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The Viking
Rip-roaring historical adventure novel, featuring "hunting, fishing, tense rivalries and battle after ringing battle, with the Norse gods fiercely in the minds of the Vikings, and the God of the Christians set against them." Basis for the 1958 film THE VIKINGS, starring Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and Ernest Borgnine.
447 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
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224 people want to read
About the author
Edison Marshall
210 books13 followersEdison Tesla Marshall (28 August 1894, Rensselaer, Indiana - 29 October 1967 Augusta, Georgia) was an American short story writer and novelist.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 11, 2021
Two and a half stars, which will show up as three, because I'm a generous marker.
Sadly, I can't say much that is positive about this book.
The researach was impressive, particularly given how difficult it must have been to unearth all the obscure aspects of Viking culture before the invention of the internet (I often think the same about Harrison Ainsworth, another sensationalist writer).
Obviously, Kirk Douglas was struck with it, and had his script writer turn it into an enjoyable epic.
Many of the readers seem to be really impressed with it. Obviously, it helps if you enjoy 'sweeping epics' full of macho values. I think I'll stick the the film versions in future; they're more enjoyable pieces of swashbuckling nonsense.
Unlike many of the other readers on here, I thought that it was badly written with all that purple prose. It's also loosely plotted, full of detours that do nothing to further the main plot, with histrionics and wooden, unsympathetic characters the order of the day.
I thought that the author missed an opportunity in not developing the Hastings character more. The rivalry suddenly falls flat when Hastings at the end loses any interest in Morganna.
I never found the protagonist Ogier sympathetic, and the efforts of the author to make him seem a great leader by having so many other characters (even the 'Einar' character Hastings) proclaim him one fell flat with me.
The only thing I liked about him is that unlike his fellow Vikings, he isn't a rapist.
That being so, he didn't annoy me quite so much as Mr. B in 'Pamela', or Dominic Alistair in 'Devil's Cub', or Theseus in 'The King Must Die', or various other rapist or would be rapist heroes.
Excuse me, but a 'hero' who prods his dying enemy in the side with the toe of his boot, and makes fun of him? Are we meant to admire this man? Why don't any of the Christians looking on remonstrate with him?
Instead, they make obscure references to dragons and the curse hanging over him.
Well, it's true that Alan quotes the line about 'Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad'. Maybe this is meant to show that Ogier has temporarily gone off his head.
I suppose, it is arguable that he is taken over by the soul of the perviously horribly slaughtered falcon at this point, and revenge accounts for this piece of brutality. Certainly, he gives the appearance of 'flying' at his enemy.
However, this is all in line with the general obscure, portentious (not to be really uncharitable and say 'pretentious') style in which the characters speak in this book.
The Boot Prodding piece of gratuitious cruelty is only one among many: ie, that same enemy Hastings' mutilation of the falcon after Ogier mortified him by showing off her superior prowess at hunting to that of his own birds of prey (thankfully left out of the film).
Ogier, who is so wonderful that even the haughty princess can't resist him, pagan though he is, has unknowingly killed off his father and two half brothers.
His punishment is to go and seek out Avalon. I see.
As his love object is happy to go with him, plus his toadying bard and his slavish Laplander foster mother (whom he always jeeringly refers to as 'yellow woman'), it doesn't seem much of a punishment to me at all.
I bought an elderly paperback version ages ago and have only just got round to reading it. During that reading, the cover fell off. I'm off to stick it back on with glue and shove it in the charity shop box. Obviously, a lot of readers enjoy this a lot more than I did and weren't as disgusted by the Boot Prodding of a Dying Enemy bit, and someone may well pick it up and enjoy it.
Sadly, I can't say much that is positive about this book.
The researach was impressive, particularly given how difficult it must have been to unearth all the obscure aspects of Viking culture before the invention of the internet (I often think the same about Harrison Ainsworth, another sensationalist writer).
Obviously, Kirk Douglas was struck with it, and had his script writer turn it into an enjoyable epic.
Many of the readers seem to be really impressed with it. Obviously, it helps if you enjoy 'sweeping epics' full of macho values. I think I'll stick the the film versions in future; they're more enjoyable pieces of swashbuckling nonsense.
Unlike many of the other readers on here, I thought that it was badly written with all that purple prose. It's also loosely plotted, full of detours that do nothing to further the main plot, with histrionics and wooden, unsympathetic characters the order of the day.
I thought that the author missed an opportunity in not developing the Hastings character more. The rivalry suddenly falls flat when Hastings at the end loses any interest in Morganna.
I never found the protagonist Ogier sympathetic, and the efforts of the author to make him seem a great leader by having so many other characters (even the 'Einar' character Hastings) proclaim him one fell flat with me.
The only thing I liked about him is that unlike his fellow Vikings, he isn't a rapist.
That being so, he didn't annoy me quite so much as Mr. B in 'Pamela', or Dominic Alistair in 'Devil's Cub', or Theseus in 'The King Must Die', or various other rapist or would be rapist heroes.
