Cover Image: Erik the Red

Erik the Red

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Member Reviews

I thought this was a great series with Erik the Red, it was a fun read and had what I enjoy about historical novels. It felt like something true to Erik the Red.

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Erik the Red is a story that explores the life and adventures of Erik Thorvaldson knows as The Red. This historical fiction account of Erik The Red takes us from his Banishment from Norway as a boy and on to a great mission to find new land. On his adventures he will encounter shocking betrayal, violent battles and even more Banishment.

I've always been fascinated with the tales of Erik The Red and his family so I was definitely excited to read this book. Overall, I enjoyed most of the books but there was definitely some parts that simply wasn't for me. So here's my thoughts on Erik The Red by Tilman Roehrig.

This was definitely a character driven book. We follow Erik from the young hot-headed Viking to a man who just wants peace and to settle down with his family. Erik never seems satisfied in the places he ends up so during his exile, he travels far the west to find land of his own to rid himself of the problems caused by other settlers. I liked Erik from the start and felt like Tilman built his characters so that they were not perfect and definitely had some flaws. This made the characters more relatable and drew the readers in to the characters lives. There was only one character that I just couldn't get on board with and that's Freydis Eriksdottir. At first she came across as a bully and just a general horrible person. That's was absolutely fine as depicts the character found in most sources. I definitely couldn't get onbaord with her constant advances on her brother Leif and her weird desire for incest. It just took the story in a direction that was weird, repetitive and quite boring at times which completely disrupted the flow.

An aspect of the book that I thoroughly enjoyed was the sense of adventure. Whether it's with Erik and Tyrkir or Leif Erikson. Tilman built a perfect world where you get a real sense of the hardships of those times. When Erik goes on an epic journey to find land, it's not all plain sailing if you pardon the pun. Its followed by betrayal, grief and violence. I think most readers who enjoy the adventure and vikings will enjoy this book.

The action in this book was very entertaining and exciting. Erik may not be the most intelligent Viking but his fight knowledge is head and shoulders above others. As the book goes on and as Erik grows, the fighting becomes less but his temper never eases. I would have liked to have seen way more action but I can appreciate that Tilman is showing Erik grow into a better and calmer man as the book goes on.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Erik The Red and even his children. Its a fantastic take on a fictional tale of Erik and defiantly a fun read.

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I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fascinating to read about Erik the Red and his story. This is a fantastic read for lovers of history.

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I love a good Viking book and new this one was for me. This is a historical fiction book which follows Erik through all his adventures. It was easy to read and I really enjoyed it. It was definitely interesting to read about the man behind the legends and is especially good book to use as a resource of the man.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book.

Erik the Red is an easy to read historically inspired book about the real life of the titles namesake.

At first I didn’t really like the way Erik was portrayed, but he very quickly grew on me. He is somewhat of a well meaning bull in a chinashop. Completely oblivious to most things around him and kind of a doofus. At one point his wife says that he possesses many qualities that are all at war with eachother: he simple possesses to much of everything. Which sounds like a rather apt description to me.

We first meet him at the day his father dies ,after they have settled in Iceland due to their exile from Norway, and follow Erik and his family on many adventures and through even more tumultuous hardships.
Which also includes the coming of Christianity, and all the upheavels and troubles the introduction of the new religion brings with it.

It’s a good and interesting book, that tells the story of a very turbulent time in Nordic history. And I swear: if it wasn’t for his slave/best friend and his wife (who is pretty awesome), Erik would never have accomplished all he has, but would instead probably either be stuck on the less than ideal Icelandic homestead his father build, or be laying dead in a ditch somewhere.

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This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

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I was looking to read a Viking book and when I saw this, I knew I had to read it.
It is a gripping historical fiction tale of the life of Erik the Red, from his boyhood homeland of Norway, onto Iceland and beyond.
He wants nothing more than to honour his father’s legacy and to figure out where he fits into the world, but this is no easy task. He navigates through natural disasters, violent clashes and banishment. When a conflict over property erupts into violence, he is outlawed from the country for three years and sets off on his greatest challenge of all.
He gathers together a group of settlers and sets off west, into uncertainty, hoping to find a land they could call their own.
It is a really good book; I feel that it is a little too long and involved to be a middle grade book.
4 stars from me.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance review copy of Erik the Red in return for an honest review.

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As a supposed descendant of Erik the Red, I have always been curious about his life and story. This book is a great resource for young readers to learn more about the life and man behind the legends. This was not an easy time period to live and Erik faced many challenges. Guaranteed to hold the interest anyone reading with an open desire to learn. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own, freely given.

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Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

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An interesting look at the life of Eric the Red and his search for a land of his own. The story is well told with good character development. The book will hold your interest.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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