Fury of the Vikings by Dominic Sandbrook

In Fury of the Vikings, Dominic Sandbrook traces the history of the Viking rampage through the known world during a three-hundred-year period beginning with the Norse mythology.

The Prologue opens with the attack on the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian coast on June 8, 793.  The monastery held the remains of St. Cuthbert. The attackers killed and enslaved the monks, destroyed exquisitely crafted Bibles, and plundered the treasures of the monastery. It was the beginning of three hundred years of Viking raids that saw pirates from Denmark, Norway and Sweden loot and pillage their way across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland as well as France, Southern Spain and North Africa. In the East, they established a new kingdom at Kyiv which eventually became Russia and Ukraine. The Vikings traveled as far east as the Holy Land, Turkey and the deserts of Asia. They even attempted to destroyed Constantinople. They founded new settlements on Iceland and Greenland as well as travelling further west to North America. But the Vikings never called themselves that. Instead the label comes from the voyage to go "viking" or plundering. But the name became synonymous with the people who raided the coasts of Britain and Europe.

No story of Viking history would be complete without beginning with the Norse myths, with the kingdom of fire - Muspelheim, with Buri the forefather of the gods, his son Bor who had three sons, Odin, Vili and Ve. The Norse people believed the world consisted of nine realms spread over three levels and that Midgard or Middle Earth was one. There was  Asgard, the kingdom of Odin and the Aesir. Vanaheim was another dynasty of gods, the Vanir. Alfheim was the land of light-elves connecting Asgard to the middle level - the fourth kingdom Midgard or Middle Earth.

In Midgard, the ice covering the land finally melted and humans came to live there. "From hunters they became farmers living in wooden longhouses." As they built up their own society, they heard fantastic stories of the Romans to the south who lived lives in wealth and comfort.  During the sixth century B.C., there was a three year period without spring or summer, cold and with frequent snows. As the harvests failed, people starved. By the seventh century, the Western Roman Empire had collapsed, leaving the world to the south in disarray. Meanwhile, the men of Denmark, Norway and Sweden began to rebuild, sailing east and west, trading furs, cloth and tools, fishing and farming. 

By the eighth century, some of the North chieftains would sail along the fjords of Norway to attack settlements along the coast. The loot they obtained from these raids made them wealthy and able to build great wooden halls and earn loyal followers called housecarls. The existence of these wealthy chieftains or sea kings was unknown to the people of northern France, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (now England), western Germany or the Low countries. 

The raids first began in the East, in the Baltic where Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are located. They took furs, slaves and amber. The Norsemen explored south along the rivers that traversed the forests of Europe to Lake Ladoga, in what is now Russia.

But on a summer day in 789 B.C., the people of England had their first encounter with the people who came to be knowns as "Vikings".  The attack on Lindisfarne signalled the beginning of a new era of raids, plundering and death. Further attacks on monasteries along the coast and in Scotland and Ireland only further enticed the Norsemen who saw the Christians as weak and afraid. 

While the Franks had dominated western Europe for the past three centuries, in the 800's, civil unrest and war saw them become vulnerable, and the Norsemen took advantage. The next three hundred years would see the Norsemen ravage the Anglo-Saxons in England, taking huge hauls of silver and enslaving the women, destroying the Christian culture and eventually ruling a large part of the country. 

The Norsemen's voyages would eventually traverse a large part of the known world. They would travel to Constantinople or Miklagard as they called it, in an attempt to conquer the city. They would establish river towns in what is now eastern Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. They would attack towns and cities throughout Christendom, including France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Ibiza and Majorca, returning home with huge hauls of gold and silver.  They would settle Iceland and Greenland and travel west to Vinland, now called Canada. There is evidence  their voyages extended as far east as Afghanistan and Baghdad and that they had fought for the Emperor Basil II in Israel, Turkey, Greece, Georgia and Armenia. Their influence on European culture would be significant and lasting.

