Horned Helmet

by Henry Treece Book 1 in the The Viking Series series.

First published 1963

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4.0(101)

Beorn, a boy driven from Iceland, is rescued from death by Starkad, a formidable berserker travelling with a Viking war-band. Adoption into the company gives him food, protection and a substitute father, but it also places him inside a culture in which reputation is earned through endurance, obedience and violence.

As voyages and feuds carry the warriors between northern settlements, Beorn must decide what parts of their code he can accept. The novel is a coming-of-age story about exile and chosen loyalty, portraying Viking brotherhood as both sustaining and dangerous. Starkad’s protection cannot shield Beorn indefinitely from the consequences of the band’s raids or from the question of whether he can ever return home.