Book
Bear of Byzantium
First published 2022
Constantinople, AD 1041. After avenging Halfdan’s father, the crew of the Sea Wolf joins Harald Hardrada’s fleet returning from Georgia and enters service with the Varangian Guard. The imperial capital offers wealth and renown, but Emperor Michael IV is dying and factions are already preparing for the succession.
Halfdan and the Wolves are drawn into palace manoeuvres as Varangians choose sides and Gunnhild establishes herself independently as a healer and seer. Her visions of a wolf, boar and golden bear suggest that the band’s survival is tied to the throne. The novel places Viking mercenaries inside the ceremony, suspicion and sudden violence of Byzantine politics.
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