Runewarriors

Runewarriors, by James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker, is not going to win any awards, by I am glad that someone gave me a copy. It was quite fun and has already led one of my students to ask for more Viking books. After my bout with Sutcliffe, that was the last thing I wanted to read about, and couldn't think of any more titles, so send those along if you have them!

The book is set in "an ancient and mystical time", which excuses the anachronistic language and thoughts. Dane, whose chieftain father is killed, must save both his village and the girl he loves from the evil actions of Thidrek. In doing so, he and his belching, odiferous companions must defeat off a variety of men and monsters who wish them ill.

The characters were goofy, the plot a bit predictable, but I found myself laughing aloud at lines like "Dane the Insane? Are you realy that backwards, boy? You may as well call yourself "Dane the Idiot Son of an Embarrassed Village Elder!" The other reason that I liked this was that it had a very clear romance, and there are so few of those for boys. The cover has sold it to all of my 8th grade fantasy readers. I feel like I am damning this one with faint praise, but it will be a steady circulator.