A tale of battles, betrayals, revenge, magic, and monsters: The ancient legend of the fabled sixth-century Danish king, retold by an acclaimed master of science fiction and fantasy. In the court of the Anglo-Saxon king, a visiting storyteller regales the assembled nobles with the enthralling tale of her faraway land's most revered hero: the Viking Hrolf Kraki. Born of an incestuous union into a royal family with a history of violence, jealousy, usurpation, and murder, Hrolf assembled a loyal band of the mightiest champions in the realm and expanded his small kingdom through wisdom, courage, and conquest. Unbeaten on the battlefield, his great deeds and victories became legends throughout the North as he ushered in an era of peace and prosperity. But Hrolf's desire for vengeance was ever the warrior-king's driving force, as he sought the truth about his father's murder. This obsession would threaten Hrolf's life and his rule - and ultimately bring his great kingdom to ruin. Poul Anderson, one of the acknowledged giants of twentieth-century fantasy and science fiction, employs his unparalleled storytelling talents to bring Denmark's most thrilling ancient legend to life. A tale that predates the stories of King Arthur and his knights and Shakespeare's Hamlet, while echoing the Oedipus and Beowulf myths, the saga of Hrolf Kraki, the greatest of all Danish Viking kings, takes on a new and breathtaking richness in this classic novel that was honored with a British Fantasy Award in 1974

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