The Golden Wolf by Linnea Hartsuyker

The Golden Wolf: A Novel by Linnea Hartsuyker --- 413 pages including maps, a List of Characters and Places, Author's Note and Sources.  The third and final volume in The Golden Wolf Saga.

Adapted from Google Books:

The fates of Ragnvald and his sister Svanhild unfold to their stunning conclusion in the final volume of The Golden Wolf Saga, a trilogy that conjures the world of ninth century Norway with gripping detail, thrilling action, and vivid historical elements drawn from Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, the Saga of the Kings of Norway and other Norse and early medieval sources.

Ragnvald has held fast to his vision of King Harald as a golden wolf who will bring peace to Norway — even though he knows that Harald’s success means his own doom. He is grateful to have his beloved sister, the fierce and independent Svanhild, once more at his side to help keep Norway secure.

While Svanhild is happy to help her brother, she is restless and lonely. When an old enemy of Ragnvald’s kidnaps her daughter Freydis, Svanhild goes to Iceland to rescue the daughter she has neglected. She finds a strange land that offers her and her daughter a new life far different from what they knew in Norway, with unexpected challenges and choices.

Ragnvald, too, must contend with change. His sons—the gifted Einar, the princely Ivar, and the adventurous Rolli—are no longer children. Harald’s heirs have also grown up. Stepping back from his duties to Harald, Ragnvald watches these young men pursue their own ambitions. But Norway may no longer be large enough for so many would-be kings.

Now in their twilight years rebellious sons pit Ragnvald and Harald against enemies old and new, and sow doubt and mistrust between Harald and Ragnvald. In Iceland, Svanhild, too, wrestles with her own divided loyalties, risking the dissolution of her family even as she tries to save them.

Yet as old heroes fall, new heroes arise. For years, Ragnvald and Svanhild have pursued the destinies bestowed by their ancient gods. Though the journey has cost them much, their sacrifices and dreams will be honored by the generations that follow, as they carry on the family’s legacy.


Combining history and legend, The Golden Wolf provides a satisfying conclusion to the saga that began with The Half-Drowned King and The Sea Queen.

Click HERE to read the review from Publishers Weekly.

Clock HERE to read the review from Kirkus Reviews.

Click HERE to read the review from the Historical Novel Society.