Author(s): Kevin Crossley-Holland

Middle Fiction 8-12-year-olds

One morning Solveig wakes to find her father, Viking mercenary Halfdan, has broken his promise to her and gone to rejoin his friend, Harald Hardrada, in Constantinople, where he is leader of the Empress's guard. Deciding to follow him, Solveig sets off in a tiny boat and into an adventure along the Baltic and through the river routes of Russia to the Black Sea, encountering Swedish traders, a ghost-ship and a Russian king, and braving arrow-storms and witnessing a living sacrifice along the way. Through it all, Solveig's belief in her father is unwavering. Will she ever reach Constantinople? And will her father be there? A glittering novel that explores friendship and betrayal, the father-daughter relationship, the clash of religions and the journey from childhood to adulthood.