Excuse me, but a 'hero' who prods his dying enemy in the side with the toe of his boot, and makes fun of him? Are we meant to admire this man? Why don't any of the Christians looking on remonstrate with him?
Instead, they make obscure references to dragons and the curse hanging over him.
Well, it's true that Alan quotes the line about 'Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad'. Maybe this is meant to show that Ogier has temporarily gone off his head.
I suppose, it is arguable that he is taken over by the soul of the perviously horribly slaughtered falcon at this point, and revenge accounts for this piece of brutality. Certainly, he gives the appearance of 'flying' at his enemy.
However, this is all in line with the general obscure, portentious (not to be really uncharitable and say 'pretentious') style in which the characters speak in this book.
The Boot Prodding piece of gratuitious cruelty is only one among many: ie, that same enemy Hastings' mutilation of the falcon after Ogier mortified him by showing off her superior prowess at hunting to that of his own birds of prey (thankfully left out of the film).
Ogier, who is so wonderful that even the haughty princess can't resist him, pagan though he is, has unknowingly killed off his father and two half brothers.
His punishment is to go and seek out Avalon. I see.
As his love object is happy to go with him, plus his toadying bard and his slavish Laplander foster mother (whom he always jeeringly refers to as 'yellow woman'), it doesn't seem much of a punishment to me at all.
I bought an elderly paperback version ages ago and have only just got round to reading it. During that reading, the cover fell off. I'm off to stick it back on with glue and shove it in the charity shop box. Obviously, a lot of readers enjoy this a lot more than I did and weren't as disgusted by the Boot Prodding of a Dying Enemy bit, and someone may well pick it up and enjoy it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2017
I've been on a kick of searching out old historical fiction books from my local thrift stores. Who can argue with a quarter? Anyways, I'm a fan of history channel's series Vikings and I found this book. Flipping through it there are many of the same names and it was written in first person perspective. So needless to say I was super stoked to read this.
Ogier Gyrfalcon is our main character. In Part One, Ogier wins his freedom and sets out to face his destiny; whatever it may be. Freeing a Christian princess from other Vikings, Ogier is instantly smitten. He then spends the rest of their time together trying to get into her pants. This grew so tedious and tiresome. The whole time she was like 'No way Jose. You're a pagan and I'm betrothed to King Aella.' The sea battle with Ragnar was the only redeeming thing for Part One.
In Part Two, Ogier must deal with his handicaps and fight to put Egbert on the English throne. This part of the book was more entertaining with the constant battling and the Vikings use of tactics. At the conclusion of the book there is a nice surprise.
I only felt like it was worth three stars. Mainly because I really don't feel that I would ever read this one again. To me this was one of those books that was a chore to complete but at the same time I'll remember the story for years to come. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Vikings.
Ogier Gyrfalcon is our main character. In Part One, Ogier wins his freedom and sets out to face his destiny; whatever it may be. Freeing a Christian princess from other Vikings, Ogier is instantly smitten. He then spends the rest of their time together trying to get into her pants. This grew so tedious and tiresome. The whole time she was like 'No way Jose. You're a pagan and I'm betrothed to King Aella.' The sea battle with Ragnar was the only redeeming thing for Part One.
In Part Two, Ogier must deal with his handicaps and fight to put Egbert on the English throne. This part of the book was more entertaining with the constant battling and the Vikings use of tactics. At the conclusion of the book there is a nice surprise.
I only felt like it was worth three stars. Mainly because I really don't feel that I would ever read this one again. To me this was one of those books that was a chore to complete but at the same time I'll remember the story for years to come. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Vikings.
July 16, 2018
Having loved the movie with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, how lucky was I to find an original edition of the paperback! Marshall's prose blows me away ... and given the year when this novel was written, I can hardly believe what he got away with in print. Phew! I also have the sequel, West With The Vikings ... but oddly enough have not yet read it. Note to self: read it soon.
February 8, 2012
"They do not write them this way, these days" would be my first thought.
A very good story told in a very special way.
May be the way the "so called" barbarians lived back then is very similar to the way corporate slaves live today. This way or that a very solid book, very much fun to read.
A very good story told in a very special way.
May be the way the "so called" barbarians lived back then is very similar to the way corporate slaves live today. This way or that a very solid book, very much fun to read.
September 12, 2018
The greatest of Viking stories. The adventures of Ogier the Dane are a joy to read.
September 30, 2020
Read this in ~1966. I enjoyed the story then. Maybe worth revisiting.
