The Soul Thief (the Life and Times of Corban Loosestrife)

Corban Loosestrife is driven from his family’s Irish farmstead after refusing to fight for the High King. In his absence Viking raiders kill most of the household and carry away his twin sister Mav, whose second sight has always linked her closely to him. Corban follows the raiders through the Norse settlements of Ireland and across the sea, learning to bargain, fight and survive in societies that regard captives as property and kinship as a weapon.

The search draws Corban into Jórvík during the troubled rule of Eric Bloodaxe and Gunnhild, and then into the wider Scandinavian world. Mav’s captors recognise the power of the bond between the twins and try to use it, while Corban gathers allies and resources for her release. His journey from reluctant exile to determined rescuer establishes the saga’s mixture of Viking politics, family loyalty and supernatural perception, and shows the cost of vengeance in a world where every rescue creates new obligations.