Now available from Osprey Publishing:
THE LIFE, THE TIMES, THE LEGEND OF KING OLAF TRYGG­VASON

Hammer of the Gods tells the extraordinary saga of Olaf Tryggvason – warlord, wanderer, king, and crusader – whose life rivals the most legendary figures of Viking lore. Born in exile and hunted from birth, Olaf survived slavery, betrayal, and shipwreck to become a fearsome warrior across the Viking world, from the icy fjords of Norway to the courts of Kyiv, the slave markets of the Baltics and the battlefields of England and Ireland. His rise would shake the foundations of Norse society, forge new kingdoms, and ignite a holy war against the old gods themselves.

In an age of axe and flame, when the Viking world stood at the crossroads of pagan traditions and the spread of Christianity, Olaf emerged as the fiercest adherent to the new faith – a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. Drawing on a vast array of early medieval sources from Icelandic sagas and skaldic verse to Byzantine and Anglo-Saxon chronicles, Don Hollway brings the world of Olaf Tryggvason vividly to life, cutting through the legend to reveal the man behind the myth.

For readers of Bernard Cornwell and lovers of Viking history, Hammer of the Gods is the epic history of a great Norse king whose story shaped the fate of a civilization.

Sample Chapters:

PROLOGUE:

THE RETURN OF THE VIKINGS

Olaf Tryggvason leads the re-invasion of Anglo-Saxon England

I

MURDER

An ancient king’s grave marks betrayal on a remote Scandinavian islet.

II

HUNTED

A wanderer’s life begins....

REVIEWS:

Hollway pieced together Olaf’s biography from numerous and often contradictory sources. He does a masterful job of fitting the pieces together to form a coherent picture. The result is an exciting story set in a violent era.
Mark Lardas, Scanalyst

“Hammer of the Gods” is an exciting and engaging read that will introduce readers to a world that seems utterly fantastical, but was surely part of our own. For fans of Viking lore and history, I can hardly recommend Hollway’s new work enough.
Dustin Bass, The Epoch Times

Hollway has written a new nonfiction saga...a narrative that is not just coherent, but compelling...a sort of Viking hagiography, a kings-and-battles book that knowingly prints the legend in breathlessly dramatic episodes.
Neil Price, Times Literary Supplement

Hammer of the Gods is a veritable Scandi Game of Thrones. Don Hollway is a master at interweaving fact and fable, and this book is the third in his trilogy of Viking bio-dramas. A must-read for all lovers of the genre.
ThePast.com

[Hollway] juggles myth, archeology, ancient texts and history without getting bogged down.... Hammer of the Gods: King Olaf’s Viking Conquest, a compendium of all the main sources pertaining to the life one of the world’s most famous Vikings, is in itself a saga—and a highly readable one.
Military Heritage Magazine

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REPRESENTATION

Scott Mendel, Managing Partner
Mendel Media Group LLC

About the author

Don Hollway is an historian, illustrator, historical re-enactor and classical rapier fencer. For over 30 years his writing on history, aviation, and re-enacting has appeared in magazines ranging from Aviation History, Excellence, History Magazine, Military Heritage, Military History, Wild West, and World War II to Muzzleloader, Porsche Panorama, Renaissance Magazine, and Scientific American. Many of his articles are available free on his website, donhollway.com, where a number of them rank in the top two or three in global search results. He is a member of the Organization of American Historians and the Viking Society for Northern Research in the UK.

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