'In this agreeably readable book, the authors have chosen to highlight the 'conquest' of paganism by Christianity. Such a course inevitably courts misunderstanding if it suggests some sort of 'holy war' between two bitterly opposed religions, which the Viking Age certainly was not. Instead, the authors have commendably tried to illuminate the political role of institutionalized Christianity as an increasingly formidable factor in the power-struggles of  European kingdoms... In the rise and fall of the Viking outburst, religion as such probably played a minor part. But it was a fascinating part, rich in tale and human interest, and one that is well told here.'

Magnus Magnusson (from his introduction to The Hammer and the Cross)

Were the Vikings hairy heathens in horned helmets? Warlike and bloodthirsty they were, yet they had a sophisticated society with a religion of grand and tragic dimensions.

This book, finely illustrated, tells the turbulent story of the coming of Christianity to the Vikings - its conflict with the worship of Odin and Thor - its eventual triumph. The conversion from Thor's hammer to Christ's cross advanced sometimes by fierce battle, sometimes by civilized debate. In both cases we have tried to bring the Viking era to life - to show what happened, how, and why - as vividly as possible.

All these events happened more than a thousand years ago - yet they grip the imagination, and illuminate the very roots of Western culture.

Other collaborations include:

The Ice King | A Spell of Empire - The Horns of Tartarus