The book cover art was impressive and the blurb for this story seemed promising. I decided to take a chance and buy this book on a hunch that it might perhaps be incredible. It was. This middle grade historical book will hold the attention of young readers and will take them on a fantastic adventure with twelve-year-old Finn as he bravely embarks on an unpredictable journey to find his father, explorer Olaf Farseeker.

This looked intriguing in the Daedelus catalog, and potentially a good read-aloud for my 9-year old. Then I looked it up online, and found very few reviews, so I wasn't sure what to expect. We just finished it and enjoyed it very much.It's a retelling of a story from the sagas, from the viewpoint of teenage boy Finn, a "skald" or poet who may just be the author of the saga itself. His father and brothers previously sailed west and should have returned; so when Leif Erikson makes a brief stopover [...]

I really enjoyed this Viking story! It kept me on the edge of my seat. The main character makes some really poor choices, but is overcome with remorse, tries to do the best he can in spite of his mistakes, and keeps himself in a perpetual state of trouble-making as he attempts to repair the damage. The history and culture were so much fun to read about, and it was just a good story. The language was clean. There were a few places in the text where someone swore "by God," but otherwise, it was fr [...]

When his father and brother sail off to explore North America, twelve-year-old Finn is told to stay behind and look after the family farm. He is none to pleased, and takes it upon himself to sneak onto Leif Eriksson’s boat that is headed that same direction. When he is discovered as a stow-away he is forced to work. Once ashore he resists the directions he is given to continually search for his father and brother. Written for 5th grade and up this story is historical fiction because factual in [...]

The story was interesting, but not what seemed to be advertised by the title.