Reading Challenges – Page 24 – What Cathy Read Next…

About the Book

Front cover of The Blazing Sea by Tim Hodkinson

Einar and the Wolf Coats have angered most of the kings of Northern Europe. With England no refuge, their only solution is to set sail across the Whale Road.

A chance encounter with a slave trader leads them to Muslim Spain, but what starts as a joyous homecoming for one of the crew ends in the Caliph’s infamous dungeons.

The Mediterranean proves a perilous sea. Byzantine warships roam, armed with liquid fire that can torch man and ship alike. Viking mercenaries and pirate lords alike spill blood for gold or glory.

With a chance to retake his stolen kingdom of Orkney, Einar must first save an innocent life… and risk his own and those of his crew once more.

Format: Paperback (320 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 11th September 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

The Blazing Sea is the eighth book in the Whale Road Chronicles featuring the adventures of Icelander Einar Unnsson and the fearsome band of warriors known as the Wolf Coats. (In case you’re wondering, the ‘whale-road’ is a very old poetic term for the sea.) I first discovered this series when I read book four, The Serpent King, and I regret that since then I’ve only managed to fit in one further book in the series, Eye of the Raven. Some day I hope I’ll find the time to go back to the beginning.

As the book opens, Einar and the Wolf Coats are far from their homeland, in the unfamiliar territory of the Mediterranean hoping to turn a ship full of slaves into gold. For Einar, it would provide the means to return home with enough troops to reclaim his kingdom. For the others, well, there’d be beer and women for a start. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned after a particularly dangerous run-in with a vessel equipped with the devastating incendiary weapon, ‘Greek fire’. Suddenly the slaves are gone and with it the fortune they’d hoped for. Now a gruesome fate awaits them unless they agree to take on a dangerous mission on behalf of the Byzantine Empire.

To achieve their objective they must penetrate a pirate stronghold on the island of Frumentaria (the Spanish island of Formentera). The pirate camp is protected by strong defences, both natural and man-made. What’s more they have managed to find the means of creating Greek fire, supposedly a closely guarded secret of the Byzantine Empire. With that guarding the harbour, no ship can hope to enter. It’s going to take courage and cunning to infiltrate the camp from the landward side. But as Einar knows sometimes a small band of men, even heavily outnumbered, can achieve what an army cannot.

As before, the action comes thick and fast. The pace really accelerates towards the end of the book as Einar and the Wolf Coats navigate one tricky situation after another with a combination of guile, daring, epic fighting ability and, not least, luck. All the Wolf Coats possess different skills whether that’s stealth, acute hearing or eyesight, expert seamanship or fearsome ability with an axe. One of my favourite characters is Affreca, the sole female member of the Wolf Coats, who is an incomparable archer and the secret (or perhaps not so secret by now) object of Einar’s affections.

As always the author’s knowledge of the period really comes through in the authentic detail of everything from weaponry to social and religious customs. There are particularly vivid descriptions of the city of Constantinople, which is a world away in size and sophistication from anything Einar and the Wolf Coats have ever seen.

Fans of the series will be pleased to learn The Blazing Sea contains all the full-on action of previous books. Nevertheless, by the end of the story, things will have changed forever for the Wolf Coats. Maybe a new quest awaits . . .

I received a review copy courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.

In three words: Action-packed, authentic, exciting
Try something similar: A Day of Reckoning by Matthew Harffy

About the Author

Tim Hodkinson grew up in Northern Ireland where the rugged coast and call of the Atlantic ocean led to a lifelong fascination with Vikings and a degree in Medieval English and Old Norse Literature. Tim’s more recent writing heroes include Ben Kane, Giles Kristian, Bernard Cornwell, George R.R. Martin and Lee Child. After several years in the USA, Tim has returned to Northern Ireland, where he lives with his wife and children. (Photo: X profile )

Connect with Tim
Website | X/Twitter | Goodreads

This year Cathy at 746 Books handed over the baton of hosting the 20 Books of Summer Reading Challenge to Annabel at AnnaBookBel and Emma at Words and Peace.

Every year I approach the challenge high on ambition and usually low on likelihood of success. This year my list was made up of the oldest physical books in my TBR pile.

Emma and Anna have helpfully compiled a list of questions to help us recap our experience of taking part in the challenge.

Q. Did you manage to finish all 10/15/20 books? If not, what kept you from completing the challenge?

A. No, I only managed to read seven of the books on my list. As usual I was over-ambitious, aiming for the full 20 books and, being a stubborn old so-and-so, sticking to my original list and not taking advantage of the option to swap books in and out. I had ARCs I needed to read (which I didn’t put on my list) and included two very long books on my list.

Q. Of all the books you read this summer, which one was your favorite and why? Did you DNF any? Why?

A. I enjoyed all the books I read but my favourite was The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel because it was so well-written and was a fitting end to the trilogy that started with Wolf Hall. Also the narrator of the audiobook was superb. I didn’t DNF any books. To be fair, I very rarely do.

Q. Which book surprised you the most, either by being better or worse than you expected?

A. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. I hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as I did because of the element of magical realism which I often don’t get on with.

Q. Did you notice any patterns in the genres you chose or enjoyed this summer?

A. Not really. Historical fiction, my favourite genre, made up the majority of the books I read.

Q. Which one had the best cover?

A. The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser.

Q. Which one was the longest? And the shortest?

A. The longest was The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel (912 pages). The shortest was Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (229 pages).

Q. Did you read them mostly in print? ebook? audio?

A. They were all print copies although I listened to one on audio (The Mirror & The Light) because it was too big to hold comfortably.

Q. Imagine you’re hosting a “20 Books of Summer” book club wrap party. Which book would you nominate as the guest of honour, and what kind of toast or speech would you give celebrating it?

A. It would have to be The Mirror & The Light because it’s the end of an epic trilogy by an author, Hilary Mantel, who is sadly no longer with us. The book is set during the reign of King Henry VIII so he would probably insist on making the speech. Ideally the party would not end with a beheading.

Q. Looking back at all the characters you met over the summer, which one would you want as a summer buddy for a weekend getaway, and what activity would you do together?

A. I’d go with Sam Coyle from The Dark Isle and spend a week on Orkney, the setting of the book. We’d explore the island’s ancient ruins (she’s into archaeology) and drink whisky.

Q. Any other comments you want to add.

A. To quote from my list of books, the challenge is the bookish equivalent of The Summer House Party, you are both a Force of Nature and I hope you have the Appetite to host it again next year!