Fascinating account on one of Norway's fiercest, strongest warriors. The beginning was a bit dry and overloaded with a lot of (necessary) background info, but once it got going, it read like a gripping novel. It's a bit too political at times for my taste, but overall an enjoyable, insightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Osprey Publishing for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A compelling account of the history of one of the most strongest warriors of Norway: King Harald Hardrada, a very distant ancestor. Leaving Norway with his army and sailing to England to take back what he considered his land, the battles are fierce and well detailed. The beginning of the book gets a bit bogged down with background (needed, but slow to read through), and the politics is not my favorite, so skimmed a bit. otherwise though, I highly recommend this book and author. He has presented, through sagas and a variety of accounts a intriguing look at the world of Vikings in 1066, including superstitions and meanings of place names. Well written and reads more like a novel at times instead of history, and worth the time to read.

I just finished reading a delightful biography of King Harald Hardrada of Norway. The ARC was provided to me by Osprey Publishing, and the text is expected to become generally available in September. The title of the book is "The Last Viking." The author, Don Hollway, has done an outstanding job of giving us all a glimpse into late Viking society, using the character and almost unbelievable life of King Harald as a vehicle for his exploration. King Harald Hardrada might be thought of as the Viking warrior writ large. His military and political career, not to speak of his colorful personal life, is used as a kind of exemplum of all of the flaws and virtues of a Viking warrior and King of his time. From his teenage years to his death at the hands of the last Danish leader of England (which paved the way for William the Conqueror's defeat of the English at Hastings) King Harald fought his way through Norway and Denmark to Kiev and a protracted stay in the service of the Byzantine Empire before winning back power in Norway and finally to his demise in England. Along the way he distinguished himself by his self-serving ruthlessness as well as his startling interest and participation in Scandinavian literary culture and a bewildering number of marriages and romantic entanglements, all heavily laden with political implications designed to serve his own purposes. He fought with distinction in battles all over the Medieval world. The author captures all of this through a deft examination of primary sources that most of us are only passingly familiar with. If you want to better understand the Vikings' role in early modern Europe, there are few figures which could more effectively convey the remarkable depth and longevity of Viking contributions to the modern world.

An interesting novel regarding a Viking king. I was unaware of the politics and inner workings that went on in those times. The story was intriguing and compelling. This was an extremely interesting read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I received The Last Viking as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

Just weeks prior to the infamous Battle of Hastings, another, lesser-known invasion of England was taking shape in the north: that of the Norwegian king Harald III, or Hardrada. Egged on by the reigning English king Harold Godwinson's brother Tostig, the elderly-for-the-times Harald was determined to conquer the country he thought was his due. Though ultimately fatal, the Battle of Stamford Bridge was a fitting bookend to an epic life: exiled as a teenager following the overthrow of his half-brother Olaf, coming of age in the court of the Kievan Rus, then rising to prominence in the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople, Harald was a storied and respected warrior by his mid-twenties. When he finally returned to his ancestral homelands, he faced unlikely odds to recapture the throne of his ancestors, yet with military skill, political savvy, and not a small amount of cruelty and ruthlessness, he did so. it says much that his death marked the official end of the Viking Era.

This book was a little slow to start, with a lot of complex family dynamics to sort out. Particularly at the beginning, there's a lot of peripheral/sidebar material that has to do with either the ancient or modern history of a place or concept--unfortunately, it doesn't really matter in the context of the story and just serves to distract the reader from the already-complex narrative. The story does pick up, though, and becomes more engaging as Harald hits his professional stride. I particularly liked reading about his time in Byzantium--the political intrigue, mixture of cultures, and Harald's rise to become right-hand man to the imperial presence. I also noticed a couple instances of some thinly-veiled racism in discussion of Muslim troops--one of the aforementioned sidebar comments was about a spot in the medieval Holy Land being part of modern-day Jordan. The quote was something like "like today, it was a haven for terrorists." It was unnecessary and one-dimensional commentary that isn't relevant to a book about events 1,000 years ago. Second, there was a comment about how the Byzantines fighting the Normans "was not going to be like fighting screaming Arab tribesmen." Again, reductive and racist, and very off-putting. The narrative, once it got going, was quite good, but there's some elements standing in the way of making this a truly enjoyable read.