A Mighty Dawn - Theodore Brun

Hakan, son of Haldan, chosen son of the Lord of the Northern Jutes, swears loyalty to his father in fire, in iron, and in blood. But there are always shadows that roam. When a terrible tragedy befalls Hakan's household he is forced to leave his world behind. He must seek to pledge his sword to a new king. Nameless and alone, he embarks on a journey to escape the bonds of his past and fulfil his destiny as a great warrior.

Whispers of sinister forces in the north pull Hakan onwards to a kingdom plagued by mysterious and gruesome deaths. But does he have the strength to do battle with such dark foes? Or is death the only sane thing to seek in this world of blood and broken oaths? 

My thoughts:

I liked how he wove history and myth together. Except for one thing all things could be explained. There are a lot of stuff hidden in the depths of history, and people then easily believed things they could not understand to be other things. Look at me, I am wearing antlers, I must be a shapeshifter ;) You get the point.

This is the book of Hakan. He has a nice life being the son of a Jute Lord, but then he goes and messes it all up and what a mess. We have to have an adventure and off on an adventure he goes. Though I must say I wanted to know what happened back in "Denmark", but I guess there will be more books?

I can't say too much about his "adventure" since...well...I just can not. But he meets new friends, new enemies and strange things. But then those "Swedes" are strange so of course there are strange things there.

I liked the history, even if it at times felt too mythical some how. I mean in the aspect that I do not get how they went viking after that. They had not yet but Lindisfarne is not far way. But then it is mentioned how they went fighting east so I should give them some credit. They were too busy fighting among themselves here.

Conclusion:
It's quite the adventure. He tries to make historical characters come to life, but the kings back then are of that were they real or just sagas? But he takes what he can and runs with it. Making this a fascinating saga of its own.

cover
ok

Hardcover, 608 pages
Expected publication: March 2nd 2017 by Corvus
Historical fiction
For review