In the Arcturus Myths and Legends series, this is the first return to a previously covered mythology - the Scandinavians. I was a bit annoyed about there being two volumes for Scandi folklore, but the books do have significantly different scopes, therefore a distinction must be made. Whilst Norse deals with the gods, goddesses, giants, and the hero Siegfried, Viking is exclusively about, well... Vikings. The first half of the book is a reprint of Jenny Hall's children's book Viking Tales from 1902, complete with illustrations, whilst the latter half is two (abdridged) translations of the Icelandic sagas, Thorstein, Viking's Son, and Fridthjof the Bold. I generally preferred the more childish first half, as they were suitable bedtime stories for my eight year old.
The later sagas were a bit tedious to get through, particularly Thorstein's. There are lots of characters introduced in a short space of time, lots of battles and enemies, and a whole lot of raiding and pillaging. I also got sick of reading about heroes 'busking' themselves. Compared to some of the other volumes so far, this was a relatively easy read, and a welcome breeze after the slog of Donald Mckenzie's offerings. Whilst the sagas are a bit repetitive in nature, at least they are actual stories. For anyone who enjoyed the TV series Vikings, there are lot of familiar names to be found here.
Rating: 3/5
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