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Blood Eye

by Giles Kristian

Reviewed by Coral


Osric has lived a simple life in small village in England for the two years. Before that he has no memory of his life at all. Many in the village view him with suspicion, for the speck of blood he has in one of his eyes, but Osric is content in helping the mute blacksmith in his forge.

Then the Vikings come and destroy his village. Their leader, Sigurd the Lucky, sees Osric’s eye as a sign from Odin and takes Osric with them as they leave.

Now a war between the Old World and the New World is upon them. With the barrier that had long separated them down, there is nothing to hold back the armies of Jagang. And his power is growing. Jagang is a dream-walker, with the ability to see into the unconscious thoughts of others, using this ability to terrorize, subjugate and seduce people to his side.

Osric finds himself in a life that should feel alien to him, but finds himself belonging in a way he has never felt before.

It’s hard not to compare this book to Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Chronicles and find it wanting.

I could understand why Uhtred joined the Vikings and why he made the choices he made after that, but I understood Osric’s decision a lot less.

I also didn’t understand the decisions of some of the other characters. Why does Sigurd have the Viking version of a priest to read signs if all he does is ignore the man’s warning? Why would the Vikings tell one of their own to run from a battle and survive, when dying in battle was considered the highest achievement for a warrior? And then there was this one woman in particular who, when faced with two men who were both equally injured and would both be an equal hindrance to her in escaping an armed conflict, chose to save a man she barely knew instead of her brother (because honor demanded it as the stranger had just saved her life!). I think that was the point I gave up on the book.

Grade: F