Olaf Tryggvesson was a real historical figure whose short life touched the whole of the viking world, from Newfoundland to Constantinople. Here, his story is told by 6 witnesses, from his birth when his life was saved only by the strength and courage of his mother, to his defeat and apparent death at the battle of Svold Sound. In its wide-ranging narrative, it is both a gripping adventure story and a historical record, and may prove to be the best viking novel since Frans G Bengtsson"s Rode Orm (published in English as The Long Ships)