About the book
Viking warrior. Dauntless leader. Protective mother.Determined to rise above her rank as the illegitimate "forest child" of Eirik the Red, Freydis launches a second voyage to Vinland to solidify her power and to demand the respect she deserves. She will return home with enough plunder to force her brother, Leif, to sell her the family farm in Greenland.But nothing can prepare her for the horrors she must confront in Vinland...and nothing can stand in her way when her family is threatened.In her race to outrun the truths that might destroy her, Freydis ultimately collides with the only enemy she cannot silence—her own heart.Historically based on the Icelandic Sagas, Forest Child brings the memorable, conflicted persona of Freydis Eiriksdottir to life. This immersive tale is Book Two in the bestselling Vikings of the New World Saga.
And others are saying ...
In the second and final installment of her Vikings of the New World Saga, Gilbert focuses on Freydis, daughter of Eirik the Red, and the expedition she led with two Icelandic traders to Vinland (presumed to be an area near Newfoundland). Based primarily on the Saga of the Greenlanders, Gilbert deftly fleshes out Freydis’s story while remaining true to the bones of the historical record. Freydis is treacherous and deceitful, certainly not afraid to goad her devoted, albeit flawed, husband into putting her opponents to death. However, the fictionalized elements produce a protagonist motivated by maternal protectiveness and a desire for righteous punishment—her brutality justified, and her fearless determination respectable. Her brother Leif and best friend, Gudrid, are Christians; Freydis’s conversion comes later in this story. Ultimately, they must balance Viking laws and traditions against their adopted Christianity and its monotheistic tenets of truth and forgiveness. A glossary is provided, but Gilbert skillfully limits her use of Norse vocabulary to enhance the experience without bogging down the reader. Gilbert crafts an engaging story depicting timeless human struggles with faith, love, loyalty, and leadership.
USA today Review
Warrior Extraordinaire
Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2016
I met Freydis Eiriksdottir in the intriguing book God's Daughter. Meeting Freydis is akin to trying to harness a wildcat and studying its actions and intent. She is free and wild, a forceful Viking warrior, a fierce, protective mother, and a faithful, though troubled wife. She is a huntress, striking out each day to procure meat for her family and the people under her protection. The forest is her natural habitat, her friend, the place she feels most protected, but also vulnerable. Freydis wakes up each morning knowing her prowess as a huntress means survival for those she loves and feels responsible for----it's a daily struggle, but, one she meets with determination and skill. She also must fight evil in its most wicked form---the formidable Valdis, a pagan holy woman and her entourage of beautiful, beguiling women who seek to capture and destroy men's souls, and even, disturbingly, their bodies. Freydis, a new Christian among heathens, strips herself down to her most basic nature, and in agony and torturous, emotional pain, destroys the ugly, evil Valdis in a most barbarous act. This is only one side of Freydis. You must read her story to follow her journey from Vinland, to Iceland and Greenland, and experience her growth as a warrior, wife, and mother. I have loved getting to know this great lady.
An Amazon review
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