Twelve-year-old Finn, son of Olaf Farseeker, is disappointed when the boat arriving at his village in Greenland is not his father’s, but that of Leif Ericsson. Soon, Finn is a stowaway on Sea Sword, off a-viking, in search of adventure and his father, who has been gone since last season. When caught, Finn is put to work to stand lookout, coil line, haul the sail, cook, take care of the animals and as a skald, or bard, give the crew poems. They go west in search of Vineland and timber and trading goods, following Olaf Farseeker’s route. When the weather worsens and the crew faces storms and fog and risks being lost at sea, Moodie’s writing is at its best, becoming vigorous and spirited as a Viking saga. What began as a quest for adventure and a search for his father becomes an odyssey toward manhood, and the land of promise becomes a “dark realm of doom and mystery,” where Finn proves himself a Viking. A rousing sea adventure. (author’s note) (Fiction. 11-14)
