Shadow of the Raven, the first book in the Sons of Kings trilogy by author Millie Thom, is a well-researched, beautifully written historical novel set in the 9^th Century.

It is rare I find a book so wonderfully constructed that it is capable of transporting me back to another place and time. In the Shadow of the Raven, author Millie Thom has done just that.

This heroic adventure revolves around historical Alfred, fictional Eadwulf, and marauding Danish Vikings.

Rich in detail, full of intrigue, action, deception, romance and revenge, the reader is quickly and effortlessly pulled into the story to experience the trials, tribulations, and development of men who would be leaders and of those who would serve them.

From the daily toil of lowly servant thralls and their beds of straw, to the fearsome Danes in their mighty Dragonships, to the well-appointed and conniving courts of kings, the reader is immersed in a gripping, vibrant narrative. The many and varied characters are believable, the dialogue finely crafted, and the settings of Britain, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Rome are filled with superb, lush details so vivid it seems possible to smell the cook fires, feel the icy winds of the North Sea, and hear the cries of battle and lamentations of grieving women and children as the divergent groups vie for wealth and power on both a personal and epic scale.

If you enjoy historical fiction and/or delight in reading a well-crafted, highly descriptive and engrossing story line, you will enjoy this book. I certainly did.

Learn more about the author by visiting her website at milliethom.wordpress.com