Using the literary artifice of a strange dream, the author tells a story that is still little known, but for which he is evidently very well documented, namely the first 'discovery' of North America by the Vikings, who even founded a settlement near what is now Newfundland. So the young protagonist, whose twin sister mysteriously disappeared at sea a few years earlier, finds himself in the body of a Viking warrior, on board one of their boats, in the midst of a series of dangers ranging from decidedly unfriendly Indians to the ship's captain who, for reasons he does not know and will learn to his cost, would like to kill him. In an adventure that is both physical and spiritual, among shamans and demons, guided also by the spirit of his dead sister, the young man completes his quest, namely the liberation of the sister of the warrior whose body he inhabits, makes the victory of the good tribe possible and, finally, returns to his world, ready to face adult life.
Truly an enjoyable read.

Huge thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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Vestmen's Gale had a sort of isekai/time travel/reincarnation-type premise that I love in manga, light novels and anime and was interested to see how it would play out in a full novel format.

It was certainly an exciting read with great descriptions of settings and an aptly morose feeling punctuating the chapters as the protagonist kept recalling his time with his lost sister.

I would have liked some elements to have been explored further such as the implications of knowing the language and being able to communicate hundreds of years in the past and how that could change the course of history on a local scale.

However, overall, this was a fun read in that I never felt as if our protagonist was forgetting his main purpose despite the totally new environment and people he was encountering: he was still hellbent on finding out what happened to his sister and saving her.

Having read this, I want to try more of McCaleb's works and would definitely be recommending Vestmen's Gale to my friends.

Overall rating: 4/5 stars

Not going to lie, I chose to read this because of my persuasion towards all things Viking-related, and was expecting a typical story. I was expecting a guy being sent back in time, a bunch of misunderstandings would ensue, and the true story was the friends we made along the way or something. Happily, I was surprised to find a strange and well-written tale with a spiritual science fiction slant with possession and literal demons trying to do bad things to humans. Would I have preferred a straight historical novel? Honestly, yes I still would have. But, as it is this book was far more curious and exciting than I expected it would be. With that out of the way, I was surprised at how descriptive and well-written parts of the book were. The world of 1000 AD America is described with such care, that I would be surprised if the author was not either a former sailor or an active current sailor himself.

I can’t speak for the authenticity of the story, or historical accuracy, but there really wasn’t much that blatantly jumped out as an anachronism. But, honestly when you start including fantastical elements into the story, that’s not really what I’m looking for anymore. I haven’t read anything else by this author, but I would be interested as he is a solid author. It appears that he mostly does military books, which aren’t really my forte, but I will keep an eye out if he does anything else like this. Surprisingly good read, would recommend.

Vestman's Gale is a story of a by thrust back in time for some unknown reason, unknown that is until he sees who he thinks is his sister, who is dead. But it's not his sister, just a doppelganger. He believes he is there to rescue her, but it is more like to resolve the past. Be it his past, her past or someone elses. He meets many characters along the way, good, bad and in between. Some human, some of the spirit world. Each with there own problems. A different story and quite an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars.

Vestmen's Gale is about Viking's or Vestmen what ever you call Vikings that first inhabited the Northeast corner of the U.S.A. and Canada. It's sort of like the Outlander's Series, where you go back a few thousand years. But this time it is with Viking ship and there was a storm with hail and Michael fell into this boat and was brought back thousands of years before he was born and woke up in someone's body that wasn't his. It was Matok's, and he felt he would use this once he understood what was happening. This is what the story is all about with shaman, and others in finding Matok's sister who was taken away as a prisoner of the Indians. David McCaleb put him through all sorts of grueling events until he returns to the present time. It was a different story than I usually read but it was worth it in the end.

Imagine waking up in someone else's body on some ship in a different time period.

Michael is suddenly drawn back in time by the spirit of his dead sister to the age when Vikings ventured to North America. He finds himself in the body of a Norseman and a member of a raiding party tasked with rescuing their chieftain’s kidnapped daughter. He soon discovers a chilling link between her and his own world. In his journey back to the present, he battles warring natives, shapeshifting demons, and the insecurities of his past.

I didn't expect much from this book or really read what it was about when I requested it from Netgalley. I just saw Vikings and was like Yes please. And it was a great decision. I really enjoyed this story.