expelled from Ireland plan long and hard, in their plan to avenge their humiliating expulsion. The book moves at a fast pace and occasionally I lost track of who was doing what to whom, almost as it could have been in real life, such was the nature of war at the end of the first millennium.
A terrific read that kept me reading well into the night on many occasions, and well worth 5 big stars

[G. Miki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Irish, in a fury after years of being repeatedly raided by the Norse, finally expel Norse raiders from their shores, killing many in the company of fierce Norse leader Jarl Òttar. Òttar knows when the time has arrived to leave, though Ireland had come to seem like home. He’s a smart man and powerful, a Viking, which is to say he and his crew live by going a-viking—that is, by taking what is available to them from those in wealthy Christian lands: silver, holy books, slaves, and more. Author Broughton depicts all this in sharp action-driven detail with obvious historical accuracy and clever imagining—showing the personalities and motivations as they must have existed in those days.

But the jarl, Òttar, is not the villain here. He’s a reasonable man and seeks to win over his Saxon enemies and turn them into intimate friends. He knows how to reward as well as to wield threats and to carry out punishments. The main thing, though, is that he helps those he’s responsible for to survive. Still, he is unsettled by some of what he sees that he and his people do.

Good, clear writing abounds in an action tale that clarifies periods of history we were never taught in school and thus Broughton allows us to consider the opening salvos of Western development, of trade and interactions among nations and cultures. Òttar has perhaps another vision for how he and his people might live.

In fact, the author with his intriguing story gives readers a lot to think about, whether of European lineage or not, since we see what human behavior has tended to, not simply in the first century of the Common Era—but just watch the daily news on TV. We can only wonder at our link over the centuries to the past, and how like the ancient warrior raiders our society may be, both in business of all kinds, or on the seas.