Book 1

Bracelet of Bones

by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Published 31 March 2011

One morning Solveig wakes to find her father, Viking mercenary Halfdan, has broken his promise to her and gone to rejoin his friend, Harald Hardrada, in Constantinople, where he is leader of the Empress's guard. Deciding to follow him, Solveig sets off in a tiny boat and into an adventure along the Baltic and through the river routes of Russia to the Black Sea, encountering Swedish traders, a ghost-ship and a Russian king, and braving arrow-storms and witnessing a living sacrifice along the way. Through it all, Solveig's belief in her father is unwavering. Will she ever reach Constantinople? And will her father be there?

A glittering novel that explores friendship and betrayal, the father-daughter relationship, the clash of religions and the journey from childhood to adulthood.


Scramasax

by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Published 30 August 2012
Solveig has made it all the way from Norway to the glittering city of Constantinople, where her father is a member of the guard of Empress Zoe. Soon Solveig finds herself caught up in the conflict between the Viking guard and the Islamic people of nearby Sicily. In this world of competing religious beliefs, brutal violence and ruthless mercenaries, Solveig must face some terrible truths about her father and her fellow Vikings, and decide what she considers worth fighting for.