"The air was filled with a confusion of sounds: the thunderous crash of shield against shield and clash of meeting weapons; shouts of triumph and screams of pain; the deep, repeated call of the war horns; and the gasps and sobs of men locked together in a savage struggle for life.

"Helgi saw a man before him with ax raised above his head, and he leaped to one side as the blade flashed in the sun."

Danger and challenge awaited Helgi, the young Icelandic boy, when he joined the service of King Olaf of Norway. The Norwegians in 1025 were just emerging from their medieval allegiance to the old folk gods. Feudal lords, unwilling to relinquish their powers to a king, made the divided country easy prey for its powerful neighbor, Denmark.

Olaf led his men in a desperate attempt to unite the warring factions, throw off the Danish aggressors, and establish a united Christian Kingdom of Norway. Later made Saint Olaf, he inspired his followers with his own zeal for the mission, and pointed the way to a new Norway.

From the dust jacket