BLOODAXE - BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 - SPEESH READS REVIEW. Under the iron rule of Harald Fairhair, Norway has been a land at peace for half a century. Groomed for the succession, the king’s eldest surviving son has lived the life of a Viking prince; harrying wherever his longships can reach, from the frozen forests of Bjarmaland to the rocky shores of Brittany and beyond.But none expected Harald to live so long, and as the king enters his ninth decade his powers begin to wane. Seizing their chance other Haraldssons move to snatch the crown for themselves, and a brother war sweeps the land as Erik fights to defend his birthright…Bloodaxe is the first volume in a trilogy which will tell the story of one of the Viking Age’s legendary kings.