Discussion

Fury of the Vikings is a fascinating, detailed and enjoyable account of the Viking Age.  Fury of the Vikings sets the stage for the Viking era with details about Norse mythology, offering young readers insight into how the Norse people viewed the world around them and their place in it. From this point on, the author chronicles the rise of the Norsemen, beginning with the rebuilding of their society after three years of devastating cold, likely brought on by volcanic eruptions. They moved from raiding their own villages and settlements to those of their richer Christian neighbours to the south. They quickly discovered the Christians were rich, weak and afraid and thus began centuries of pillaging, plundering and murder.

It's impossible to write about the Viking era without including a wide cast of characters, some courageous, but many cruel and ruthless. In England, there was King Aethelred who valiantly defended Wessex, the last holdout in the country from the Danes. His son, Alfred of Wessex saved his corner of England from the invaders, thus keeping alive the dream of a united England some day. Edward, Alfred's heir, his older sister Aethelflaed and his son Athelstan, were formidable adversaries of the Danes, reclaiming occupied English lands and uniting Angles and Saxons under one king. 

Other characters include the well known Erik the Red, a Norseman brought to Iceland by his father and whose fiery temper led him to settle Greenland. There is St. Olga, the cruel widow of Igor, Grand Prince of Kyiv, who supposedly buried alive the Derevlians, but who came to be baptized and ruled until her son could take over. Others like Eric Bloodaxe, a warrior and a killer, son of the first sea-king to rule Norway, are less well known.

Sandbrook descriptions of various battles and confrontations between rival Vikings, and between the Vikings and the leaders of lands they were bent on pillaging, demonstrate the cruelty of this era.  The Norsemen not only murdered entire villages and towns, enslaving women and children, but also plundered and desecrated many Christian monasteries and relics. 

Sandbrook, describing the plundering of the city of Canterbury by Sweyn Forkbeard's chief warlord, Thorkell the Tall, writes, "What happened next was like a scene from the last days of mankind. 'Some were slaughtered with the sword, some destroyed by the flames,' wrote one chronicler. 'Many were also thrown from the walls, while some were killed by being hung up by their private parts. The women were dragged by their hair through the streets of the city, and then, being thrown into the flames, were thus put to death; infants were torn from their mother's breasts and were either caught on the points of spears, or ground to pieces under the wheels of vehicles."  It was a brutal revenge for the English massacring of Danes in the St. Brice's Day Massacre. 

Fury of Vikings portrays how extensive the Viking presence was throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland, through northern and western Europe and extending well into Asia and how this presence influenced the local culture. For example, Sandbrook points out that in the United Kingdom today,  many words, surnames and places names are derived directly from Dane influence. 

Like the other books in the Adventures in Time series, Fury of the Vikings is  filled with tidbits of interesting information. Sandbrook, in his Author's Note, writes, "To weave all these tales together, I read as many Viking books as I could, mercilessly looting their most dazzling treasures." 

Fury of the Vikings will definitely satisfy young readers who are familiar with Norse mythology and who have a strong interest in Viking history and culture. It is another strong and fascinating installment in Sandbrook's books on history for young people.

Book Details:

Fury of the Vikings by Dominic Sandbrook
Canada: Particular Books     2022
341 pp.

Alexander the Great by Dominic Sandbrook

The life of Alexander the Great is a story of fierce battles, the determination to rule the known world and to discover new worlds to conquer. It is a story that has captivated so many, through the ages and it is brought wonderfully to life in Dominic Sandbrook's  Adventures In Time series.

One summer day in the 4th century B.C., Philip, a young prince from Macedonia, arrived on the island of Samothrace. He had come to experience for himself, "the annual festival, when newcomers entered the inner sanctum, bathed in the blood of the sacrifice and learned the mysteries of the underworld." This was in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods. During the festival, Philip saw a "raven-haired" girl named Olympias, whose father was king of Epirus. She captured his imagination.

In 359 B.C., when he was twenty-three years old, Philip became king of Macedon. In 357 B.C. he married Olympias. The night before her wedding, Olympias had a strange dream involved Zeus. In the summer of 356 B.C., she gave birth to a boy she named Alexandros or Alexander. On the day Alexander was born, his father King Philip captured the sea port of Potidea, his Macedonian army defeated the Illyrian tribes and his prize stallion won an Olympic race. These were all considered wonderful signs, but one event was viewed as an omen. The great Temple of Artemis, in the city of Ephesus, burned to the ground. To the temple priests, this "...foreshadowed disaster for all Asia."

