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l0rdtim865's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
This was an interesting book on the impact of Vikings across the world.
I found the beginning very difficult to get into however once the subject matter was there I found the book easier.
I found the beginning very difficult to get into however once the subject matter was there I found the book easier.
rebeccajane's review
5.0
I don't really know how to rate and review a history book, but I really loved this. Yes, it got boring at times, but I loved the way it was written and I was really interested in the subject matter.
chocolate3cake's review
4.0
A really brilliant introduction to the Viking World, easy to read and addictive.
kayleighofhobbiton's review
4.0
Yay, I love this book.
Neil Oliver is one of my favourite history programme presentors. And when I found out that he had also written some books. I was so happy. :D
This book is a fun way to learn more about the vikings and about the reasson why the people of Scandinivia became viking warriors.
I love the cover too. It looks beautiful and fun to me. And it matches the other books he has written.
Four beautiful stars for this book.
Neil Oliver is one of my favourite history programme presentors. And when I found out that he had also written some books. I was so happy. :D
This book is a fun way to learn more about the vikings and about the reasson why the people of Scandinivia became viking warriors.
I love the cover too. It looks beautiful and fun to me. And it matches the other books he has written.
Four beautiful stars for this book.
jadorelire's review
5.0
Neil Oliver does a great job of taking you back to the time of the Vikings. His love for the Vikings comes through, though his book is a balanced one recognizing the flaws as well as the strengths of the men and women of the Viking era. His writing draws you in, and makes that time come alive as if it were yesterday. Highly recommend!
caterinaanna's review
4.0
Before reading this book I reckon that what I knew about the Vikings was fairly typical: their raids on monasteries on the East coast of Britain, their settlements in York and Dublin, the Danelaw & battles with Alfred the Great, the voyages to Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland. I even knew that the Normans were not-long-before Vikings and the contributions of their languages to the English tongue. Oh and their mythology, I knew some of that too. Seems quite a lot, doesn't it? But it's hardly anything really when compared to the back-to-the-ice-age history of an archaeologist and the less insular view of someone determined to tell the story of an entire people.
So, lots of fascinating information. Oliver has a real fondness for the people and succeeds in showing them in a more rounded fashion and as far more significant players on the world stage than most of us realise. However, when descending to the level of individuals, his imaginations are sometimes rather sentimental and it is quite obviously a book of a television series. By that I mean there's an awful lot of descriptions of places, people and artefacts. Some of them are good, even evocative, but others are no substitute for a picture, and there aren't quite enough of those. Also, there are sections of recap, out-of-chronological sequence storytelling or geographical skips which you can see are designed to hook someone in to a particular thread. Of course, history is not a simple, linear narrative and these techniques are therefore not limited to visual media, but here they made their presence felt rather than supporting my understanding.
Overall, it was a very readable book from which I learnt things but didn't feel patronised when reading about things I already knew, so that makes it rather good, doesn't it?
So, lots of fascinating information. Oliver has a real fondness for the people and succeeds in showing them in a more rounded fashion and as far more significant players on the world stage than most of us realise. However, when descending to the level of individuals, his imaginations are sometimes rather sentimental and it is quite obviously a book of a television series. By that I mean there's an awful lot of descriptions of places, people and artefacts. Some of them are good, even evocative, but others are no substitute for a picture, and there aren't quite enough of those. Also, there are sections of recap, out-of-chronological sequence storytelling or geographical skips which you can see are designed to hook someone in to a particular thread. Of course, history is not a simple, linear narrative and these techniques are therefore not limited to visual media, but here they made their presence felt rather than supporting my understanding.
Overall, it was a very readable book from which I learnt things but didn't feel patronised when reading about things I already knew, so that makes it rather good, doesn't it?
librarianonparade's review
4.0
I didn't watch the BBC documentary series this book is designed to accompany - in fact, I've never seen any of Neil Oliver's documentaries. And call me a snob, but I try on the whole to avoid history books designed to accompany television programmes - by and large they tend to skim the surface of the history, aimed more at introducing the topic to the audience rather than going into it in any great depth. And, well, I like depth!
But I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The Viking Age is not one with which I'm greatly familiar, and like most people, I would imagine, my mental image of Vikings tend to be the usual horned helmets, furs, battle-axes and names like Eric the Bonecrusher and Thorkel the Destroyer. So, as light as this was, it was an enjoyable and enlightening read. It focuses very much on the Viking picture as a whole, distinguishing between those from Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Norway, and the emphasis is very much on the Vikings, rather than their victims. Personally I would have liked a little more of a focus on the Vikings' targets, a bit more about the impact and the experience of those people they attacked, but perhaps that's just me seeking the exciting bits of history!
The final chapter is particularly interesting, linking the Viking history neatly with our own - with the last great Viking king, Cnut (or Canute, of tidal fame) - king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden, a true Viking empire. Or perhaps the last Viking king could be William the Conqueror himself, since the Normans were after all originally Vikings - hence the name, Normandy, North Men. Would that make England a Viking realm?
But I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The Viking Age is not one with which I'm greatly familiar, and like most people, I would imagine, my mental image of Vikings tend to be the usual horned helmets, furs, battle-axes and names like Eric the Bonecrusher and Thorkel the Destroyer. So, as light as this was, it was an enjoyable and enlightening read. It focuses very much on the Viking picture as a whole, distinguishing between those from Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and Norway, and the emphasis is very much on the Vikings, rather than their victims. Personally I would have liked a little more of a focus on the Vikings' targets, a bit more about the impact and the experience of those people they attacked, but perhaps that's just me seeking the exciting bits of history!
The final chapter is particularly interesting, linking the Viking history neatly with our own - with the last great Viking king, Cnut (or Canute, of tidal fame) - king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden, a true Viking empire. Or perhaps the last Viking king could be William the Conqueror himself, since the Normans were after all originally Vikings - hence the name, Normandy, North Men. Would that make England a Viking realm?