Can life get any worse for Dane the Defiant?
The same villagers who once praised him for his courage in defeating Thidrek the Terrifying now blame him for everything that has gone wrong since then: The torrential downpours. The dwindling food supplies. Even the rampant outbreaks of armpit lice. Dane's deceased father would never have let things get so bad, the village elders say.
But then Dane is summoned to the fortress of King Eldred, where he receives the final piece of his father's legacy: an ancient secret written in mysterious runes that leads to no less than the treasure of the gods. But the treasure, he learns, is cursed, and his mother is kidnapped.
And so, braving an army of angry trolls and warring frost giants (and other fantastic creatures there isn't space here to describe), Dane and his friends must decipher the cryptic clues and embark on a quest to find the enchanted treasure and save her life. Oh, and all the while battling ultimate evil. Can Dane be the hero he has always wanted to be? Or will he fall prey to the curse and betray those he loves?
Positive Elements
Messages of love, loyalty, courage, persistence and teamwork are evident throughout this book. Early in the story, when the hero Dane is feeling defeated, his mother tells him, "All men get beaten, son; life does that. But the strong risk failure again and again, refusing to remain beaten." Dane has a deep desire to better know his deceased father and as a result, better know himself. Dane learns through his father's former brother-in-arms (Godrek) that his father chose a domestic life over a life of adventure. Dane has to come to terms with the fact that his father chose love and family over seeking treasure (something that greatly appeals to Dane). By the end of the book, Godrek is so overcome with greed when seeking a long-lost treasure that Dane realizes his father was right - love is more valuable than wealth. Dane and his friends learn the value and importance of teamwork and loyalty as they embark on a quest to stop the evil Godrek and save Dane's mother from his captivity. Additionally, there is a brief plug for the value of reading.
Spiritual Content
The story takes place in the time of the Vikings, so contains many references to Norse mythological characters. There are several occurrences of characters "praying" to the gods. Lut, the village seer, admits to himself
that he is not a "praying man" because he thinks it rarely moves gods to intervene, but he did say a silent prayer in one desperate situation. Lut also
consults runestones to forecast future events. A character known as a Valkyrja (named Mist) plays an important role in the story as one who transports only the bravest of warriors to Valhalla (Viking heaven).
Sexual Content
This is a primary area where, in my opinion, this book starts to fall apart. There are lots of references to the Viking life being one of gaining women's affections and entertaining multiple women. The tone of this area of the story feels much more twenty-first century than what one would expect to be historically accurate in the days of the Vikings. I got the impression the authors were trying to make this story relevant to today's culture, rather than immersing us in the Viking era. At one point, Dane removes his pants to pull a friend to safety and ends up losing his pants. He proceeds to cup his hands in front of his privates when the female member of his party (Astrid) rejoins him. This happened en route to meet the king where he was to be rewarded for an act of bravery. While dismounting from his horse, Dane loses the blanket covering his bottom half. This was witnessed by the king, the king's daughter and all the townspeople who had come out for the hero's welcome. We are told the young women of the town dressed in alluring outfits to catch Dane's eye. There are multiple occurrences of sexual innuendo throughout the story (i.e. the king telling Dane that he and Godrek "chased plenty of skirts" with Dane's father - he was stopped before he could tell more). The ancient seer, Lut, ogles the servants of the king, "admiring their every billow and bulge." Even Dane's pet raven (Klint) is said to have had a "fling" with a female raven during a time of separation from Dane. "There were a lot of ruffled feathers and squawking when Klint flew the roost" to rejoin Dane.
Violence
Though this book makes many attempts at humor, the gruesome acts of violence overshadow the levity by a long shot. There are many battles with swords, knives and axes where victims are shot through the chest, "skewered" through the neck, repeatedly stabbed, and/or beheaded. We learn of creatures known as "wights" with a taste for human flesh, along with a description of how they go about consuming one. The kids encounter a caterpillar-type monster in a cave and witness its consumption of a dwarf, complete with the sound of crunching bones. Thrym, a frost giant and friend to Dane's group, was struck by flaming arrows from enemy trolls. Instead of blood loss, he was weakened by water loss. In one battle with flaming arrows, a human from Godrek's traveling party was burned to death. The evil frost giant leader with a penchant for killing puts dead trolls and humans into a "press" to squeeze out their blood which he then freezes into popsicles, a frost giant delicacy. Godrek kills a man by plunging his sword into the man's belly and spilling out his vitals. Ultimately, a sea monster eats Godrek and spits his slime-covered head out at the feet of Dane and his friends.
Drug/Alcohol Content
Godrek pours powdered "wenderot" into his drink to ease pains from battle. Characters drink ale. The king gives each of his guests a gift of a drinking horn (Dane's mother instructs the servants to only bring non-alcoholic drinks for the 10 year old in their party). Trolls who had been drinking too much are painted in a negative light. Two of Dane's friends drunkenly arm wrestle at a local celebration.
Crude Language
Negative words or phrases present in the story include "pisshole," "muckhead," "idiot," "ass," "motherless bastard," "bastard," "vain, self-lauding ass," and "preening ass."
Other Negatives
One character is dubbed "Fulnir the Stinking" and much is made of his ability to stink up a room. In fact, most of the attempts at humor in this story relate to this character in one way or another. There are several mentions of him scratching his privates. Astrid talks back to the Norns (Furies), her elders, in a disrespectful way.
Conclusion
The positive messages in this story are spelled out rather plainly, almost in a "preachy" way, but in my opinion, they are overshadowed by the sexual innuendo and the violence. I never cared enough about the characters to be concerned when they faced danger - I only dreaded how gory the descriptions of that violence were going to be each time. I think the authors set out to teach the reader something about the Viking lifestyle, but at times it read more like a report than an engaging story. Example: "After the nattmal - the night meal, consisting usually of hot stews and roasted meats - with the horses watered and fed...." We aren't told here what the characters actually ate. As I alluded to earlier, I was confused between information like this, and what seemed like 21st century conversations and behaviors between the characters.