In Alexander's early years, he was watched over by his nanny, Lanike and was taught by tutors chosen by Olympias. But when Alexander grew older, Philip chose Aristotle, son of Nicomachus as a tutor. He had studied with Plato and had authored books on many subjects including, plants, sea life, magnets, music and much more. 

Under Aristotle's tutelage in the village of Mieza, Alexander learned about the first Greek explorers and the wars between the Greek cities of Athens, Sparta, Thebus, and Corinth. He also learned about the battles between the Greeks and their arch-enemy, the Persians. Studying with him were the sons of Philip's commanders, Perdiccas, Ptolemy, Nearchus the Cretan, his closest friend Hephaestion, as well as Cleitus the Black, Lanike's brother.

Alexander and Hephaestion often ventured far during their hunting trips, the two young men eager to be part of war some day and gain glory. Alexander loved the stories of Perseus, Heracles and especially, Achilles whom he believed was one of his ancestors. 

When Alexander was twelve-years-old, he quickly tamed a large, black stallion whom the horse dealer Philonicus had brought to his father and whom no one could ride. Alexander realized the horse was afraid of his shadow and turned him to face the sun. He named the horse, Bucephalas or "Ox-head".

In the summer of 338 B.C., eighteen-year-old Alexander was with his father's army at Chaeronea. Since taking the throne, Philip had managed to unite the northern part of the Greek world. But in the south, in Athens and Thebes, the people, persuaded by the politician Demosthenes, refused to accept Philip as king. He was considered a "dirty Macedonian".  At Chaeronea, Philip won a decisive battle and travelled to Corinth, where he presented a plan to attack Persia to avenge their invasion a century earlier.

In the summer of 338 B.C., eighteen-year-old Alexander accompanied his father's army at Chaeronea. Since taking the throne, Philip had managed to unite the northern part of the Greek world. But in the south, in Athens and Thebes, the people had been persuaded by the politician Demosthenes to refuse to accept Philip as king. At Chaeronea, Philip won a decisive victory and at Corinth presented a plan to invade Persia and seek revenge for invading mainland Greece a century earlier. Philip was recognized as Supreme Commander of the League of Corinth. He felt even more certain of victory against the Persians after visiting the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and consulting the Oracle. There, the Fates told Philip, "Wreathed is the bull. The end is near. The one who will slay him is at hand." Philip understood this to mean that he would win Persia and that Darius, King of Persia would die.

The wedding of Alexander's sister, Cleopatra to the new king of Epirus, was held in the citadel of Aigai. There were guests from every city in Greece. As Philip prepared to enter the stadium for the wedding games, a man darted from the shadows, knifing the king. Philip was dead, murdered by a once-close friend, Pausania. As it turned out, the prophecy of the Fates was the foretelling of Philip's death, not his victory. Now it was Alexander's chance at glory, one he was determined to meet with strength and unwavering courage.

Discussion

Alexander the Great is an exciting account of one of the most well-known figures in history. Historical fiction author, Dominic Sandbrook has brought to life the adventures and times of Alexander, king, soldier and explorer in a way that is both engaging and informative.

This installment in the Adventures In Time series, traces Alexander's beginnings, starting with his father, Philip's military conquests and his marriage to Olympias and Alexander's early life in Pella. Sandbrook incorporates many interesting facts about life in Greece in 4th century B.C. Alexander is portrayed as a youth who dreamed of great adventures and conquests and who grew into a young man believing he could accomplish them. He also believed he was related to the great Greek hero Achilles and later on that he was the son of Zeus.

Alexander the Great succeeds in capturing the immensity of Alexander's accomplishments, his brilliant military battles and his quest to explore Asia, believing he could claim it for Greece. His campaign against King Porus of India with his fearsome elephants makes exciting reading. 

