This is a tale of England in turmoil. The lands of Wessex and Mercia are being squeezed from the east by the Viking invaders, who are pushing ever further westwards after successful invasions along the east coasts. Alfred the Great, the warrior leader, is long dead.
To give heart to the people of Mercia and for other, more convoluted and nefarious, reasons, Athelwald Seiriol, the Atheling of Wessex and brother-in-law to the Lord of Mercia, orders Wulfgar, a trainee priest, to travel across the country to territories under the rule of the Vikings. His mission is to recover the remains of St Oswald, a saint revered by the Saxons for his piety and bravery in battle. St Oswald is to be reburied in a newly built Minster at Gloucester in the hope that the saint will protect what is left of Mercia and Wessex from the Viking hoards.
The story chronicles the adventures of Wulfgar's little band as they travel cross country, fall into traps, make unlikely alliances and, ultimately, come home to find their troubles have followed them there.
Wulfgar is an unlikely hero but, as is the case with such tales, he rises to the challenge. His companions give us much of the entertainment in this story, which reminded me throughout of the old adage that there are no new stories in fiction and that every tale is merely a variation on a theme. This one brings to mind The Lord of the Rings, only much shorter and with less literary merit. Still it's an excellent tale, and well told for all that.
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