''The Prow Beast'' is the fourth novel of the five-part ''Oathsworn'' series by Scottish writer of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, Robert Low, released on 5 August 2010 through

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

. The novel was well received.

Plot

The story revolves around Orm Rurikson, a young man who joined the crew of a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

band as a child and is now their reluctant leader. This novel centres around the oathsworn band attempting to protect the pregnant Queen Sigrith from the combined forces of their old enemy Sterki and Styrbjorn, nephew to King Eirik, who is seeking to claim the throne by ridding himself of the current heir, Sigrith's child.

Reception

The novel was well received. Gareth Wilson, writing for on-line review site ''Falcata Times'', praised Low's ability to "search the tales of the ancient Norse to weave a thread that the Norn’s would be proud to call their own" and stated he was "sad to say that this is going to be the last offering in the Oathsworn series for a while". The novel was also reviewed by fellow historical fiction author

Angus Donald Angus Donald (born 1965 in China) is a British writer of historical fiction. As of 2020, he has released ten novels and three novellas that loosely follow the story of Alan-a-Dale. Biography Donald's parents being British diplomats, much of h ...

, who stated that "I now have a bad case of PTT after reading the fourth and last book in Robert Low’s peerless Oathsworn series", with PTT being described as "post-textual tristesse" – a term Donald is used to refer to the sadness he feels after reading a particularly good novel. He also states that think the novel to be the best in the series, finding it "poignant, muscular, magical and impossible to put down."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prow Beast 2010 British novels Novels set in the Dark Ages Scottish historical novels Novels by Robert Low HarperCollins books