Jennie HallReseñas

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Viking Tales...This is a charming little book narrating the tales of two of the greatest Viking leaders in History. The journey starts in Norway with the birth of Harald Finehair, son of Halfdan the Black. Harald was the one who united the lesser kingdoms of Norway and formed a united, powerful nation. The rejection of his marriage proposal by princess Gyda unless he became a great king and the vow that he would not cut or comb his hair until he had defeated all his enemies are the most well-known parts of his legend. A legend that continued with his sons Eric Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good. Then, we leave Norway to travel to Iceland, a land of fire and ice discovered by Floki (yes, THAT Floki), and meet Leif Erikson, the first European to have discovered Vinland, the land of North America.

Jennie Hall treats the legends with respect, and the language comes very close to the one used at the time, the language of the skálds narrating the sagas of heroes and far-away lands. It is a nice book to join the collection of those who love to read about the Nordic cultures during the Dark Ages and beyond. I read some reviews stating that it ''sugarcoated'''the Vikings and did not mention the brutality and the pillaging and so on...My answer is that they should read more carefully next time.This is a book for children, if you want violence, go watch TV instead...And it is a perfect introduction to the fascinating Viking world for the young ones.

Although this is a children's book, VIKING TALES can be interesting for readers of all ages. The reason I say 'can' be, is cos it will mostly depend on your interests and how far your knowledge on this subject reaches. In the end, this is a fictionalized work and not everybody appreciates that. Though there's plenty of footnotes and descriptions to open several discussions, which I think are perfect to do with children and therefore I also recommend this book to read with children.

I was torn between giving this three stars or four stars. It wasn't rousing reading, for the most part—though it was engaging—but in the end I decided that my desire for rip-roaring adventure was unrealistic and maybe a little unfair. This is a good introduction to Viking lore. There's a nice glossary describing the types of houses Vikings lived in, the weapons they used, and some of the gods they worshipped. There's also a bibliography at the end.

This was an enjoyable look at Viking life. Ms Hall gives us a very good picture of the Norsemen and their ways and values. There was very little character development but the lots of action and detail making the story and interesting read.