Bøker av Milton Norman Franson

It's been more than 250 years since Leif "The Lucky" first set foot somewhere on the North American coast. Now, in this final chapter of "The Wineland Sagas" Leif's descendants are in a life and death struggle to survive. The "lost" Viking colony is isolated and all but abandoned by their fellow Norse in Greenland and Iceland. Contact with the old Scandinavian kingdoms has been lost; their kings are locked in their own struggles for survival. A combination of overwhelming forces threaten the lost Viking colony. They are a small group of settlers amidst a sea of Native Americans, tribes that sometimes turn hostile to the Norse outsiders. Worse, Mother Nature has sent the "Little Ice Age" into the Northern Hemisphere and frozen the sea lanes between North America and Northern Europe. The colony's lifeline is being choked off. Ships carrying iron tools and weapons can no longer supply the westernmost Norse with these absolute necessities. Even Greenland and Iceland are threatened with isolation. How can Leif's struggling descendants survive in their beautiful but dangerous Wineland the Good? Can they maintain their European culture and identity or must they merge with the Native culture to survive. Just when it seems all is lost, a succession of strong-willed women and their tough-minded men rise to confront the obstacles thrown in their path. The old "Viking Spirit" seems to be revived and promises to rescue the lost colony. A fragile chain is forged to link them to the old motherland across the sea. The one lure that would attract European kings and turn their attention to the Winelanders is gold. But there is no gold in Wineland. Or is there something more valuable? It turns out the Wineland colony is home to the greatest concentration of piscatorial "gold" in the New World; cod, the Holy Fish of a hungry Catholic Europe. Once the word gets out, the great fishing nations of Western Europe scramble to grab the prize for themselves. Will the sea lanes thaw in time for Leif's old colony to be rescued by the Nordic kingdoms? Or will some other European power gain the upper hand? I turns out there is an even more dangerous threat to not only Leif's old colony, but also to the European kingdoms themselves. It arrives in the form of a small stowaway in the hold of a Venetian merchant ship. In the end, it is the Fates who decide the destiny of the last Vikings in Wineland.

Were there Vikings in North America 1,000 years ago? Yes! According to this novel there were, and they had quite an adventure. In the year 1003, a Viking named Leif Eiriksson sails into the setting sun to explore a new land rumored to lie a few day's voyage beyond his southern Greenland home. In "The Wineland Sagas" trilogy, Leif discovers and explores a beautiful but dangerous new land. He names it "Wineland the Good" after finding wild grapes unexpectedly growing there. He also discovers the densely forested land hides many native tribes; stone-age people who are suspicious of these fearsome strangers with their steel weapons and huge seagoing "canoes." The bearded intruders bring desirable trade goods, but they come with an aggressive Viking attitude. Too soon, the friendly contacts turn into misunderstanding and conflict. The Norsemen are few, the natives many. To survive in this hostile new land, Leif and his followers must cast off their "Viking Raider" nature and become peaceful "Viking Traders." The ultimate success of the new colony hinges on many twists and turns, some predictable, some unexpected. In "The Saga of Leif the Lucky" (the first book of the Wineland trilogy) Leif and his followers struggle heroically to overcome the obstacles thrown in their path. Leif will need all the skill and good fortune he can muster to keep a foothold in the new land. But then, there must be a reason later sagas call him Leif "the Lucky." In this fictional retelling of the saga of Leif Eiriksson, the author goes beyond the familiar story of the initial discovery and exploration at the beginning of the millennium. The reader is led into a complex and intriguing tale that envisions how an early Norse colonial effort somewhere in the New England area might have played out. Leif's saga is historical fiction spiced with drama, adventure and mystery. It's a tale of a "lost Viking colony" that flourished for hundreds of years before the Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod. The unexpected ending is not what history books have led us to believe.

VIKINGS in North America 1,000 years ago? Yes! According to this novel there were, and they had quite an adventure. Leif Eiriksson's discovery of a new land just a few days' sail to the southwest of his Greenland Viking home has opened the door for a new Norse colony. His followers in Greenland and Iceland can now expand into the promising land in North America he calls "Wineland the Good." However promising, there's a problem. The rich, heavily forested land is already occupied, and the natives aren't too friendly. At first, trade between the two cultures looks beneficial, but soon, conflicts arise. This beautiful land is also a dangerous land. There are age-old rivalries among the coastal tribes. The Vikings must choose their allies; but in doing so, they also inherit their new friends' old enemies. Thrust into this tribal turmoil is Leif's son, Thorgils "The Learned." Thorgils is not cast in the same mold as his aggressive Viking relatives. He would rather trade than fight. But, one after another, obstacles arise to challenge the colonists. Besides the tribal conflicts, economic and political shifts in the far-off Nordic homelands and even climate change, combine to threaten the Viking settlers. Onto this Wineland stage steps a strong-willed Viking woman and her equally strong-minded men. Our lady is determined to use the men in her life to reach her ambitious goal of becoming "Queen of the Land." Will she succeed, or will the price prove too high? And how will her actions affect the Wineland colony? Bishops, kings and native knights crowd the Wineland chessboard, and the descendants of Leif the Lucky are their pawns. But just as events in both the new colonies and the far-off homelands threaten to overwhelm Leif's followers, something unexpected occurs. Will this determine the future of the struggling Norse settlements? Or will it be the Fates after all, who decide the destiny of the Norse colonies as the story of "THE BATTLE FOR WINELAND" plays out?