Rating: 
Summary: Great Series, Pity about the ending though.
Review: A pity that this book does not measure up to the rest of the series. Harrison gets obsessed with the "oppressiveness" of Christianity, and the story seems to end up more as a sermon, than a novel. The "Way", while an interesting read in alternate history, becomes increasingly unrealistic as the story progresses - and Shef's portrayal as a Christ figure increasingly obvious.It's the ending that spoils the story, though. The wrap-up is short - and frankly, quite unrealistic. Harrison gets carried away by his vision of a different dark-ages world, and turns it utopian. Read it, if you read and liked the previous two novels - but don't expect it to measure up to the others.
Rating: 
Summary: a big let down
Review: after reading the 1st 2 books of the trilogy I was expecting a story of similiar caliber. While the book was interesting it was not on the same level as the 1st 2 books in the trilogy. The main players acted all out of charecter compared to the previous 2 books. The last 1/3 of of the book seem to be rushed & slapped together; the final battle was dissappointing to say the least. If you're a big fan of the triology, get the book to complete the loop; otherwise don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Good followup to a great story!
Review: Any alternative history fan would enjoy this novel , along with "Warriors of the Way". I like the concept of vikings of that era being more than just barbarians and that they have a distinct and rich culture also. I do want to note one error in the story. The god Rig is actually Heimdall (as described in the Edda). I've also enjoyed the entire Stainless Steel Rat series
Rating:
Summary: Blows it in the end.
Review: Eh, I suffered through this book, but didn't enjoy it very much at all. It veers into Holy Blood Holy Grail speculating, and wraps up with some sort of bizarre thing where our favorite super-techno Viking becomes a cut-rate Christ figure, or something.
I just sort of shrugged at the sainlty Vikings who followed The Way for two books, but this time it got really screedy-anyone who thought these books were just an exploration of alternate history instead of Harrison's Great Statement should be quite disabused by this novel.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent & Merciless Dissection of Christianity
Review: Harrison tries to evoke a world where the reign of Christianity has been replaced with a more heterogenous array of faiths. The 'Way', a sort of pagan reaction to the threatened 'Skuld-world' that Christianity would bring about, has as its champion the good king Shef. Shef, and the followers of the Way, are very much of this world and believe in the use of man's creative reason to better man's worldly condition---something the 'Christ-priests' are loathe to do. The Christ-priests are more concerned with subjugating and dominating man, than actually improving his worldly life. Christianity is portayed, correctly in my view, as an unmitigated disaster for the Western world. Other monotheistic faiths are also skewered: Judaism is portrayed as too bookish, Islam is portrayed as too complacent and smug. Clearly, Harrison discerns a common virus in each of these three faiths. The essence of Harrison's narrative is 'man'. Harrison creates an alternative history where men create their own gods, who are in effect reifications of mens' needs. To heal the wounds within the divine realm, therefore, requires that wounds among men here on earth must first be healed. And the Way is about that. The tale is basically about man coming to grips with all that makes him human---his creative side, reified into the god Rig, as well as his anarchic side, reified into Loki. The book will rankle those who do not believe that christianity is an affliction best overcome by a renewed invigoration of a more worldly, life-affirming pagan morality. The idea that Christ never died, but lived and recovered to pursue a family life is interesting, as is Christ's apostacy. "Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani??"