March 6, 2014
The Viking by Edison Marshall
spring 2013
Film
radio debate
Insert Viking Kittens
ascension weekend - yay! howmuchfuncanyouhave
pub 1951
under 50 ratings
2* (there is NO tide action in the fjordes so an integral plot point is entirely moot)
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550861/
Einar and Eric are two Viking half-brothers. The former is a great warrior whilst the other is an ex-slave, but neither knows the true identity of the other. When the throne of Northumbria in Britain becomes free for the taking, the two brothers compete against one another for the prize, but they have very different motives - both involving the princess Morgana, however. Written by Graeme Roy
In the Middle Ages, Viking warriors continue to raid the English coast. In one such raid the Viking leader Ragnar kills the English king and forces himself on the Queen. With the King dead, his brother takes the thrown but unknown to anyone but a trusted servant, the Queen is now with child. In order to protect the boy, he is sent away to be raised in safety away from the new King. Twenty years later, the Vikings under are still raiding England and they now have an Englishman, Egbert, making maps of the English coast for them. Ragnar has a son, Einar, a lusty warrior who takes what he wants when he wants it. They also have a slave, Eric, taken prisoner as an infant. Egbert realizes from a necklace Eric wears that he is the son of the Queen and is Einar's half-brother. When they kidnap Morgana, a Welsh beauty and the English King's betrothed, the stage is set for an inevitable clash between the half-brothers and with the reigning English King. Written by garykmcd
AND
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Icelandic Sagas. First written down in the 13th century, the sagas tell the stories of the Norse settlers of Iceland, who began to arrive on the island in the late 9th century. They contain some of the richest and most extraordinary writing of the Middle Ages, and often depict events known to have happened in the early years of Icelandic history, although there is much debate as to how much of their content is factual and how much imaginative. Full of heroes, feuds and outlaws, with a smattering of ghosts and trolls, the sagas inspired later writers including Sir Walter Scott, William Morris and WH Auden.
With: Carolyne Larrington Fellow and Tutor in Medieval English Literature at St John's College, Oxford
Elizabeth Ashman Rowe University Lecturer in Scandinavian History at the University of Cambridge
Emily Lethbridge Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Árni Magnússon Manuscripts Institute in Reykjavík
Producer: Thomas Morris.
So, they sit there, talking through pinched nostrils - heaven forbid that anyone should display some enthusiasm for the subject!
spring 2013
Film
radio debate
Insert Viking Kittens
ascension weekend - yay! howmuchfuncanyouhave
pub 1951
under 50 ratings
2* (there is NO tide action in the fjordes so an integral plot point is entirely moot)
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550861/
Einar and Eric are two Viking half-brothers. The former is a great warrior whilst the other is an ex-slave, but neither knows the true identity of the other. When the throne of Northumbria in Britain becomes free for the taking, the two brothers compete against one another for the prize, but they have very different motives - both involving the princess Morgana, however. Written by Graeme Roy
In the Middle Ages, Viking warriors continue to raid the English coast. In one such raid the Viking leader Ragnar kills the English king and forces himself on the Queen. With the King dead, his brother takes the thrown but unknown to anyone but a trusted servant, the Queen is now with child. In order to protect the boy, he is sent away to be raised in safety away from the new King. Twenty years later, the Vikings under are still raiding England and they now have an Englishman, Egbert, making maps of the English coast for them. Ragnar has a son, Einar, a lusty warrior who takes what he wants when he wants it. They also have a slave, Eric, taken prisoner as an infant. Egbert realizes from a necklace Eric wears that he is the son of the Queen and is Einar's half-brother. When they kidnap Morgana, a Welsh beauty and the English King's betrothed, the stage is set for an inevitable clash between the half-brothers and with the reigning English King. Written by garykmcd
AND
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Icelandic Sagas. First written down in the 13th century, the sagas tell the stories of the Norse settlers of Iceland, who began to arrive on the island in the late 9th century. They contain some of the richest and most extraordinary writing of the Middle Ages, and often depict events known to have happened in the early years of Icelandic history, although there is much debate as to how much of their content is factual and how much imaginative. Full of heroes, feuds and outlaws, with a smattering of ghosts and trolls, the sagas inspired later writers including Sir Walter Scott, William Morris and WH Auden.
With: Carolyne Larrington Fellow and Tutor in Medieval English Literature at St John's College, Oxford
Elizabeth Ashman Rowe University Lecturer in Scandinavian History at the University of Cambridge
Emily Lethbridge Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Árni Magnússon Manuscripts Institute in Reykjavík
Producer: Thomas Morris.
So, they sit there, talking through pinched nostrils - heaven forbid that anyone should display some enthusiasm for the subject!
October 19, 2016
The tale of two half-brothers (one Saxon/Viking and the other Viking) and their vociferous father, Ragnar bursts across the pages of this novel. They are loud, brave and driven by different reasons. They are destined to clash and they do. This book has it all: love, action, betrayal, bravery and myth. This is one of my all-time favorite historical fiction novels and among the first i read.
Read
March 15, 2016Read in 1963 according to my diary for that year. Alas, no rating or comments listed. I was really into reading movie tie-ins in those years so this was prompted by seeing the Tony Curtis/ Kirk Douglas film, perhaps on TV as the movie was from 1958.
August 9, 2009
I enjoyed this quite a lot, and I thought the movie made from it was pretty good.
June 24, 2010
Enjoyed the book mainly because I like the Viking lore but I thought it was well written and I did not predict the ending. That is always a big bonus!
February 22, 2016
Interesting story. I like both the movie and the novel; each has its perks.
September 6, 2016
rousing good fun; interesting to see how much of the film was inspired by it
June 7, 2014
i want to read this book plz
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews