Well, The Whale Road caught me quite by surprise. I had never heard of Robert Low when I came across this book, but I am glad that I found him.I loved The Whale Road. Not only for the authors ability to tell a good yarn, but because it made me laugh and shocked me all at once.It would not do to get too attached to any characters in this story (barring the main character) because Robert Low will keep you on your toes, keep you guessing, keep the cast rolling over. Most of all the things I liked about this book, it is definitely the humour. I rarely laugh out loud when I read (and I don't mean, 'burst at the seams' laughter, I mean short, amused snorts and guffaws). In fact I don't think any other book has made me laugh out loud, other than maybe Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series. But this book is filled with small humour that some people may miss due to it's dry, subtlety. This dry humour made the book for me. I love that the Oathsworn's dynamic involved much mocking and jollity towards each other. And there are many terrific 'put downs' that tickled my fancy.So, what else can I say about The Whale Road? No, it is not Bernard Cornwell, but that is not a bad thing. I think Robert Low is doing his own thing and doing it well.If Asterix and the Vikings, and, Indiana Jones had a baby this would be it. I kid you not.I must not forget to mention that it felt like it had two endings, which was a tad bizarre, and the first 40 pages were a little bit of a struggle to comprehend. I think for the first 5 I didn't even know what was going on. I don't know whether it got better or I just evolved to understanding Low's writing style, but something cleared the murky waters for me at around 40 to 50 pages. It may have even been a few more than that. By page 100, I was completely hooked and didn't want to put it down.If you like Asterix and the Vikings, and you like it mixed up with some white entrails, f$#k words and dry humping on bar tables, then this is the book for you. God knows it's the book for me! Go figure.If I didn't already have my next book lined up to read, I would be straight on to the next book in this series, because as soon as I got halfway through The Whale Road, I bought the next three books.
A good, solid, historical adventure. THE WHALE ROAD is the first in a series by Robert Low concerning the adventures of Orm and the Oathsworn, a band of vicious Vikings whose journeys take them all around the world.The first thing you notice about this story is the level of violence. It makes Bernard Cornwell's writing look positively tame in comparison. There's death, destruction and hand-to-hand combat on every page, with an emphasis on the visual and visceral. There's also an incredibly high body count, the highest I've ever encountered in a book, and you start wondering whether anybody will make it out alive come the end.The plotting and backstory isn't as important to Low as living in the moment, detailing a life set in miserable, cold surroundings punctuated by moments of extreme violence. The essence of the adventure is a hunt for the treasure of Attila the Hun, but at times it feels like a Macguffin, designed to keep the characters ever-moving.There are flaws, particularly early on. The opening chapter is muddled, introducing a large cast while at the same time portraying some back story involving a fight with a polar bear. This makes for very confusing reading, but thankfully the rest of the story takes place in the present. The supporting cast is filled with larger than life characters, although the best is Hild, the sole female in the book who casts a long shadow over all the rest.At its best, the story reminded me of Herzog's AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD, depicting a dwindling group of survivors seeking out their doom, with the presence of death ever near. Low's writing is excellent when it comes to describing action, and a rooftop chase is a particular highlight. Now my appetite has been whetted, I'll be on the lookout for the follow up, THE WOLF SEA.
What do You think about The Whale Road (2007)?
As a writer myself I'm aware of all the pitfalls of using -ly adverbs in your dialogue and plotting without using three acts etc. This book which sufferes from various similar problems is just stunning despite any writing flaws.I learned a lot from reading this book, one of them is that when you have a stunning story to tell and an excellent voice, the story takes the reader and transports them to where you are going and they don't notice any of the narrative flaws.This is one such book and I thoroughly recommenbd it.My only criticism is the main character's name. Orm was the name of Bengtsson's hero in 'The Long Ships' and maybe Low should have chosen a different name though to be honest it doesn't detract from a stunning, exciting, page-turning tale, which I only wish I could emulate in my own writing!In short - brilliant!I will certainly read the next one.
—Fred Nath
I loved it! It was fun, well written, well researched. The descriptions of the sea voyagers on the whale road were so vivid that I felt my own beard icing over... (Only I have no beard, being female and I live in the tropics).It had a likeable and believable main character - actually all the characters that we saw a lot of were utterly believable. I think the realism of the time and place is attributable to the author being a Viking enactor (according to his acknowledged)and the clarity with which we, the readers, see the Vikings has to do with the fact that a lot of the main characters are based on the author's fellow enactors.I definitely want to read the other books now - I will probably buy them as soon as I get the chance.
—Deborah Ideiosepius
Writing 4/5Imagination 4/5Plot 4/5Setting 5/5Characters 4.5/5My Overall Enjoyment 5/5Everything I look for in a book; strong characters, superb writing, intriguing plot, grittiness, realism, violence and action, and extreme plot twists. I never heard of this author until a friend recommended it and I am so glad she did! Not a long book, but it did take awhile to get through. And in this case, that is not a bad thing as I did not want it to end it was so good. The first night after reading this book, I had dark, bleak dreams of sailing and plundering with Vikings. This world was so vividly drawn it sucked me in and crossed into Dream, something few books can accomplish. I absolutely loved the conflict between the priests and followers of the Norse pantheon of gods and the same of the "White Christ". This is most cleanly fits into the genre historical fantasy, as was set in our world and contains a good deal of Norse Mythology, but if you like darker themed fantasy, you will love this. Highly recommended for readers who like grimdark, Norse Mythology, or the time period of the Vikings. This is the first book of five in the Oathsworn series so I am very excited to catch up. Very underrated author! One of the best Viking books I have read.
—Phil
