Publisher:  Abaddon Books

  “Viking Dead” is the latest novel in a series of stand-alone novels “Tomes of the Dead” from Abaddon Books. The series explores the theme of the undead from various settings and time periods. This book is set in the Age of the Vikings—976 A.D., Northern Europe.

  Bjolf, captain of the ship Hrafn, is forced to retreat into unknown territory after a fierce battle at sea. His crew encounters the draugr, berserker zombies controlled by Skalla, a mysterious leader who rules a formidable fortress on an island further into this strange land. Skalla has already killed their original enemy from the sea battle and turns out to be the true villain of the novel. There are many subplots and twists along the way as Bjolf and his crew try to solve the mystery of these undead creatures while seeking their revenge.

  The novel has the horror element of zombies and does contain a fair amount of gore, but its overall structure is historical fantasy. The writing style reminded me a lot of shared universe novels like “Forgotten Realms”—very descriptive with well developed characters and a steady flow of action.

  Venables does an excellent job with multiple points of view. One particularly nice touch is the inclusion of Atli, a young runaway. When the story shifts to his point of view, it gives an outsider’s perspective to the world of a Viking ship while still moving the action forward.

   Fans of both horror and fantasy will enjoy this novel. It evokes the historical period well and has a nice fast pace. There is a very original twist in the final chapter explaining the origin of the draugr and at least two other nice twists I did not see coming.

 - George Wilhite

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