Judith’s review of The Reluctant Viking by Sandra Hill
The hypnotic voice on the self-motivation tape was supposed to help Ruby Jordan solve her problems, not create new ones. Instead, she is swept from a hectic career and failing marriage back to an era of hard-bodied warriors and fair maidens. And the world ten centuries in the past isn’t all mead and mirth, either!
In the summer of 1997, 11 members of our family traveled to York and experienced the archeological dig and museum that reveals so much about ancient Jorvik, the Norse community which ultimately became York. The reality of their life was evident and as I was reading this novel I could visualize so much more about the life as it must have been then. I also could relate to the heroine’s sense of being an alien as she was thrust into a society that had existed 1,000 years earlier. Imagine how she must have felt when she saw the Viking in charge of the slave ship where she inadvertently landed after her time travel and saw the face of her 21st century husband, the man who had just walked out on their 20 year marriage. Yet Thork was a man of his time for whom women were less valuable than a good horse. Ruby Jordan certainly had her work cut out for her.
This is the first in a series of historical novels which were first published in the mid-1990’s and which have not been re-released in 2011. They have been either expanded or slightly re-written, but each can be read and appreciated as stand alone works even though all are connected in some way. There are sometimes significant time periods that have elapsed between subsequent books, but all are connected to characters or families that have been introduced here. Most important, I think, is that in writing books that are quite accurate for the most part, Ms Hill has attempted to introduce this Viking culture and society as it really was, not as most of us have come to believe. Readers need to be careful to keep in mind that 1,000 years ago there were not the medical advances, birth control, travel conveyances, police and fire fighters, peace and safety, and so on. It was a tough and brutal time, when families could be uprooted and slain when they least expected it, all because of a shift in local politics. Yet amid the brutal and warrior society that characterized the Norse, Saxon, Scots and Irish communities, still there were positive aspects of their life–their love of family, their sense of honor, the power of the spoken and memorized word, the surprising rule of law.
Against this background readers meet Ruby Jordan who travels to this world carrying her own emotional baggage and pain, a woman who inadvertently causes all kinds of difficulty for herself with her very different understanding of society, the place of women, simple things like women’s lingerie and helping women of that time practice some sort of birth control. There is also a troubling yet exciting emotional and sexual attraction between Thork and Ruby, one that is not easily understood and which may trouble readers unless one is willing to see their dynamic through the lens of the times. Ms Hill injects lots of scenes that are really funny as well as some that will pull at the heart strings. There are times a modern reader wants to club one or all of the men over the head and it is an opportunity for contemporary readers to newly appreciate the strides and achievements modern men and women have made. I had to wonder how well I would have managed had I been in Ruby’s shoes. Thanks to her love of geneology she was able to save her own life by claiming relationship with one of the Saxon kings–one she knew was her grandfather, but 50 times removed.
Lovers of historical novels set in the Dark Ages will appreciate the extensive research that went into the writing of this book, but I think there will also be deep appreciation for the creativity of the author in creating characters who accurately reflect that time but who also bear the marks of a kind of humor we still love today. One of the most endearing aspects of this book is that not only is Ruby able to be a positive influence in the lives of several of the characters, especially Thork’s young sons, but she learns some important lessons about herself as she sees herself through the eyes of people in a distant time. Had she indeed given up some timeless values in her marriage in order to live as a completely “modern” woman? This and other questions make this book valuable as a way of helping readers consider their own experiences and possibly learn the lessons of the past. I’m as confirmed an advocate for women’s rights as you can find. My generation had to fight long and hard for many of the privileges we enjoy now. But I also know that there is always a price to pay for every advancement, and this book gave me an opportunity to think through my own experiences in a new way and in a fashion I had not been challenged for a long time.
I know that I was so taken with this novel that it launched me into reading the entire series. And because of that personal exposure to the ancient culture and surrounding of Jorvik, I found myself enjoying this novel far more than I thought I would. It’s well worth the effort to read.
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
looks good
but why the bear chested hero again/ lol
Sandra Hills’s Viking series are such enjoyable, fun reads.
She has another Viking series wherein the Vikings time travel to the present and are involved in the Navy SEALS. They’re silly, but laugh out loud fun.
Her books are my go to reads when I feel a bit down and out and need a little pick me up.