Showing results by author "Giles Kristian" in All Categories

Norway, AD 785. It began with the betrayal of a lord by a king.... King Gorm puts Jarl Harald's family to the sword but makes one fatal mistake - he fails to kill Harald's youngest son, Sigurd. His kin slain, his village seized and its people taken as slaves, Sigurd wonders if the gods have forsaken him. Hunted by powerful men, he is unsure who to trust, and yet he has a small band of loyal followers at his side.

Worldwide best-selling author Wilbur Smith will take you on an incredible journey on the thrashing seas off the coast of Africa in this glorious return to the series that made him who he is: The Courtney series.

In a thrilling adventure of brotherhood, warfare, and treachery, Giles Kristian takes us into ninth-century England, a world of darkness, epic conflict, and an unforgiving God served by powerful priests. On ships shaped like dragons, bristling with oars and armor, Jarl Sigurd and his fierce Norsemen have come in search of riches. And riches they are promised, by an English ruler who sends Sigurd and his wolves to steal a holy manuscript from another kingdom.

Raven and his Wolfpack of Norsemen have been double crossed. The traitor Ealdred seeks to sell a holy book to the Emperor Charlemagne which will ensure riches beyond his wildest dreams. Greed drives him forward, but a band of fearsome warriors is in pursuit across the sea to Charlemagne's Frankish empire - with the bloodiest of revenge on their minds.

Years have passed since the clash of shieldwalls echoed across the land. The Saxons are now the lords of Britain. And yet the bards still sing of Arthur - 'In our darkest time, when we need him most, shall he come again.' Yet old Beran has no love of bards' songs. Nor of people, unless they are paying him to steal or kill. He is a mercenary, in the employ of the cutthroat Nabor ap Nabor, and he has been ordered to murder a boy fleeing a burning city. No ordinary boy either. No, this boy is the son of King Constantine and the grandson of High King Ambrosius.

He saw his father executed in battle. He spent his youth avenging that death. And now Henry "Hal" Courtney is a man with a ship - and a family - of his own. But fate has not finished with Hal. On a voyage along the eastern shore of Africa, a powerful enemy abducts his wife, the fearless warrior Judith...and with her Hal's unborn child.

Britain is a land riven by anarchy, slaughter, famine, filth and darkness. Its armies are destroyed, its heroes dead or missing. Arthur and Lancelot fell in the last great battle and Merlin has not been seen these past 10 years. Now, the Saxons are gathering again, their warbands stalk the land, their king seeks dominion. As for the lords and kings of Britain, they look only to their own survival and will not unite as they once did under Arthur and his legendary sword Excalibur.

Sigurd Haraldarson has proven himself a great Viking warrior and a dangerous enemy. He has gone a long way towards avenging the murder of his family. And yet his vengeance is not complete. The oath breaker King Gorm - who betrayed Sigurd’s father - still lives, and, so long as the king draws breath, the scales remain unbalanced. But Sigurd and his wolf pack of warriors are not at full strength, and to confront the king now would mean death.

Bohemia. 1370. A lost soul named Galien leads a band of hardened mercenaries on a mission for Mother Church. But in the dark forests of central Europe, a darker secret awaits. The Sunday Times best-selling author Giles Kristian (Lancelot, The Raven Viking Trilogy), takes us on an unnerving ride into fear and paranoia, bloodshed and redemption.

Packed with battles, blood and thrilling adventure, the third blood-stirring chapter in the story of Raven and his fellow Viking warriors is historical fiction at its very best. We lusted for an even greater prize... It is the one prize that can never be lost or stolen or burnt. And we would find it in Miklagard... Raven and the Wolfpack have suffered. Good men have died and the treasures they fought so hard for have been lost. But to such men as these there is something more valuable than silver.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Lancelot by Giles Kristian. The legions of Rome are a fading memory. Enemies stalk the fringes of Britain. And Uther Pendragon is dying. Into this fractured and uncertain world the boy is cast, a refugee from fire, murder and betrayal. An outsider whose only companions are a hateful hawk and memories of the lost. Yet he is gifted, and under the watchful eyes of Merlin and the Lady Nimue he will hone his talents and begin his journey to manhood.

