The cover is hokey
The Monk and The Viking is a novella series self-published on Amazon
by Athelstan King. It contains three books and one short story.
When the Vikings arrive at the little Irish monastery, they are ordered to kill any monk they see and take their golden treasures. One monk, Brother Aiden, manages to sleep through the raid. One Viking, Floki, stumbles across him, snoring in his cell.
Captivated with the sleeping monk, Floki convinces his elder brother, Harald, to let him take Brother Aiden back to Norway as his thrall. Brother Aiden has no choice but to go. While he’s grateful that these Viking raiders have spared his life, Brother Aiden is terrified. Eventually, Floki’s kindness wins him over.
This show provides examples of:
- Amputation Stops Spread: Subverted. Floki explains that his father died because he refused to have his sword hand amputated after an infection grew gangrenous.
- Braids of Barbarism: Floki wears his hair in braids and takes quite good care of his hair.
- Christianity is Catholic: All of the Christian characters are Catholic
- Conflicting Loyalty: Brother Aiden has conflicting loyalties between the Viking raider he loves, the monks he grew up with, and his mother who the monks mistreated.
- Dark Age Europe: The story is set in 9th century Ireland and Norway.
- Fat and Skinny: Floki is extremely slender while Brother Aiden is fat.
- Gentle Giant: Brother Aiden is this. Unless someone tries to hurt Floki.
- Locked Away in a Monastery: Brother Aiden was sent to a monastery as a toddler because he was illegitimate.
- Made a Slave: Brother Aiden is captured after Vikings raid his monastery and made into a thrall.
- Plunder: The sole reason Floki goes to Ireland in the first place.
- Warrior Monk: Brother Aiden is reluctant but will fight if he has to. After Brother Aiden's return to Ireland and his relationship with Floki is revealed, his fellow monks become violent and try to fight them.