"On the flanks waited Porus's cavalry. But the Macedonians had eyes only for the centre, where the Indian king had stationed his war-elephants.
The elephants were a magnificent, awe-inspiring sight, their tusks strengthened with poison-tipped spikes, their bodies clad in sheets of chain mail. On each beast's back was strapped a carriage, carrying warriors bristling with bows and spears. 

One elephant, a giant towered above all the rest. In its carriage stood a man of colossal stature, clad in armour of silver and gold, his gaze proud and imperious. This was Porus."

In his Author's Note at the back, Sandbrook notes that he used five major sources from ancient historians in his research on Alexander the Great. He also drew on more recent books about Alexander as well as websites including Livius.org and the articles on Alexander (https://www.livius.org/articles/person/alexander-the-great/alexander-the-great-3/)  and much more. Very little has been passed down about Alexander's wife, Roxana or the children he had with her. Sandbrook noted that he resisted the impulse to add "colourful details" to his retelling and so doesn't expand on her life with Alexander. 

Although Sandbrook does include a map at the front of the novel, a much larger map or a series of more detailed maps might have been more helpful. It would have been wonderful to see a book like this illustrated as well, something no longer a feature of children's chapter books.

Overall though, Alexander the Great is a stellar account of this incredible and exciting historical figure. This biography will have much appeal to those young readers aged ten to seventeen, interested in learning about history and important historical figures like Alexander the Great.

Book Details:

Adventures In Time: Alexander the Great by Dominic Sandbrook
Canada: Particular Books   2022
322 pp.

Cleopatra Queen of the Nile by Dominic Sandbrook

Eleven-year-old Cleopatra has dreamed of  visiting the tomb of Alexander ever since she can remember. This night, she is successful, avoiding the tomb guards and is now able to gaze on the face of Alexander, "...a warrior, hero, King of Kings and Son of Zeus."

Alexander the Great became King of Macedonia and then conquered Persia and then Egypt, becoming "Lord of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt), Heir of Horus and Beloved of Amun" as well as learning from the Oracle of Siwa that he was the son of the god Zeus Ammon. Alexander then continued east, where he met and married Roxana after he conquered the Amazons. He also travelled into Afghanistan and India. But Alexander died suddenly when he was only thirty-two years old. 

One of his captains, his boyhood friend, Ptolemy, returned to Egypt, bringing with him, Alexander's body. Ptolemy installed himself as King and Pharaoh, and heir of Alexander. Ptolemy was Cleopatra's great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. He moved the capital of Egypt from Memphis to Alexandria, the city that Alexander the Great had planned himself. Under his rule, Egypt had expanded its borders toward Syria, into Libya and into the southern deserts of Nubia. The island of Cyprus also became part of Egypt.

Cleopatra's family, the Ptolemies have the strange custom of marrying their sisters, something the native Egyptians believe is wrong. This is done to keep the royalty and power within their family but it has made for "bitter rivalries" and a dangerous place for someone like Cleopatra to grow up in.

Cleopatra's father is the twelfth King Ptolemy meaning the Ptolemies have reigned for over three hundred years. Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C., one of five children that included Berenike, Arsinoe, Ptolemy Sr. and Ptolemy Jr.  Her father decides to take Cleopatra with him on a trip down the River Nile. The royal barge along with a fleet of boats travels through Krokodilopolis or Crocodile City, past the ancient pyramids to Memphis. There Cleopatra and her father visit the great white temple and the Egyptian priests. 

In Memphis, Ptolemy reveals to Cleopatra that he plans for her to learn how Egypt works. It is a rich country, able to make money, drachmae minted in silver in Alexandria, from what the country grows. It is his intention that she one day wear the Double Crown of the Two Lands. But Ptolemy explains to Cleopatra she will need "...to win the hearts and minds of the ordinary Egyptians." Outside the temple Cleopatra encounters a strange woman near a large stone slab carved with hieroglyphics. The woman translates the stone which writes about Isis, who had ruled Egypt with her brother-husband, Osiris.

