Blood of the Bear

This is the fifth and final volume in my Viking Fire Born series, featuring the heroes Bjarki Bloodhand and Tor Hildarsdottir.

Battle calls the berserker once again . . . 

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Pagan Saxony groans under the Christian yoke. The invincible armies of Karolus, King of the Franks, occupy all this freedom-loving land and every Saxon must submit to baptism and pay tithes to the Church, or face death by beheading.

Duke Widukind, leader of the Saxon rebels, is sheltering in the North, beyond Karolus’s reach. He hopes to persuade Bjarki Bloodhand once a famous berserker, but now a father and family man and his fierce sister the shield-maiden Tor, to join his revolt against tyranny.

But Bjarki has eloped with Widukind’s sister Edith, who was betrothed to Abbio the Crow. In revenge, Abbio uses seithr to strike at Bjarki, a powerful spell to drive him insane. Can Bjarki resist the long slide into madness? And will Widukind finally liberate Saxony from the Franks?

The epic fifth novel in the Fire Born saga, perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Giles Kristian, and Matthew Harffy.

Praise for the Last Berserker (Fire Born 1)

‘Donald has taken the legendary berserkers, those frothing-at-the-mouth shield-biters, and made them human, which once again proves that Donald is a writer not only at the top of his game, but of the game … It is a wonderful, rich and violent brew. I welcome Angus Donald to the shield wall of Viking fiction like a thirsty man welcomes a mead-brother to the feast … A tale worthy of the skalds’ Giles Kristian, author of the Raven series

‘With The Last Berserker, Donald has given us the first cut of some serious Dark Age beef. By turns heart-racing, intriguing, and touching, this is not a book for the faint-hearted – I can’t wait for more’ Theodore Brun, author of A Burning Sea

‘The Last Berserker strikes with the thundering power of Thor’s hammer… rich with the earthy depth, historical detail, intrigue, violence and adventure that we expect from Donald. But it is Bjarki and Tor that make The Last Berserker stand out… Donald’s masterful creations will live on in the imagination long after the final page’ Matthew Harffy, author of the Bernicia Chronicles