Title: Faith of their Fathers: A Saga of Iceland
Author: Samuel M. Sargeant
Publication: July 11, 2024 by Neem Tree Press
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Thriller
Find it on: Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
Rating: 5/5★
A gripping and taut historical thriller set in Medieval Iceland—written by a PhD scholar of Medieval Old Norse-Icelandic sagas.
False God.
At the dawn of the 11th Century in a small Icelandic settlement, these words, daubed in blood, herald the arrival of a killer. Soon, a spate of murders threatens the fragile peace between pagans and a growing Christian minority. Arinbjorn, a young pagan farmer resolves to track down the killer before the community is permanently torn apart. His investigations draw in Freya, an isolated housewife whose secrets could either condemn or free her. Meanwhile in Norway, King Olaf Tryggvason has his own designs upon Iceland and its people. War is rife in Scandinavia, and a Christian Iceland would bolster his control over the region.
Only one thing is certain: these murders will change Icelandic society forever.
Perfect for fans of Ken Follett and Michael Punke.
Set in 11th century Iceland, Faith of Their Fathers is a historical thriller that takes its reader to the changing world of medieval Iceland, full of turmoil and strife. Written by PhD scholar of Medieval Old Norse-Icelandic sagas Samuel M. Sargeant, it’s a gripping read and quite the page-turner.
This book was a bit of a shot in the dark for me. I love medieval history but I’m always drawn more to ancient history. So with this story I was stepping a bit out of my comfort zone. And I’m so glad that I did. It was a very unexpected 5 star read and I’ve only had 4 of those in total now this year so this is saying a lot about how much I enjoyed this book. The story is set at the dawn of the 11th century during the Kristnitaka period when it was being voted on to make Iceland a Christian state even though many Pagans still lived there as well. The story had different themes like homosexuality, gender roles and Icelandic society in general. It was all very well-written and I just can’t believe this is the author’s debut book because it was so damn good!
Faith of Their Fathers was a multi-pov story and started out with a Christian family being murdered in the prologue. After finishing this prologue I remember thinking wow that’s one hell of a way to start a book. I definitely was intrigued to read more. When the community finds out about the murder, Arinbjorn, a young farmer, is determined to track down the killer. Not only could a murder like this torn his community apart but it was also the family that fostered him that had been killed, even the children.
Along with Arinbjorn, there are quite a few secondary characters that made this book so enjoyable to read. I loved learning about their lives, their relationships, their secrets and way of life in Iceland. There is Freya, a young housewife who’s in charge of her husband’s farm but rumors are threatenting to upend everything. In Norway, there’s King Olaf Tryggvason who won’t stop for anything or anyone to make Iceland fully Christian so he can have more power in Scandinavia. I also loved Sigvaldi who was Arinbjorn’s loyal friend and supported him throughout the story to find the killer. There were quite a few more important characters but I’ll leave it to the readers to discover them. They were all amazingly written!
One of my top favorite things in this book was that it had quite a few powerful women. We have Freya, who runs the farm on her own with the help of only thralls because her husband is away often. There’s Tyra, King Olaf’s wife and she had quite a bit of control over Olaf. Last but not least there was Bera a young unmarried woman living by herself and known to the community as a witch. I absolutely loved her. So, yes, I really liked that the author showed the strength over these different women in different ways in this society where it wouldn’t be easy as a woman to have much control over their lives.
Faith of Their Fathers was also a very action-packed book, making me gasp out loud at times. The author showed how brutal the life in Iceland and other parts of Scandinavia could be in these times, especially with Christianity slowly spreading. The end was a little bittersweet but also kind of touching in a way. I can honestly say that it’s been my favorite book of the year so far and I’m looking forward to Samuel M. Sargeant’s work in the future.
About the author:
Samuel Sargeant is a Lecturer in the English Literature and Creative Writing department at the Open University. He studied at Cardiff University as part of his doctoral degree programme where his PhD thesis focused upon the structure of Medieval Old Norse-Icelandic sagas. He is currently researching the samtíðarsögur (contemporary sagas) and how their narrative structures compare to the other saga genres. He is viewing these broadly historiographical texts as acts of creative writing and using them in the development of his novels set within this period.
Awesome review, Stephanie! How fun to read a surprise 5 star book, I swear those are the best😁
It was such a good read!
This looks like a good read. Thanks for sharing your review.