Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow

My 12-yr-old son was the one who chose that his was an "I loved it" rating -- he loved the storyline and the story of strong friendships.As the mom, I appreciate a book that still builds on a strong moral base (human life over wealth, repeated forgiveness, the need to learn from life lessons, the need to be repentant, the value of appreciating others) while successfully teaching us things about cultural history that we didn't fully appreciate before. The use of the courts in Rolf's homeland, the use of lawyers and the necessity of knowing the law, the ways the law tried to be fair, the tradition of looting for wealth being more important to many than saving human lives and the concept of "fostering" children at other courts/houses/lands are all included in this story. This book is written in an old world style as if it is trying to copy the tone of the sagas and it makes reference to the sagas which I also considered valuable for my son's education.

HERE ALLEN FRENCH HAS OUTDONE HIMSELF! THE STORY, WHILE FICTION, READS LIKE IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. AN EXCELLENT AND OFTEN SURPRISING 'MORAL TALE.' THE AUTHOR SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN CHARACTERS THAT REALLY EXISTED, LIKE SNOREY OF ICELAND, AND WOVEN A BELIEVABLE BUT THRILLING TALE FROM IT ALL! THIS IS THE TIME WHEN SOME OF THESE PEOPLES ARE CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY, AND SOME ARE STILL PAGAN. ALSO, THE AUTHOR INCLUDES SOME OF THE SUPERSTITIONS COMMON AMONG MEN OF THE DAY, EVEN CHRISTIANS. THE SCENE WITH THE 'BERSERKERS', THE BARE SHIRTERS, RIPPING OFF THEIR SHIRTS AND GOING INTO A KIND OF MAD FRENZY BEFORE ATTACKING, AND ONLY ABLE TO BE KILLED WITH SILVER TIPPED ARROWS IS PARTICULARLY GRIPPING! RQ

Such a great book! I LOVED this story. I bought it because we're learning about Vikings in our homeschool and I started reading it without the children... I couldn't put it down! I won't mind re-reading it with them either. Actually, I can't wait. It's such a great adventure story and it doesn't lag around, over explaining everything like some books do. The book itself is well constructed. No flimsy pages. It's printed on good paper. It's bound well and the cover and back are nice and sturdy.

This is a good book, but the Old English can sometimes trip us up. It has good content and allows the reader to see what it must have been like to live back then.

Purchased for my son, he then encouraged me to read it. I'm glad I did. Its a good story with many lessons that can then be discussed with your child. If you're considering this book I give it a hearty child/parent recommendation.

While the story might be great, we couldn't get past the first chapter with the Old English. So, we didn't bother reading the rest.

Bought for homeschool during study of Viking era/Holy Roman Empire period. My son liked the writing style: no romance, an adequate amount of fighting, lots of intrigue. :)

My son will read this for school this year!