Bretwalda, Part 3

 

cover art by George Rozen

Read/Watch 'em In Order #136

With "A Sword for Lief the Lucky," (Argosy, April 15, 1939) the saga of the mystic axe Bretwalda has reached the year 1000 A.D. It comes into the possession of Harold Wilton--whose family is still living in Norway--after Harold's father is killed by Eric the Red.

 And Harold discovers he has axe-related work to do as well. The current king of Norway is Olav Tryggvason, who has been working to Christianize his country. A number of still-pagon and powerful jarls, though, want to overthrow him. Harold heads to the royal hall in the port town of Nidaros to serve him.

But he's soon involved in a duel when he objects to a woman slave being hit. This is a set up and is actually part of a plot to kill a friend of Harold's. Before he knows it, he's falsely accused of murder and has to hide from the king he wanted to serve.

What makes the situation even more interesting is that he is saved from ambush by Leif Ericsson, whose dad had killed Harold's dad. Then there's that woman slave, who can help him, but only by almost certainly sacrificing her own life. Eventually, Harold figures out a way to save the king and Leif from assassination, but only by almost certainly giving up HIS own life. 

"A Sword for Leif the Lucky" is arguably the best of the first three Bretwalda stories. Not only is it a truly exciting action tale, but it also deals quite effectively with themes of duty and self-sacrifice. The author, Philip Ketchum, is particularly adept at presenting character interactions and dialogue in a very human, realistic way, allowing him to build relationships quickly but still believably. We completely identify with Harold and with the slave woman and we really feel the impact of their likely deaths. 

You can read it online HERE.