Saint Magnus, The Last Viking (God's Forgotten Friends)

This story begins with the last will and testament of an 11th-century Norseman warrior, Thorfinn the Mighty. The opening scene sets the stage for the novel as the dying ruler makes a startling decision for the sake of the kingdom. The conflict begins here and never lets up.Susan has an outstanding ability to begin and end chapters with lines that keep you from putting the book down. Chapter two begins: “It had never occurred to Magnus, second son of Erlend, to arm himself with a weapon before setting off for Vespers.” You absolutely know something exciting is going to happen! And it does. Peek pulls the reader from one tense moment to another. We go back in time and become witness to the dramatic trials Magnus endured and the sacrifices he made.As the mother of three boys, ages twelve to fifteen, I can’t say enough about this book. My boys love to read and they enjoy saint stories, but Saint Magnus, The Last Viking appeals to them in ways no other saint books have. This is not a sterile retelling of the saint’s life. The characters leap off the page with energy my boys can relate to, keeping them completely engaged as the story of this saint unfolds.With all the battles, fighting, and conflict, it’s obvious why this story appeals to boys, but I love it, too. In fact, I read it first. As a writer, I thoroughly enjoy Peek’s powerful writing style and vivid descriptions. I marvel at her ability to develop every character in the story. Some lines and sections moved me so much that I found myself re-reading them for pure enjoyment. Then I shared them with my husband. “Listen! Don’t you just love this?” I laughed to myself when my twelve-year-old son read the book and did the same thing. “Mom, listen!”Susan Peek’s inspired account of the life of Saint Magnus stirs up the desire to live as he did, with courage, perseverance, and brotherly love, faithful to God to the end. Peek has taken the life of this little-known saint whom time may have forgotten and whose story could’ve remained hidden, and she’s re-presented it to the modern Christian.This book is not to be missed. I walk away from it knowing I will go back. The message of Saint Magnus’s life is a message for today and it remains with me even now. I can’t wait to step into my next Susan Peek book.

This book has so much potential, but the quality of the writing was disappointing. St Magnus is a little-known saint, with a fascinating story and as far as the story itself does, the book manages to be engaging. There are some moments that are truly great, like when Magnus and his brother Aerling are in prison and Magnus is worried that his brother will die while refusing to forgive his enemies. Even though he is gravely wounded and they are being mistreated and given barely enough food and water to survive, Magnus decides to fast for his brother's sake, not telling him what he is doing, refusing to take any food or drink until Aerling experiences a change of heart and forgives their cousin. I've seldom seen so spiritually powerful a moment in a book for young people.And yet the book was a constant disappointment because all of the characters talk like people from the modern era. It's full of anachronisms and historical gaffes which made it hard to suspend disbelief and enter into the story. Like when Magnus' cousin Hakon is given 24 hours to leave Orkney and go into exile. And then later Magnus sees him and remarks that he has only half an hour to go.... how exactly are these Vikings marking time down to the hour and minute? Or when Magnus is thinking about going to confession-- truly a good moment to include as in stresses the importance of the sacrament-- but refers to the confessional box. In the early Viking church there were no confessionals as are known in modern Catholic churches. The sacrament remains essentially the same, but the ways in which we practice are very different. Miss Peek fails to convey to the reader how very different the culture of the Vikings was. They seem to be essentially modern people in costumes.For a much more compelling portrait of Viking life see Rosemary Sutcliff's novel, Sword Song. It lacks the spiritual element of the saint story, but gives a much better understanding of the world of the Vikings and even though its glimpses of Viking Christianity are scantier and less of a focus, they feel much more historically true. I wish Susan Peek had spent more time on historical research and reading authors like Rosemary Sutcliff who are utterly compelling in their portrayal of pre-modern times.

Susan Peek's tale is a fast-paced thriller that moves from one battle scene to the next. We tend to connect what we read to background knowledge we already have, and since I know little of 11th and 12th century Scottish history, I kept thinking of the movie Braveheart will I read this! However, unlike the Mel Gibson movie, Susan's main character is a young man who would rather spend his time in prayer than in battle. Nonetheless, Magnus is a brave young man who isn't afraid to take up his sword when it's time to defend his family and his homeland--even from attack by own of their own. This is not a "quiet" book of saintly virtues, but rather a deeply engrossing tale of how one might live a life of prayer and penance in the midst of heroic action!

I read this book in one sitting, after which I took it to the classroom and read it to my students over a period of weeks. They literally begged me not to stop, sometimes following me down the hall after class, wanting to know if we would read more the next day. As soon as we finished, the book was passed along to others, most of whom also read it straight through. It's that gripping; or rather, it's that inspiring. I hope many people -- young and old -- have a chance to to be inspired by its story. Mrs. Peek has a talent that the souls of young people in our increasingly jaded world need badly. I pray she keeps writing for them!

My 12 year old son really liked this book.He said it was “exciting” It was great to have him read about a saint and be totally enthusiastic! The Saints’ lives are wonderful and I’m glad the author could write this book to show that.

I really enjoyed this one by Peek. The ending was especially poignant and satisfying.