When Olaf gets fed up of waiting for his uncle to help him find his father, who went missing on a Viking raid several years ago, he decides he must do it himself. Accompanied by a mysteriously magical slave called Loki who finds a war-hammer, he begins his quest in a hilarious series of adventures.

Olaf is a 12 year old hero in the making, if only he can get his act together. The story finds him about to be dragged over a cliff face trying to kill a pig for his uncle’s feast, with impeccable comic timing; ‘Olaf looked at the pig. The Pig looked at Olaf.’ This makes him the laughing stock of the village, why even the recently captured slave, Loki, is laughing at him! Loki’s mischievous nature though, is what offers him the opportunity to seek his missing father, when he is implored by the captured slave to release him so they can escape together. Olaf needs no further encouragement and the two set sail for adventure dodging giants, encounters with rather eccentric ravens and Norse Gods.

The writing style is a magical combination of figurative language to set the scene, dramatic action for the numerous encounters with foes and laugh-out loud comedy writing that aches to be read aloud.

 Olaf the Viking would serve as the perfect introduction to Norse myths and legends (I was definitely tempted to find traditional versions of the different giants and Gods encountered in this book after reading it!) I cannot wait to tell my Y5 boys I have found another exciting writer for them to explore. This is definitely joining my school recommendation list for new titles to add to our library and I look forward to seeing his work in the future.

2008-11-15