Was thrilled to hear about the release of Assimilation: An Axe of Iron Novel by J. A. Hunsinger. I had the pleasure of editing the first two books in this series, but my schedule didn't allow me to work on this last piece of the trilogy.
Assimilation will wet the appetite of the fans that have developed a fascination with the plight of the Greenland Viking settlers in the first two novels of the series, The Settlers and Confrontation.
The twists and turns of this continuing tale will engage the reader from the outset as the tall, fair-skinned invaders, knowing it is their key to survival, gradually assimilate with the savage natives of the pre-historical land that will become the Hudson Bay and Great Lakes regions of Canada and the US.
In a scenario ordained by the gods, this assimilation process has a thin chance of success through the forced involvement of two of the Viking settlers with tribes of natives that are habitual enemies of one another. Against overwhelming odds that can have but one successful outcome for the settlers, daily life becomes a balancing act where one word, one gesture, one innocent mistake, can spell disaster in this hostile setting.
Series: Axe of Iron
Paperback: 424 pages
Publisher: Vinland Publishing; 1 edition (August 14, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0988945525
ISBN-13: 978-0988945524
The second book in the Axe of Iron series picks up where the first book, Axe of Iron: The Settlers, left us. It is the late summer of 1008, and while the settlement at Halfdansfjord is flourishing, the uncounted numbers of indigenous peoples--the Naskapi, Anishinabeg, and Haudenosaunee Indians--have violently resisted the arrival of these pale-skinned invaders.
An ill-fated hunting trip, a blending of cultures, friendship with a tribe of Naskapi, the capture and eventual acceptance of a young boy of the Northmen by his Haudenosaunee captors, and an event that seems destined by the gods, leave the Northmen's fate hanging in the balance.
Can their developing relationship with the native tribes pave the way for the Northmen to survive in Vinland?
As with Axe of Iron: The Settlers--which we reviewed here--Hunsinger uses his wealth of knowledge and years of study to bring the Northmen and their adventures to life. Halfdan Ingolfsson and his second in command, Gudbjartur Einarsson, continue to lead the settlers in Halfdansfjord to what they hope is a prosperous life in Vinland.
Readers, who will recognize many of the names and characters from the first novel, are treated to watching these people develop and change as they meet the challenges of their lives in this new place; a place that is filled with hope and danger.
In Confrontation, we begin to see the blending of cultures as Thora of the Northmen marries Deskaheh the Haudenosaunee, who had once been captured by the Northmen, but who is now considered a member of their tribe. While Halfdan and Gudbjartur hope commitments such as these will allow the indiginous tribes and Northmen to better understand each other, they cannot let their guard down for a single moment. Hunsinger captures well, the dangerous situation in which the Northmen find themselves on a daily basis.
The Foreword provides important information for the reader, in addition to sharing a brief synopsis of what happened in Axe of Iron: The Settlers. Also included is a Glossary of Norse and Native Terminology to define terms that readers might find unfamiliar.
I found that as soon as I finished Confrontation, I was eager to continue reading the story of the Northmen. Luckily, Hunsinger also includes a short excerpt of the next Axe of Iron novel, Assimilation, which appears to be just as exciting as the previous two installments.
Readers of historical fiction are sure to be drawn in by this sweeping epic of the Northmen.
Title: Axe of Iron: Confrontation Author: J.A. Hunsinger Publisher: Vinland Publishing ISBN-10: 0980160154 ISBN-13: 978-0980160154 SRP: $16.95
Note: This blogger was paid to copy edit this manuscript. No payment was received to provide a review of the book.
Long before Christopher Columbus set sail, Northmen (also known as Vikings), settled in North America. In this first book of a planned series, Halfdan Ingolfsson, Gudbjartur Einarsson and their band seek a new home where they can live and prosper. Hoping to avoid the mistakes of those who traveled before them, Halfdan and Gudbjartur decide not to journey to their original destination, but to establish a home where there is plentiful game to hunt, fish to capture, and a bounty of natural resources. Earlier expeditions have been thwarted by tense relations with the Skraelings (Native Americans). As their leaders, Halfdan and his trusted advisor Gudbjartur, must make sure that all goes smoothly with the Skraelings, while also resolving conflicts among their own people. Can this new colony survive against such odds?
Having read nothing about Northmen since high school, I was excited to dig into J.A. Hunsinger's Axe of Iron: The Settlers. In this throughly researched novel, Hunsinger takes the reader on an adventure-filled journey back to a time when ships ruled the world. The author's passion for this subject and his extensive knowledge of Norse history are evident from the very first page. The reader is swept up into Halfdan and Gudbjartur's exploration, the establishment of new homes, and the day-to-day struggles of the new colony. Gaining insight into the customs and culture of the Northmen, the reader is also rewarded with an exciting adventure.
In addition to Halfdan and Gudbjartur, the author has created a cast of multi-dimensional characters; men and women whose struggles truly make this story all that it is. Perhaps the most complex, is Frida, who is happy to cause trouble for trouble's sake, yet is extremely useful in communicating with the natives and happily settles into a life no one might expect.
At times the dialogue communicates details that the characters should already have been aware of, such as this passage found on page 290:
"Ever since Iceland was colonized, a shortage of women has been a problem for our people..."
But this does not affect the pace of the story. And while the graphic description of sexual relations might not be everyone's cup of tea, these moments are not the center of the story and are few and far between.
The thumbnail of the cover art simply can't do it justice. This hand-drawn cover is stunning up close, and was one of the reasons I wanted to review the book.
Hunsinger includes an historical perspective at the beginning and a glossary of terms at the end--which adds a great deal to the wealth of knowledge to be gained--and also an excerpt from the next book in this series, Confrontation.