Rating:
Summary: a rush job which destroys a good developing story
Review: I am disappointed with this book because it is a rush job that doesnt fully develop its characters or story to its fullest.shame on the author for ruining an otherwise good premise.i guess it tells us to be careful about serials.sooner or later it has a diminishing return when the authors ideas run dry.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Saga Concludes, But Not With a Bang
Review: I am not usually interested in alternate-history stories, but this one intrigued me -- and paid off. This book picks up the story of Shef, who has become king of the North but still feels driven to do more. Opposed and harassed by the Holy Roman Church that feels threatened by Shef's religion (see below), Shef goes after Rome and, along the way, the Moors and the Byzantine Greeks. Great battle scenes ensue and the pace is good until near the end. Then, Shef seems to grow weary and the story goes somewhat flat. Shef seems to have forgotten what he is after, or has realized that he already has what he wants but now wants to stop wanting more, without knowing how to stop. The "alternate" factor thrown in to the mix is a new religion, called "The Way", which is a more organized and civilized version of old Norse mythology. As in standard Norse mythology, there is a set of gods, with each representing different aspects of life and with internal strife between the gods. What "The Way" adds is the idea that Man's role in life is to find his greatest talents and to dedicate himself to his patron god by mastering the talent that god represents, adding something to it, and teaching others. This new religion also does not see itself as being necessarily in conflict with any other religion, and follows a belief in freedom of choice. I have read this book several times, and expect to read it again, even if it fizzles out somewhat at the end, and leaves the hero in a disappointing conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Saga Concludes, But Not With a Bang
Review: I am not usually interested in alternate-history stories, but this one intrigued me -- and paid off. This book picks up the story of Shef, who has become king of the North but still feels driven to do more. Opposed and harassed by the Holy Roman Church that feels threatened by Shef's religion (see below), Shef goes after Rome and, along the way, the Moors and the Byzantine Greeks. Great battle scenes ensue and the pace is good until near the end. Then, Shef seems to grow weary and the story goes somewhat flat. Shef seems to have forgotten what he is after, or has realized that he already has what he wants but now wants to stop wanting more, without knowing how to stop. The "alternate" factor thrown in to the mix is a new religion, called "The Way", which is a more organized and civilized version of old Norse mythology. As in standard Norse mythology, there is a set of gods, with each representing different aspects of life and with internal strife between the gods. What "The Way" adds is the idea that Man's role in life is to find his greatest talents and to dedicate himself to his patron god by mastering the talent that god represents, adding something to it, and teaching others. This new religion also does not see itself as being necessarily in conflict with any other religion, and follows a belief in freedom of choice. I have read this book several times, and expect to read it again, even if it fizzles out somewhat at the end, and leaves the hero in a disappointing conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: One of My Old Favorites
Review: I love this trilogy, from the start of book one to the end of book three, the historical aspects are pointed out in a way that fits as part of the story and they don't overthrow the plot, lending the books a very authoritative tone. The Characters are great, (Brand is one of my favorites) and there's plenty of action. What I like best about these books is that Harrison really makes you feel inside the story, the way he handles the characters attitudes towards each other and their surroundings really makes you feel like you're right with them weather it's Anglo-Saxon England, Scandinavia, The Frankish Empire, Muslum Spain or what's left of Rome. As for character development, Harrison has a great way of using the third-person point of view in a way that can convey things unknown to the characters yet at the same time the tone of the narrative is flavored with the particular character's personality, culture and view of their surroundings, helping the reader understand more fully the motives and inhibitions of the people he describes. I read these back in high school and loved them then as much I still do now.
Rating:
Summary: Trips just short of the finish line, a great shame
Review: I loved the first two books in this trilogy (as well as many other books by this author), but there's something about this book that bugs me. While respecting Mr. Harrison's creative license with his characters, I thought this was a conclusion unworthy of the other two books. The characters were mostly well done, as always, but the plot was flawed. The excessive Christ metaphors and intellectual leaps and bounds (especially towards the end) took attention away from the main point of the story-- THERE'S A WAR ON, REMEMBER??? and futhermore it leaves the reader hanging more than it should, since the overly-neat wrap-up at the end is too fake to be realistic. I was left with a sense of "is that all there is?" after reading this. The technical aspects of the book-- catapult artillery and so on-- are both interesting and amusing, and the battle scenes ought to have been more involved. All in all, it was a poor ending to a great story. Mr. Harrison, if you read this, I suggest some sort of post-Shef account of events up north.
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