Fighting in Sweden for an ambitious warlord, Sigurd Haraldarson and his small but loyal band of oath-sworn warriors are winning fame and reputation. But Sigurd knows that to take on his hated enemy, the oath breaker King Gorm - the man who betrayed his father, a man Sigurd has vowed to kill - he must earn riches enough to build an army. Many believe Sigurd to be Óðin-favoured, but his exploits have drawn the eye of another god, too: Loki the Trickster.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Raven: Blood Eye by Giles Kristian, read by Philip Stevens. The first book in a thrilling Viking trilogy that launched the career of acclaimed historical novelist Giles Kristian - who's now confronting the tumult and devastation of the English Civil War in The Bleeding Land. For two years Osric has lived a simple life, though he is feared and shunned for his mysterious past and blood-red eye.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Odin's Wolves by Giles Kristian, read by Philip Stevens. We lusted for an even greater prize: one that can never be lost or stolen or burnt.... Raven and his fellow Vikings have suffered. Good men have died. Hard-won treasure has been lost. But for these Norsemen, there is something more precious than gold or silver, and that is fame - for this is what a warrior leaves behind when he has breathed his last.

Henry "Hal" Courtney has always lived at sea. He watched his own father executed during the Anglo-Dutch naval war, and spent his entire young adulthood avenging his father's death. Now a truce has been made between the warring countries and Hal is captain of his own ship - the Golden Bough. From the slave markets of Zanzibar to the pirate-riddled waters of the Indian Ocean, Hal leads his crew in and out of the waves of danger. But he soon realizes that just because the war is over, does not mean the battle is won, and the more a man achieves, the more he has to lose.

Raven and the Wolfpack plough the sea-road in pursuit of the Saxon traitor Ealdred, who has left the Fellowship for dead and fled to the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne and the promise of untold riches. Sailing in search of revenge, the pagan Norsemen venture into the heart of a Christian empire that would wipe their kind from the face of the earth, a place where danger lies in wait around every bend of the great river up which they travel.

Die Zukunft Britanniens liegt um Dunkeln. Die Herrschaft der Römer ist nur noch eine blasse Erinnerung. Doch das Land ist zerrüttet und die Zeit des Großkönigs Uther Pendragon geht zu Ende. Fernab von den Zentren der Macht, auf einer kleinen Insel, wächst ein Waisenjunge auf. Er ist mittellos, doch große Lehrmeister teilen ihr Wissen mit ihm. Er ist geschickt, und weiß mit Tieren umzugehen. Seine unverbrüchliche Treue zu einem neuen König wird dem Land Hoffnung schenken. Seine Liebe zu einer mächtigen Frau wird es spalten.

England 1642: a nation divided. England is at war with itself. King Charles and Parliament each gather soldiers to their banners. Across the land men prepare to fight for their religious and political ideals. Civil war has begun; a family ripped asunder. The Rivers are landed gentry, and tradition dictates that their allegiance is to the King. Sir Francis' loyalty to the crown and his desire to protect his family will test them all. As the men march to war, so the women are left to defend their home against a ruthless enemy.

Ein Familienausflug ins norwegische Gebirge wird zu einer eisigen Jagd auf Leben und Tod. Eine Auszeit tief im norwegischen Gebirge soll Eriks kleiner Familie helfen, nach einer Tragödie wieder zusammenzufinden. Seiner Tochter Sofia hat er einen mehrtägigen Skiausflug versprochen – doch als sie zu ihrem Abenteuer fernab der Zivilisation aufbrechen, ahnt er nicht, wie sehr er es bereuen wird. Als Vater und Tochter eines Nachts Schutz bei Bekannten in einer abgelegenen Hütte suchen, werden sie heimliche Zeugen eines blutigen Verbrechens.

Der mächtige Sigurd Haraldarson kämpft in Schweden als ruhmreicher Söldner. Noch immer dürstet Sigurd nach Rache an König Gorm, der vor Jahren seinen Stamm verriet. Doch das Glück verlässt Sigurd und seine Mannen. Er gerät in die Gefangenschaft des gnadenlosen Jarl Guthrum und wird wie ein Sklave gehalten. Im Tempel von Ubsola soll Sigurd den Göttern geopfert werden. Doch noch ist er nicht besiegt – mit bedingungsloser Härte lehnt Sigurd sich gegen sein Schicksal auf.