AD 883. Olaf the White, king of Dublin, is dead and the dominion of the Norsemen in the British Isles is shaken to its foundations. His son, Thorsteinn the Red, struggles to maintain control of Caithness, Scotland, where the natives are growing increasingly defiant. Life is fleeting and no one knows what Fate has in store. In the blink of an eye, Audur Ketilsdottir finds herself alone, surrounded by enemies and responsible for her son’s young children. Making a narrow escape, she sets sail for the newly discovered land at the edge of the world, where rivers and lakes are said to writhe with fish, glacial peaks are silhouetted against the skies, and the earth itself spews fire. On the south coast of Iceland, Celtic slaves revolt and pay dearly for it. The new land is consecrated in blood. One survives, a Briton who has lost everything to Olaf the White and his kin.
With this standalone novel, firmly based on true history, Vilborg Davidsdottir brings to a close her trilogy about the remarkable Audur Ketilsdottir, a woman without equal in Viking Age Iceland. The previous two installments, Audur and Crimson Skies, were exceptionally well-received by readers and critics alike, with the first earning a nomination for the Icelandic Literature Prize.
Interview with the author, about the trilogy:
https://www.islit.is/en/promotion-and-translations/icelandic-literature/interviews-with-icelandic-authors/nr/3480
See also: https://www.davidsdottir.is/english-aud-the-deepminded.html
“Ocean Road is a thrilling book, which is quite an achievement because the reader knows how the story will end – most are aware that Audur the Deepminded settled land in Hvammsfjord. The book’s excitement isn´t connected to whether the characters reach their goals though, but rather how they do so. Character creation is thus one of the book’s major strenghts – the characters are well constructed and it is not least because of their emotional depth, which awakens interest and keeps the reader glued to the pages.”
ANDRI M. KRISTJANSSON, VIDSJA/ICELANDIC NATIONAL BROADCASTING SERVICE
“… a very convincing picture of life during the times in which
the story takes place. … Audur is revealed very much alive,
an independent, hot-tempered, proud and daring woman.”
EYJAN.IS (ABOUT AUDUR)