The story then shifts to Rome, which would be a major factor in Cleopatra's life. A thousand miles to the north, Rome rules the Mediterranean, except for Egypt, something they have done since Cleopatra's birth in 69 B.C. With each new conquest, Rome finds it's culture, traditions and deities challenged.

During Cleopatra's childhood, Rome was ruled by Pompey the Great, a cruel conqueror. But in 60 B.C., he made a deal with two rivals, Marcus Licinius Crassus, a general and businessman, and a younger man named Julius Caesar who claimed to be descended from the goddess Venus. This alliance was known as the Triumvirate.

Rome and Egypt had been partners for centuries. Egypt was the oldest and richest country during this time but its influence was fading. Rome's power and influence grew as Egypt became divided because of the Ptolemy family feuds. Cleopatra's father, Ptolemy XII had a difficult balancing act - to keep his own people happy and to stand up to Rome while not antagonizing this new power. To accomplish this, Ptolemy bribed the most powerful Romans, including Julius Caesar.

The seizure of Cyprus, an island once belonging to Egypt, the heavy taxes levied to pay Roman bribes resulted in riots, looting and the burning of Alexandria, and almost the destruction of the beautiful library there, led to rioting in Alexandria. Ptolemy fled to Rome and nineteen-year-old Berenike became Queen of Egypt. In Rome, Ptolemy used more Roman money to raise support while Berenike remained on the throne in Egypt. Eventually Ptolemy regained his throne with the help of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius. With him was a young cavalry officer named Marc Antony who would play a significant part in Cleopatra's life later on. To pay for his victory, Ptolemy taxed Egyptians to their very limits.

In 51 B.C., Ptolemy XII died and the crown passed to eighteen-year-old Cleopatra and her ten-year-old brother Ptolemy Senior. They were to rule and husband and wife, with Rome as their guardians. However, from the beginning, there was division and tension between the two. It was to be a foreshadowing of the many difficulties Cleopatra would face both within Egypt and with Rome as she struggled to save her country.

Discussion

Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile is the fifth book in Dominic Sandbrook's Adventures In Time series about famous historical figures and events.

Because Egypt's history was tied so closely to that of Rome's during the time of Cleopatra, Sandbrook offers readers much historical information about both nations, allowing young readers to place Cleopatra's life and the choices she made within the proper historical context. It also means that Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile is rich in historical detail Sandbrook seamlessly incorporates into the narrative. For example, when Cleopatra visits the tomb of Alexander - a fictional event described at the beginning of the novel, Sandbrook uses this to explain how Cleopatra's ancestor, Alexander's boyhood friend Ptolemy came to rule Egypt and begin the reign of the Ptolemies. This information also sets the stage for the events that happen later on in Cleopatra's life as her brothers and sisters turn against one another, in their ongoing struggle for power. 

In the chapter, The Sons of the Wolf, Sandbrook gives similar treatment to the history of Rome, describing how it grew to become a great power, able to challenge Egypt's dominance. This too provides readers with the context for the events surrounding Julius Caesar and later on Marc Antony as well as Octavian who eventually defeats Cleopatra and Marc Antony, subjugating Egypt.

As Sandbrook mentions in his Author's Note, almost all our knowledge about Cleopara comes from Roman sources. And these sources tend to portray the Egyptian queen as a villain, not surprising since Egypt was at odds with Rome, as it was the only territory it had not yet conquered. Little is known about her early life growing up in Egypt so the author has imagined the events of her childhood. Cleopatra is portrayed as an intelligent woman, capable and determined to save her country and preserve its power. No story of Cleopatra is complete without exploring her relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony which Sandbrook does in an engaging and balanced manner.

Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile is an engaging biography that informs, but also brings alive this very interesting period of history. There is a map of the Cleopatra's Empire in 34 B.C. but it would have been interesting to have had a map of Alexandria during Cleopatra's time to help readers understand the location of some of the events described in the city.

Overall, this is a refreshing historical novel in a series that seems to be very promising. It's definitely geared to older readers or those interested in history, especially given the detail as well as the subject matter of Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.

Book Details:

Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile by Dominic Sandbrook
Canada: Particular Books    2022
316 pp.