Review: Brothers of the wild North Sea
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 15, 2013
Caius, a young British lad, became a monk, converting to the new religion, and works as healer among his brethren.  His father, a hill-fort chieftain who raids and ravishes, is furious, but having learnt to read Latin and absorbed heretical astronomy lessons from a rare independently-minded monk, Cai never wants to return.  Now he is warned of more Viking raids on the exposed north British coastline.A raid shatters the island monastery's peace and a new Abbot claims that the Vikings were a punishment for not following strict Church rule.  Cai however improvises weapons and teaches some monks to use them in defence.  In the next raid, an injured Norseman is left for dead and Cai reluctantly takes him in to the infirmary to treat him.  Fenrir, a handsome warrior, speaks some Latin and says that they seek a treasure hidden in the monastery.  But Cai has never heard of any treasure in the simple, bleak settlement which doesn't even have chalices, and he fears that the sea wolves will keep coming until they have killed everyone and destroyed everything.I enjoyed reading about life in the late 600s; shearing sheep, making mead, driving a mare in a chariot, fishing from coracles and spreading fields with seaweed to fertilise oats and barley.  Contrasting ways of life are well shown and we see that some science was understood although the religious forbade its teaching.  Nature is always close to the characters, with seals, puffins and eider ducks a normal sight.  The Viking says, "All female oxen are called Dagsauga in my country, or Smjrbolli." These names translate as Daisy and Buttercup.  There's storms, ergot in the grain and prowling wolves, and diseases or infections can kill.BROTHERS OF THE WILD NORTH SEA is an action-packed adult romance by Harper Fox, who lives in Northumberland and writes gay fiction. With this outing she has given us two determined young men and a love which breaks their boundaries.  This lengthy read will appeal to those who enjoy reading about the Viking era, and a gay reader might give it more stars.