Review - Axe of Iron: The Settlers by J.A. Hunsinger

Axe of Iron: The Settlers

by: J.A. Hunsinger

Paperback: 356 pages
Publisher: Vinland Publishing Llc (August 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0980160103
ISBN-13: 978-0980160109
Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches

I have to say that before I read Axe of Iron, I knew next to nothing about the Norse and Viking Age. Not for lack of interest, I just never really thought about it, I guess (a bit of a contradiction, perhaps?! lol) In any case, when I read that this book pertained to this time period and the exploration of unknown regions, I was highly intrigued! Though the names were a bit difficult for me to figure out - such examples are Halfdan Ingolfsson, the leader of crew and settlers, Gubjartur, the second in command, as well as other characters such as Vilhjalm, Ulfar, and Athils, just to name a few. The names are very much of that heritage, but me being ignorant of that, just kind of made up my own names to go along with the true names, lol.

All kidding aside, Axe of Iron is both an entertaining read, as well as educational. I found many intriguing areas within the story that left me with a sense of awe that I had learned something new. On instance is the following passage taken from page 64....

Two thralls places soapstone pots directly in the coals of the fire pit to boil saltwater for the salt it contained. As the water boiled away they scraped out the accumulated salt, refilled the pots with seawater, and the process began anew. the two women tended the salt pots and gathered edible seaweed that the previous low tide had left on the beach in scattered piles. They filled two baskets for immediate use, and spread the rest out to dry above the high-water line on the stony beach. When dry enough they would rake it into piles and burn it to ash. This ash contained a very high concentration of salt. It also provided another source of salt to cure dried meat and fish and to flavor other foods.

I, for one, never had a clue that seaweed could be of such use. It is examples such as this that really make the reader fall into the story and bring about fascination of a long ago time that is really not that widely talked about or explored (or at least not to my knowledge).

The story is smooth and the characters realistic and enjoyable. Beware - there is a bit of "ick" graphicness" such as the following from page 41...

The cloying smell of fresh blood was everywhere but the people welcomed it as a measure of success of the hunt. Almost everyone near at hand stuffed chunks of bloody blubber and skin into their mouths, chewed contentedly, and leered at others not fortunate enough, or close enough to partake.

There is action and adventure and something for everyone. Axe of Iron: The Settlers is the first in a wonderful historical series, which promises many delights to come. If you enjoy being whisked away to another time and place with amazing historical accuracy, you will adore this novel. I look forward to the great talent that lies ahead from Mr. Hunsinger.

*overall rating 4/5

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Product Description:

Axe of Iron: The Settlers is a tale of survival, strife, love, and the quest for a new home in the face of hostile opposition. Conditions of manifest destiny propel a large contingent of Norse Greenlanders from relative security into an odyssey of exploration and settlement out over the unknown waters of the North Atlantic, to a North America of one thousand years ago, to a land they called Vinland. The chieftain, Halfdan Ingolfsson and his second-in-command, Gudbjartur Einarsson, spend a winter gathering 315 men, women, and children from the two Norse settlements on the southwestern coast of Greenland. Early in the spring of A.D. 1008, the company sets sail aboard six large cargo ships. Five days into the voyage, in the strait between Helluland and Markland, present day Hudson Strait, a gale holds the flotilla in its grip for four long and arduous days. Halfdan decides to seek shelter in a protected bay, so they can rest, repair the storm damage, and replenish food stores lost in the storm. During the following weeks, the settlers reap a harvest of fish and game that is the best in living memory. When hunters discover a sheltered fjord, Halfdan orders a move. Tornit hunters from far to the north venture south to hunt, and the Northmen strike up a friendship with them. The Tornit tell the newcomers much about the local area and describe coastal waters far to the south. It is this thought-provoking insight into the geography of this new land and the dawning realization that the storm god, Njord, seems to have led his people to this place, that cause Halfdan to revise his thinking and propose a new plan to Gudbjartur and the council of ship's captains: sail south before choosing where to build their settlement.

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Excerpt:

Southwestern Greenland, spring, 1008

The sun appeared as a dull orange orb through the haze and sea mist as it began to rise above the horizon. The grey half-light of the northern night yielded to the brightness of the day. A chill offshore breeze, stirred to life by sinking cold air that flowed like a river from the vast inland icecap, began to stir the calm surface water of the fjord.

The last remnants of rotting pack ice dotted the water’s surface. Icebergs could be seen shining in the distance as they drifted by the fjord entrance on the current that carried them north along the rocky coast.A crowd of silent people stood among the rocks and grasses of the hillside. Below them, on the stony beach, a group of six men listened to a red-haired man who stood before them.

“The offshore wind comes off the icecap, and the tide begins to run from Eiriksfjord. It is time to make sail.” He looked at each of the men before his eyes came to rest on one of them.

“I am in your debt, Eirik,” the man said. “I could not have mounted this expedition without your help. I wish you were going with us.”

Eirik turned his head to look at the four ships drawn up on the beach. “I have sailed from many shores in my time,” he mused. “There have been many adventures. Too many some would say. No, this is your time, yours and your men’s. I pass the sword of adventure and conquest, the spirit of our people, to you and to all those with you. Go now, Halfdan. Set sail for Lysufjord. Destiny awaits you.”

Eirik shook hands with each of the men in turn. He saved Halfdan for last. The two men held each other’s eyes for a heartbeat, their hands locked on forearms in a viselike grip. A silent farewell passed between them. Halfdan turned away and followed his men toward the ships.

A groundswell of sound rose from the many throats, from ship and shore alike, as shouted farewells became raucous and tearful.

The mood became pensive as though a shroud settled over the watchers ashore when the long sweeps backed the ships from the beach and pointed their bows toward the mouth of the fjord. Sails rose to the mastheads and filled with the offshore wind. The ships sailed from the fjord into the open sea and out along the coast to the northwest, to the rendezvous at Lysufjord, Greenland.

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Six wooden ships laid sharply over in the brisk northwest wind as they sailed close-hauled on the port tack. Their destination was Leifsbudir, Vinland. Riotous ranks of steep swells surged by, dotted with islands of spume scattered indiscriminately on the surface. Spindrift off the wave tops pelted their hulls as the ships plunged into each deep trough and boisterously rose to the crest of the next swell.

Under the command of Halfdan Ingolfsson, the flotilla had sailed into the western ocean from the northernmost Greenland settlement of the Northmen, at Lysufjord. Halfdan took advantage of the north-flowing Greenland current to sail north along the coast to the narrowest part of the strait between Greenland and Helluland before he turned to the west. Dawn found the ships near the halfway point in the strait as the rising sun chased the twilight of the polar night to the west.

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Intrigued?! Want to read more?! Well go buy the book!! lol! Until then, you can continue reading more of these great excerpt by (clicking here)and scolling about half way down the page. Enjoy!

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