"Hartsuyker's second volume in her trilogy (after The Half-Drowned King) continues the saga of Ragnvald Eysteinsson... but Svanhild proves that Norse women can be just as vicious and cunning as Norse men.... this is an ambitious tale of Norwegian medieval warfare told in richly colorful and accurate historical detail. Hartsuyker's novel reveals just how tenuous life is when disputes are settled with sword and battle-axe." Publishers Weekly