Eric Brighteyes 2: A Witch's Welcome by Sigfridur Skaldaspillir

Eric Brighteyes 2
A Witch's Welcome
by Sigfridur Skaldaspillir (Mildred Downey Broxon)

1979 Zebra

The original Eric Brighteyes by H. Rider Haggard was published in 1891. This is more of remake than a sequel, and not much room to make this a series given that Brighteyes is born and dies in this Viking saga. 

Brighteyes is banished for a couple years from Iceland and does Viking stuff around the British Isles. Swanhild the witch is obsessed with him, and her manipulations lead to both their downfalls. In true saga form, most of the story is in broad summary, with some battles being wrapped up in a sentence. The more "real time" the story the better, but things speed up again towards the end making the conclusion feel like an epilogue. As this is someone's life story, not much in the way of a plot, just Eric going from place to place.

I've seen this described as the story from Swanhild's perspective, and while I haven't read the original to compare, most of the story focuses on Eric. I half expected some revisionist version, like the way Grendel was from the perspective of the monster, but not so much.

The book stands on weird moral grounds. While Eric seems to have some modern ideals (no killing monks, sees dishonor in attacking the weak) he's still a psychopathic serial rapist slaver. This is historical fiction and these are Vikings, after all, and most of the book is written without judgment. This is olden times and this is a story of horrible people doing horrible things to each other. However, there are parts that imply that Eric is supposed to be a honorable hero, and the ending definitely makes Swanhild out to be a villain deserving of being dragged to Hel at the end.

The ending plays sadly tragic for Eric, but it's hard to feel any sympathy. Can't get too outraged that he was framed for that one rape he didn't do. Morals aside, some occasional good battle sequences and historical details, but I didn't dig the narrative structure.

Paperback from Amazon

Vikings 3: Blood on the Sun by Neil Langholm

Vikings 3
Blood on the Sun (aka The Sun in the Night)
by Neil Langholm (Laurence James)
1975 Sphere

Erik Ragnarsson makes his way back home after failing to rescue his father from the Irish. He kidnaps and frees a British princess and challenges a neighboring village to recruit karls to his cause.

The weakest entry, with the highlights feeling like what would have been filler between set pieces in other installments. The first half centers around women fighting over Erik, culminating in a naked catfight, and the story even yadda-yaddas its way back across the Atlantic to the new world.

Paperback from Amazon

The Vikings 2: The Dark Return by Neil Langholm

The Vikings 2
The Dark Return
by Neil Langholm (Kenneth Bulmer and/or Laurence James)
1975 Sphere

When we left Erik Ragnarsson and his merry band they were stranded in Northern Canada, having forged a fragile peace with the locals. Relations have improved, and Erik and Raga go on an expedition for food during a brutal winter. Raga's tribe is having their own troubles, and fights off a raiding party with the Viking's help.

Jorund Crookback stays behind with the struggling colony while Erik and Raga return to Iceland, having to carry their boat over the frozen ice. They return to find that Erik's father has been kidnapped by the Irish and mount a rescue mission.

Solid wilderness survival with more action and brutality than the last installment. This is historical exploitation, one of the defining features being all the characters are miserable failures of humanity. In the first installment Eric had some heroic qualities that set him above the cruelty of his rival Jorund, but if anything Jorund is more heroic here. Probably part of a character arc, but hard to cheer on a guy who christens a boat by rolling it over a captive woman's spread legs and rapes his father's slave.

Paperback from Amazon

Vikings 1: Blood Sacrifice by Neil Langholm

Vikings 1
Blood Sacrifice
by Neil Langholm (Laurence James)

Erik Ragnarsson, the son of the chief, leads a raiding expedition to Iceland with his violent rival, Jorund Thordarson. They flee after a couple of failed raids, get lost in the Artic north, and become stranded in the strangest of strange lands...Canada!

This installment is strangely bereft of action, the only direct action being a couple of aborted duels between the two rivals. Despite this, the book achieves a gory sense of violent brutality from the aftermath of unwritten battles and tortures. Usually I feel cheated by this approach, but here it was done effectively.

Well researched, or at least fakes it well. The book has it's own morality, with Erik advocating the normal amount of raping and pillaging and Jorund taking things a couple steps further. The rest of the vikings are a fun bunch, too. A favorite scene of mine has a berserker strip naked and leap off the ship to attack an iceberg, left to hack at the ice with a battleax as the ship sails away.

Note that some sources list Kenneth Bulmer as the author of all four installments, but sources that seem more careful have him sharing duties with James.

Paperback from AbeBooks

Viking Book Series

The below list are Viking book series from the 70s and 80s, those more in the Men's Adventure or Heroic Fantasy vein. There are others not included outside of that scope, from historical epics on one side to full blown Odin and Thor on the other.

Berskerer by Chris Carlsen (Robert Holdstock)

• Shadow of the Wolf (1977)
• The Bull Chief (1977)
• The Horned Warrior (1979)

Dream Quest by St. Alcorn Lloyd

• Halberd : Dream Warrior (1987)
• On the Shoulders of Giants (1988)
• The Serpent Mound (1989)

Haakon by Eric Neilson

• The Golden Ax (1984)
• The Viking's Revenge (1984)
• Haakon's Iron Hand (1984)
• The War God (1984)

Starkadder by Bernard King

• Starkadder (1986)
• Vargr-Moon (1986)
• Death-Blinder (1988)

Vidar Saga by Michael Jan Friedman

• The Hammer And The Horn (1985)
• Seekers And The Sword (1985)
• Fortress and the Fire (1988)

Vikings by Neil Langholm

• Blood Sacrifice (1975)
• The Dark Return (1975)
• Blood on the Sun aka Sun in the Night (1975)
• Trail of Blood (1976)

Wolf-Dreams by Michael Weaver

• Wolf-Dreams (1987)
• Nightreaver (1988)
• Bloodfang (1989)

Wolfshead by Arthur Frazier

• Oath of Blood (1973)
• The King's Death (1973)
• A Light in the West (1974)
• Viking Slaughter (1974)
• A Flame in the Fens (1974)
• An Axe in Miklagard (1975)