Oathsworn - Robert Low

By 965AD the raiding Norse who had carved out the kingdoms in Scandinavia and elsewhere are finding they no longer have a role to play.

All the jarls – petty chieftains – who took on warriors to make them great no longer want those swords around now they have achieved their goal.

Those once-proud veterans are dropped in status, no longer the lauded heroes they had once been and reduced to being merecenaries. They form bands, called varjazi by the people east of the Baltic – the Greek version of it is varangii and, eventually, that word came to be applied to the Varangian Guard, famed elite axe-wielding favourites of the Byzantine Emperors.

That is exactly what the Oathsworn are when, led by Einar the Black, they take on a task for the trade port of Birka and cross the path of a young man known as Orm Bearslayer, whose story this is.
This is the harsh world of the Oathsworn: a shipload of hard men owing no allegiance save to each other, bound by an oath made under the eye of Odin.

"A company of warriors, desperate battles – an enthralling read" ~ Bernard Cornwell

Oathsworn is a series of 4 books written by Robert Low. The Whale Road (2007), The Wolf Sea (2008), The White Raven (2009), The Prow Beast (2010)

I havent read The Prow Beast yet but it's next on my list, Amazing books if you like historical novels.

Looks rather good- might try and get it from the library

They are very good, One of the few authors that just get me hooked after reading the first page.

I personally hadn't heard of him since now