A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

THE BLUE VIKING

Author: Sandra Hill ISBN: 9780062019011 3/2011 HISTORICAL (REPRINT) Publisher: AVON
Time Period: Medieval 935 AD

The Blue Viking by Sandra Hill
What in the name of Thor could be making this Viking so blue? Eating haggis? Listening to those insufferable bagpipes? Traveling through Scotland with the world's worst poet? Searching for the infuriatingly inept witch who's cursed his face . . . and even more important parts?

For Rurik the Viking, life has not been worth living since he left Maire of the Moors. Oh, it's not that he misses her fiery red tresses or kissome lips. Nay, it's the embarrassing blue zigzag she put on his face after their one wild night of loving. For a fierce warrior who prides himself on his immense height, his expertise in bedsport, and his well-honed muscles, this blue streak is the last straw. In the end, he'll bring the witchling to heel, or die trying. Mayhap, he'll even beg her to wed . . . so long as she can promise he'll no longer be . . .

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I’m truly dreading to voice my thoughts on this book. I know that I’m going to offend a lot of Sandra Hill fans, but here it goes.

As I read this tale, I couldn’t help but think of the movie ‘Robin Hood; Men in Tights’. That movie was a spoof on the Robin Hood legend, and this book, in my opinion, is a spoof on ‘Spartacus’ in general, Vikings in particular.

The plot is simple. Rurik the Vein had a short liaison five years ago with Maire Campbell, or the Witch of the Campbell Clan as she's known. But instead of taking her for his wife or just taking her with him when he left, he rebuffed her and the little witch didn’t like that so much. So, she marked him with a blue tattoo mark on his handsome face. From that point on, our Viking is in search of Maire so she can remove the tattoo and he can return to his homeland and marry another maiden.

Maire Campbell is a not-so-good-witch. She gets her spells all mixed up, and reminded me of Aunt Clara from ‘Bewitched’. After Rurik left Maire, she was forced by her brother to marry a Macnab, so the last five years were not so happy for our heroine. As our hero finally locates her, he’s shocked to find her widowed and embroiled up to her neck in Macnab trouble. I didn’t like her much.

This book was a slapstick comedy, both silly and humorous at times, but for some reason, I wasn’t laughing that much. I just couldn’t take it seriously, and in the end, I was disappointed in it.

I found the story unexceptional, and in all honesty, I can’t recommend it. If you like slapstick comedy, by all means read this THE BLUE VIKING; I’m sure you’ll like it. But if you’re looking for a true Viking romance, a look into Viking life and the times in which they lived and loved, you’ll probably be as disappointed in this book as I was.

Melanie Friedman

Close Window or Back to Previous Page