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David McK (3425 KP) rated King of the North (Fire Born #4) in Books

Oct 22, 2023  
King of the North (Fire Born #4)
King of the North (Fire Born #4)
Angus Donald | 2023
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm never really sure what to make of Angus Donald's 'Fire born' series.

Of which this is the fourth.

Personally, I think I've always preferred his Outlaw Chronicles, followed by the Holcroft Blood trilogy, with these Viking-era bringing up the rear.

Having said that, it is what it is.

In this particular entry, Bjarki and his sister Tor end up involved in the little-known (and semi-legendary) Battle of Bravellir, initially on opposite sides of the Shield Wall.

I have to say, it's a battle that I have never heard of before ...

Anyway, the result is an OK read, but (as previously stated, and for my money) the characters and history are just not as interesting as those in the Outlaw Chronicles or in the Holcroft Blood series.

I'll still probably read any future entries, though.
  
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Viking (2016) in Movies

Jun 25, 2019  
Viking (2016)
Viking (2016)
2016 |
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: Viking starts as three brothers rule different kingdoms under the Russia we follow the youngest Vladimir (Kozlovsky) who is trying to end the war between them after being exiled to the frozen land of Novgorod. Completing his quest, he will need to come across new enemies, while old enemies are waiting in the wings for his weaknesses to be exposed.

 

Thoughts on Viking

 

Characters – Vladimir is the youngster son of the king, he gets the weakest area to rule, but isn’t going to let that stop him taking control of the area, he proves to be a strong leader one that is fair and will look after his people. When it comes to the rest of the characters it was hard to figure out who to focus on, because as soon as one looked like they were going to be important, they seemed to get killed.

Performances – The performances suffer because of the issues with the characters not being given the focus they require in the film, it is too hard for the audience to know who they should be following in this film.

Story – The story seems to focus on Vladimir the youngest son of the rule of Russia, whom after his death gets given part of the land to defend, we watch his rise to try and claim his crown as the rule of Russia as he takes on enemies from all over the land including his own blood. The story telling process is difficult to keep up with as we do seem to meet group one get slightly invested in these character, but nope they get killed leaving us wondering just who we are meant to be supporting through the film.

Action/History/War – The action is plenty of battle sequences, each one getting bigger, bloodier and deadlier as the film unfolds. The history, well I don’t know how accurate any of it is, most of that would involve research and the war side of the film shows us the different strategies adopted during the 10th century.

Settings – The film shows us the settings that will keep us believing we are in the time the film is set, it keeps the battles feeling down and dirty which is how you would imagine them happening.


Scene of the Movie – The hiding escape.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Too many characters introduced for nothing.

Final Thoughts – This is an overly complicated movie that is trying to tell a massive story only for it to end up not given enough time for most of the characters to develop or unfold.

 

Overall: Too long and dull

https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/22/abc-film-challenge-world-cinema-v-viking-2016/