Review: The Bear's Blade by Tim Hodkinson

Synopsis: How do you defeat the undefeatable?

935 AD, Norway. Recovering from horrendous injuries, Einar finds himself unable to fight. He is not strong enough to defeat his rival, Eirik, who has seized Orkney despite Einar being the rightful Jarl.

Eirik's men soon raid the Norwegian coast, led by a warrior called the Bear. Cruel and ferocious, the Bear possesses a legendary blade – one that gives him a skill in battle that cannot be matched. Such an extraordinary sword could be key to Einar's plans – but first he and the Wolf Coats must contend with the Bear himself.

Caught between old foes and new ones, Einar must use all his wits to survive. But is a man who cannot wield a sword capable of being a true Viking warrior?

Book Five in the Whale Road Series ... and it doesn't disappoint. Wounded from a dual with his father, and unable to defeat his rival and nemisis, Einar realises that the ".. powers of chaos are loose ...". Separated from the Wolf Coats, Einar must heal and adapt in the face of Viking onslaughts that gives rise to a new terror - The Bear!.

Einar soon realises that this mighty warrior wields a sword more powerful than the Wolf Coats own Ulfberht sword - and to discover the secret of this powerful weapon, Einar must become a cuckoo in the nest of the Bear! Meanwhile, Eirik Bloodaxe is still a thorn in the side of the Wolf Coats - and vice versa. Eirik's queen Gunnhild will stop at nothing to see her husband secure on the throne of Orkney even if this means performing a sacred ritual and sacrifice.

Once again, the tension mounts with the increase in action, as our motley band of warriors hurtle towards their inevitable confrontation with Eirik - will they prevail, will Einar resume the path of the warrior? All we know for sure is that the Wolf Coats will live to fight another day .... afterall, it's hard to keep a good band of warriors down!