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Title: Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland

Subtitle: Norsemen Saga Series #1

Author: James L. Nelson

Narrator: Shaun Grindell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-15

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 289 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

AD 852. For centuries the Vikings have swept out of the Norse countries and fallen on whatever lands they could reach aboard their longships, and few could resist the power of their violent onslaught. They came at first to plunder and then to settle, an encroachment fiercely resisted wherever they went.

Such was the case in the southern lands of Ireland. En route to the Viking longphort there, known as Dubh-linn, Thorgrim Night Wolf and Ornolf the Restless stumble across an Irish ship that carries aboard it a single item: a crown. The Vikings eagerly snatch the prize, unaware of its significance to the people of Ireland and the power granted to the king who wears it. Soon the Norsemen are plunged into the violence and intrigue of Medieval Ireland, where local kings fight with each other and with the invaders from the north for rule of the island nation. With enemies at every hand and loyalties as fickle as the weather, Thorgrim must lead his men, the white invaders, the Fin Gall, in the fight of their lives, with both Irish and Dane eager to see them dead.

Members Reviews:

Tolerable with this trick

The story is good, not great, but good enough that I've bought the second in series. Narrator is intolerably slow however, not bad, just slow---so I used a trick I read in another audible review and upped the narration speed to 1.25 and it's great! Historically interesting about the Vikings in Ireland as well as Irish history.

Hard to hear

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I didn't listen to the entire book. The narration was really bad. So no the short time I spend listening to this was not time well spent.

What was most disappointing about James L. Nelsons story?

Couldn't get thru the book b/c of the performance.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm sure the narrator thought he was channeling HBO's Peter Balish, but really he sounded like Ben Affleck's Batman loudly whispering

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

When I read my physical copy I'll let you know.

Any additional comments?

The story seems interesting. I think I'll use my eyes to enjoy it however.

Not bad

Overall not a bad book and well researched but the narrator has the Vikings as cockneys and his Irish accents are diabolical... And his pronunciation of Irish names is even worse, they're so badly done that even as an Irish-speaker I can't recognize them!

Great Story

Would you listen to Fin Gall - A Novel of Viking Age Ireland again? Why?

Maybe

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I didn't much care for the narration. It was done in almost a whisper and did not seem to change with the action. It is a good thing the story itself was exciting. Otherwise, I would have stopped listening in the first 10 minutes.

Any additional comments?

I am a huge fan of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales. When I first saw this book I wondered how it would stack up against Cornwell. I can tell you that, while it does stand on its own, if you love Saxon Tales, you will love this book.

Well done historical period piece- lots of twists

Good book...seemed to be accurate and the plot was well thought out. Almost like a mystery novel, in some respects.