First published 1995
On the fictional island of Norday in the Orkneys, a young poet loses himself in reveries about his homeland's past. His imagination carries him across centuries to witness the adventures of Viking warriors who sailed from these same shores. He finds himself transported to the glittering court of the Byzantine Emperor in Constantinople, where northern seafarers once sought fortune and glory. Through these vivid daydreams, the poet experiences the epic journeys that shaped his island's history. The boundary between his present reality and the dramatic past begins to blur as he inhabits the lives of those who came before him. His visions reveal how the spirit of adventure and the pull of distant horizons have always defined the people of Norday, connecting his own artistic yearnings to the bold voyages of his ancestors.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: past-lives, time-travel
Setting: Norday, Orkneys, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Period: Viking Era, Byzantine Era
217 pages · Paperback · Flamingo