Dragon Heart #01 - Viking Slave

I enjoyed my most recent reading experience of author Griff Hosker, East Indiaman, and wanted to try another of his books. Out of the many series titles, I decided to cool down with a frosty Viking saga. My pick was Viking Slave, the debut novel in the Dragon Heart series. The book was published in 2013 and kicked off the series that would include 22 additional installments. 

Viking Slave begins in 790 AD and introduces a young boy nicknamed Crow. He's shunned by his village and often bullied due to being the only dark-haired kid. He's not a true Saxon like his father. In the opening pages of the first chapter the Vikings (just called men from the north) invade the village and collar men, women, and children onto boats. 

In the Viking village, a leader named Butar takes Crow's wife as his slave woman and agrees to make Crow a slave of his household (slaves are called jarls). Harald renames the boy Gareth and places a responsibility on the young man to care for his elderly father, a once proud warrior named Ragnar. Gareth finds his new home and family a blessing compared to the harsh treatment he received from his former Saxon village. Because of his enthusiasm and work ethic, Butar takes a liking to the kid and quickly begins to think of him as his own son. 

In a traditional coming-of-age tale, Ragnar, now having only one arm, begins teaching Gareth life skills and sword-fighting. Gareth naturally takes to the sword and is able to prove himself at a young age by fighting off a pack of wolves. Eventually, Gareth rises in the ranks to become a viking warrior leading his own band of warriors on slave raids.

Without digging into the weeds of this 200-page book, the overall concept is Gareth proving himself in battle and separating from the original Viking village to carve his own path. His transition from young bullied kid to warrior, leader, husband, and father is such a pleasure to read. There are numerous genre tropes here – the power of the sword, rebellion, usurping leaders, revenge, loss, etc. - but that is really the basis of the historical adventure genre. It is to be expected. How the author navigates within the genre and story is key and I believe Hosker commands that ability and measures up quite nicely.

With my experience of East Indiaman and now Viking Slave, I am a Griff Hosker fan. Whether he proves to be a one-trick pony or is able to move beyond the coming-of-age narrative remains to be seen. But, based on small trial size Hosker can write his ass off and deliver a superb tale that filters out all of the fluff and padding. 200 pages is the perfect size and that is a real surprise considering bulky marketplace parameters on historical fiction. Viking Slave is a high recommendation. Buy a copy HERE.

East Indiaman

Beginning in 1972, Griff Hosker became employed as an English and Drama teacher in northeast England. Upon his retirement after 35 years of service Hosker began his new life – a full-time novelist. He has authored over 150 books of historical fiction including over 25 series titles. He prefers his works to be self-published so he (and his family) have sole control of ownership, edits, and future reprints. I've been curious about his writing and decided to try his newest novel, East Indiaman. It was published in 2024 and is the first in a promised series. 

In the book's Prologue, William introduces himself to the reader in first-person narration. He's a boy without a family or home. His father died and his mother moved away to live in Java. As a wharf rat, William embarks on a life of theft and robbery to survive. After a successful string of crimes he learns that he chose the wrong victim. A notorious pirate is now after William to recover what was stolen from him. With no other recourse William hides on a ship headed north of the Canary Islands. 

In the early chapters William navigates the large boat and steals food and water from the crew and passengers. After stealing a crewman's coat William is eventually caught and brought before the Captain. Generously, they ask William to earn his own way by becoming a hard-working crewman working with sails and ropes. The experience humbles William and he eventually begins to see a life beyond criminality. After he makes a strong defense against pirates, William is asked to join a regiment of British troops – a type of special forces made up of former prisoners – to work for the East India Company.

William accepts the job and then East Indiaman really rolls into action. Through the book's second half William adapts to his new role as soldier, horseman, and killer. As he grows into a man he contends with the rigorous chores of rising through the ranks while in combat with nefarious village leaders, the enemy French regiments, and a secret mission to liberate a missionary family from a stronghold. 

Honestly, I wasn't sure how I would feel about Hosker's work and the fast and furious pace at which he writes and publishes his novels. Thankfully, East Indiaman is probably the best contemporary novel I've read this year. The book is expertly written in the first-person perspective and is presented as an epic adventure in a convenient 200 pages. Hosker successfully removes any fluff from his writing and sticks to the basics – tell a great story that is engaging while competently developing a character that adapts as the pages turn. This was such a treat to read considering historical fiction can lose itself in dense details that surround the plot. For validity, Hosker includes a list of his references to substantiate the story's locale and period as well as a brief history of the East India Company.

If you have the opportunity to try Hosker...please do. I also recommend a podcast interview that he participated in that gives some history on the author and his series titles HERE. I'm already reading another of his books and it is equally as entertaining. Highly recommended!

Get your copy HERE.