The Sons of Odin

The Sons of Odin is the second of nine books in the first phase of Jack Zimmerman's saga, naming the phase Odyssey of the Vikings. Written by Jack Zimmerman and first published on November 28th, 2009, the book did well in sales, selling 15 million copies, 2 million more than the previous book. The book won several awards and does a great job at building on the characters and the world, introducing bigger characters such as Jarl Borg and King Horik. It also does well to build on the complexity of Viking brotherhood, specifically that of Rollo, Ragnar, Floki, and Torstein, but we also find out a lot about Alvis through this book, with the book having the most flashbacks of the series so far. 
== Plot ==
=== Background ===
The Sons of Odin picks up as the winter following A New World ends and everyone is preparing to leave for the Nine Years Festival in Sigtuna. However, whilst the last book was happening, a brief war was fought between Earl Askr of Dal in King Horik's domain, who borders Jarl Borg, and the Jarl himself. Askr wedded Horik's sister, Thyra, an Earl in Jarl Borg's domain, and had gone to war for her claim of being Jarl, as she was well respected and an Earl of a very important port, and a very large city. However, Borg quickly overcomes his challengers in battle, killing Askr, imprisoning Thyra and her children, and occupying the Earldom of Dal, claiming it as his own. This move raises tension between Borg and King Horik, as Borg refuses to return the valuable land to Horik, and only promises to release his sister and nephews and niece until he allows him to keep the land. Horik, ever the arrogant man seeks a way to free his blood and get his land back without his sister's death, but also wishes to gain fame and glory, so he prefers the way of war. 
=== Part One: The Nine Years Festival ===