Forged by Iron

Olaf's Saga, Book 1

By: Eric Schumacher

Narrated by: Gildart Jackson

From the bestselling author of Hakon's Saga comes the first in a series of stories about Olaf Tryggvason, one of the most legendary kings of the Viking Age.

Norway, AD 958. The Northern realm is once again at war. The exiled sons of Erik Bloodaxe have returned with the help of the Danes and have slain King Hakon. They now come for Hakon's heir, Jarl Trygvi.

Trygvi's wife, Astrid, and young son, Olaf, flee their home with the aid of their household warriors. Pursued by the Bloodaxe brood, the family escapes east, through the dark, forested land of the Swedes and across the treacherous East Sea. But the gods are fickle and the group is torn apart, leaving them to fend for themselves in Forged by Iron, a must-listen for all who enjoy action-packed historical fiction.

©2020 Eric Schumacher (P)2023 Tantor

Great Story

This book is filled with adventure. I The rollercoaster of events kept my interest and can’t wait to see what happens next

Very well done.

Fast-paced with lots of action. I had trouble putting it down. It was a great listen. I'm looking forward to The next installment.

great!

great story indeed..Although this story is told through the eyes of Olafs charge,it's still really good. Narrator is really good also.

Emotionally Invested, Can't wait for the next Book

Aside from two plotholes, the story is everything you would want in a Viking Saga. All be it, not for the faint of heart. It deals with VERY mature themes but that also grounds it in reality. Even I, a Stoic Marine Vet reached a point I was on the brink of tears. EXCELLENT Narrator, reminds me of an old Lighthouse Watchman.

Great beginning to a new saga

Great character building for a series. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series

Phenomenal narration!

Major improvement from the Hakon series in narration. No hate to the narrator of that series but I just couldn’t adapt.

Old narrator voices young boy

Couldn’t get into this at all. Maybe it’s the performance of an old guy narrating a coming of age story or maybe it’s just I bounced off this story hard. Either way it’s very ok story. You’d have to love Viking historical fiction to enjoy it I feel and I’m merely a peruser of the subgenre.

Fairly Predictable

This book follows the typical (read: cliched) story beats for Scandinavian/Viking tales of the bildungsroman type, and despite its short length I found it dragging. Any emotion it manages to capture is more a product of the narrative structure than the actual story. The characters are one-dimensional, the action is fairly boring and contrived, and the whole thing is propped up by the excellent narrator, Gildart Jackson. I could listen to him read almost anything. Overall, I'm happy I brought this on sale. I will not finish the series.