Raven Feeder (Storycuts)

Name: Raven Feeder (Storycuts)
Rating: 4.3 (32 reviews)

by M.C. Scott Book 2 in the Storycuts series.

First published 2011

Amazon

3.8(32)

During the violent Christian conversion of the Norse world, Arne Thoreson grows up in Orkney as the son of Thore, a warrior known as the feeder of ravens, and Ranveig, a Singer and witch. His rejection of Christianity is rooted in loyalty to his family, his gods and the inherited customs that conversion threatens to erase.

When danger reaches the islands, Arne must move beyond defiance and act against Olaf Tryggvason, the Christ-Wolf driving the new faith through royal and military power. The story combines a young man’s test of courage with the political and spiritual conflict surrounding the Christianisation of Scandinavia.

Arne’s conflict reflects the political uses of conversion. Kings such as Olaf do not spread Christianity only through preaching; baptism can be tied to loyalty, taxation and the authority of rulers seeking to consolidate power. Resistance to the new faith is therefore also resistance to a changing political order, making Arne’s defence of family belief inseparable from the struggle over who will govern the Norse world.