Historical fiction fans, history lovers, and those interested in Norse history may want to start their journey with Axe of Iron: The Settlers.
Title: Axe of Iron: The Settlers Author: J.A. Hunsinger Publisher: Vinland Publishing, LLC. ISBN: 978-0-9801601-0-9 SRP: $17.95 (U.S.)
My knowledge of Vikings is limited to the very few things I remember from a high school history class and the comic strip, Hagar the Horrible. So when I heard that J.A. Hunsinger was touring for a second month, I knew I wanted him to stop by and talk about his interest in Vikings and about the first book in his series, Axe of Iron.
The Settlers is a character-driven tale of a medieval people whose wanderlust and yearning for adventure cause them to leave the two established settlements on Greenland and sail west, to the unexplored land later referred to as Vinland.
Eirik the Red established Eiriksfjord in 986 and later Lysufjord, 400-miles to the north. Just 22-years later, new settlers from the homelands found all the best land already occupied, the fragile Arctic environment strained by too many people and animals on too little arable land.
Under the capable leadership of Halfdan Ingolfsson and his lieutenant, Gudbjartur Einarsson, 315 men, women, and children set sail from Greenland in the spring of 1008, bound for the unexplored continent across the western ocean.
Standing in their way are uncounted numbers of indigenous people, the pre-historical ancestors of the Cree (Naskapi), Ojibwa (Anishinabeg), and Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Indians. From the outset, these native people strenuously resist the incursion of these tall, pale-skinned invaders.
Two calamitous events occur that pave the way for the hostile beginnings of an assimilation process to occur between these disparate peoples. The way is rocky and fraught with danger at every turn, but the acceptance and friendship that develops between the Northmen and the Naskapi over an affair of honor, the eventual acceptance of a young boy of the Northmen by his Haudenosaunee captors, and a scenario that seems ordained by the will of the gods, makes it all begin to fall into place, as it must for the Northmen to survive.
See the saga unfold, in this first book of the Axe of Iron series, through the eyes of the characters as each day brings a continuation of the toil, love, hardship, and danger that they come to expect in this unforgiving new land.
About J.A. Hunsinger:
J. A. Hunsinger lives in Colorado, USA, with his wife Phyllis. The first novel of his character-driven, historical fiction series, Axe of Iron: The Settlers, represents his first serious effort to craft the story of a lifelong interest in the Viking Age—especially as it pertains to Norse exploration west of Iceland—and extensive research and archaeological site visitations as an amateur historian. He has tied the discovery of many of the Norse artifacts found on this continent to places and events portrayed in his novels.
Much of his adult life has been associated with commercial aviation, both in and out of the cockpit. As an Engineering Technical Writer for Honeywell Commercial Flight Systems Group, Phoenix, AZ, he authored two comprehensive pilots’ manuals on aircraft computer guidance systems and several supplemental aircraft radar manuals. His manuals were published and distributed worldwide to airline operators by Honeywell Engineering, Phoenix, AZ. He also published an article, "Flight Into Danger", in Flying Magazine, (August 2002).
Historical Novel Society, American Institute of Archaeology, Canadian Archaeology Association, and IBPA-Independent Book Publishers Association, are among the fraternal and trade organizations in which he holds membership.
Why the Interest in the Vikings? by J. A. Hunsinger
I have had a lifelong infatuation with the Vikings of medieval Greenland. After reading everything available, one is left with a nagging question. What happened to them? It is difficult to study them because they wrote nothing down. Everything we know comes from archaeological research and the Norse sagas. The Saga of the Greenlanders and Eirik the Red's Saga both tell stories about them, although centuries after the fact, but we know nothing about the people themselves. I decided to tell their tale using fiction because I wanted to convey to my readers what a lifetime of research has led me to believe regarding the abandonment of the two known Norse settlements on Greenland and the disappearance from history of every single settler. Nobody ever saw them again and nobody knows to this day, what happened to them. In spinning my Axe of Iron series of tales, I give my characters personalities, to make them as we are. No other author has ever told their story as I do.
One of my book reviewers, Melissa Levine, IP Book Reviewers had this to say: "It’s the details that grab the reader’s attention in J. A. Hunsinger’s historical novel, Axe of Iron: The Settlers. The book is the first installment in a planned series of stories about the migration of the Greenland Norse to North America. From the introduction, which provides background information, to the brutal ending, Hunsinger uses his extensive knowledge of the history and culture of Norsemen to craft a story that exposes the lives of an ancient people with an admirable sense of adventure and value for community.
Hunsinger teaches with the details that he infuses into this story. The reader will learn what the Norsemen ate; how they set-up temporary camps and permanent residence; how they conducted themselves in battle; and the manner in which men and women fell into intimate relationships. The importance of respect and loyalty in the culture is represented by the relationship between Halfdan and Gudbj. Their bond that is stronger than that often seen between blood brothers. There is an intense trust between them that provides the level of security needed to lead their followers while exploring a new land, surviving severe storms at sea, and battling against natives. The love and admiration between the two men is so overwhelming it frequently makes Gudbj uncomfortable. But their feelings for each other do not diminish them as men. Halfdan and Gudbj are so secure in their masculinity that they are not intimidated by the strength of their women who work as hard and love as strongly as they do.
Axe of Iron: The Settlers is a hearty, adventure-packed history lesson. I highly recommend it."
I am pleased with her assessment of my tale. The saga continues with Axe of Iron: Confrontation. The second book of the continuing tale of the Greenland Norse people and their adventures in North America will be published in June 2009.
by J.A. Hunsinger.
, left us. It is the late summer of 1008, and while the settlement at Halfdansfjord is flourishing, the uncounted numbers of indigenous peoples--the Naskapi, Anishinabeg, and Haudenosaunee Indians--have violently resisted the arrival of these pale-skinned invaders.
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