Contemporary Raiders!

This is a fast-paced historical adventure pitting the mighty Northmen into and around France which is a new take for me. There is intrigue, action, bloody violence and a very interesting lead character in the form of Abriel. A young priest orphaned by the Vikings who finds that the outside world holds much more for him than he could have bargained for. There is a rich and varied cast of characters ranging from corrupt priests through to powerful Viking leaders, from beautiful Northmen royalty to mysterious witches of both sexes!

There is plenty of action, ably narrated by Mark Topping and backed by obvious and considerable historical knowledge, though this is never allowed to dominate or bog the story down. In fact, being aimed at young adults, the narrative has a very light touch and Topping delivers a quite contemporary band of 9th Century Raiders.

For me personally the touch was just a bit too light and occasionally what seemed to be important events passed by in the blink of an eye as the plot twisted and turned. The effect of events on the characters sometimes also seemed to be minimised.

However, I’m slightly (ahem!) older than the target audience and Adrien has put together an interesting concept that will develop further in the later novels I am sure. While a wise old elder like myself might have liked to spend an extra hour or three getting stuck into the detail it may well be that this author has found a balance that will sell historical fiction to the younger at heart.

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4 people found this helpful

Disappointed

The first two books were excellent but this was quite poor.
Muddled and implausible with no sympathetic characters and no particularly compelling story .

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An intriguing story beautifully told.

Would you recommend The Line of His People to your friends? Why or why not?

I would recommend this book to others as it brought to life a very intriguing and harsh past. A time that is so difficult to imagine now and yet the common thread of humanity which is woven through time right up to modern times. Characters we can relate to, human stories we can relate to.

What does Mark Topping bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Mark's voice is rich and warm. His story telling was key to my enjoying this audiobook. He brought the characters to life well and gave each one distinctive differences, without taking away from the flow of the narrative. I would definitely listen to more of his audio work.

Any additional comments?

A good story beautifully narrated and definitely worth a listen.

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2 people found this helpful