Please note, A Burning Sea is book three in The Wanderer Chronicles. It is highly likely that the following review will contain minor spoilers if you have not read books one and two. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Erlan Aurvandil has turned his back on the past and his native Northern lands, taking a perilous journey to the greatest city in the world, Constantinople. But as his voyage ends, Erlan is brutally betrayed, captured and enslaved by a powerful Byzantine general.
Meanwhile, Lilla Sviggarsdottir, Queen of Svealand, has lost her husband and with him, her father’s kingdom. Her life in danger, Lilla escapes to find Erlan, the one man who can save her, following his trail to the very gates of Constantinople.
But corruption infests the city, and a dark tide is rising against the Emperor from within his own court. As the shadows darken and whispers of war begin to strengthen, Erlan’s fate becomes intertwined with that of the city. Are they both doomed to fall, or can freedom be won in the blood of battle?
The first two books of The Wanderer Chronicles, A Mighty Dawn and A Sacred Storm are two of my favourite historical fiction novels over the last few years. In this third chapter of Erlan Aurvandil’s life, the action moves away from the chieftain’s halls of the north to the great southern city of Miklagard.
Erlan continues to be haunted by the ghosts of his past. In the heat of a fight, he has no choice but to give himself over to his most basic instincts. He becomes a creature of pure id. In the dark recesses of his character, rage fuels violence which in turn creates more rage. It’s almost as if Erlan can’t function without the adrenalin rush he can only get in conflict. The only time he is free of crippling doubts and uncertainty is when he has a blade in his hands. I’ve been viewing Erlan more and more as a victim as his journey continues. He isn’t that old, still in his twenties, but he has seen so much violence and so much death he is suffering something not unlike post-traumatic stress. Psychologically, Erlan is more than a little broken. It makes him a fascinating character to follow.
I was pleased to see that Einar Fat-Belly also makes a welcome return. A man of vast appetites, he is the perfect counterpoint to Erlan. Einar’s hedonistic attitude to life and getting the most out of every second of it is refreshing.
Lilla Sviggarsdottir’s thread of the narrative focuses more on the bigger picture. Where Erlan and Einar are men of action, Lilla is more analytical. The queen of Svealand is a born diplomat. Using her natural skill as a politician, Lilla is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure she maintains control of a situation. Again, this acts as a good counterpoint to Erlan’s more direct approach to obstacles. Lilla is the brains rather than the brawn.
It turns out that Constantinople is quite the political powder keg. Many view the Emperor’s throne with envious eyes. Conspiracies abound both inside and outside the vast city. Almost as soon as he arrives, Erlan finds himself slap bang in the middle of all this intrigue. One of my favourite things about the plot is the way the main villain’s character is revealed. Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you who they are, you can discover that yourself. The thing that struck me though is how clear their motivation was. There is no mystery surrounding why they choose to do what they do, and I liked that approach. As with all the best villains they don’t see themself as a bad person. Their actions and reactions are completely justifiable in their eyes. Once I understood that motivation, if I’m honest, I didn’t entirely disagree with their reasoning.
Brun paints a truly evocative picture of Constantinople. It is bustling with life. The city is the crossroads of the world, where East meets West. Erlan can barely comprehend the scope of this vibrant, exotic place. You get a sense of the huge culture shock as he tries to understand a land that is all but alien to him. As tensions escalate and war begins to brew on the city’s doorstep, we start to get impressions of life under siege. When events ultimately come to a head, the battle scenes are violently chaotic. Erlan gets the opportunity to quench his bloodlust and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I loved every second. The final chapters had some nice awe-inspiring spectacle. If anything, I was hoping for a bit more but that might be down to my Celtic origins. We always have been fans of a good fight.
If you like your historical fiction visceral and gripping I would strongly suggest checking this book, and its predecessors, out. You’ll find there is a lot to enjoy here. I got back into reading historical fiction with the Hereward novels by James Wilde. Sadly, they are now finished, but Theodore Brun’s writing has more than filled that gap in my bookshelves.
A Burning Sea is published by Corvus and is available now. Highly recommended. I’m looking forward to the next book in The Wanderer Chronicles already. There are questions I need to have answered!
My musical recommendation to accompany A Burning Sea is the soundtrack to Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla by Sarah Schachner and Einar Selvik*. Honestly, I don’t think you can’t get much more vikingy than that. Trust me, I’ve looked.
*If you are interested in traditional Norse music, check out Selvik’s band Wardruna. They are epically good.
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