Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • The Last Viking

  • The True Story of King Harald Hardrada
  • By: Don Hollway
  • Narrated by: Mark Meadows
  • Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (60 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Last Viking

By: Don Hollway
Narrated by: Mark Meadows
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Bloomsbury presents The Last Viking by Don Hollway, read by Mark Meadows.

‘The Last Viking is a masterful and pulse-pounding narrative that transports the reader into the middle of the action.’ Carl Gnam, Military Heritage

Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.

Combining Norse sagas, Byzantine accounts, Anglo-Saxon chronicles, and even King Harald’s own verse and prose into a single, compelling story, Don Hollway vividly depicts the violence and spectacle of the late Viking era and delves into the dramatic events that brought an end to almost three centuries of Norse conquest and expansion.
©2021 Don Hollway (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

At the Gates of Rome cover art
Never Greater Slaughter cover art
Battle for the Island Kingdom cover art
Viking Blood and Blade cover art
The Wolf Age cover art
Æthelflæd cover art
The Greatest Viking cover art
Children of Ash and Elm cover art
The Eagle and the Lion cover art
The Anglo-Saxon World cover art
Warrior and Protector cover art
In Search of the Dark Ages cover art
A War of Empires cover art
The White Ship cover art
Demetrius cover art
A Time for Swords cover art

Critic reviews

"Riveting! [Listen to] this [audiobook] and be prepared to see it through to the end. Fascinating and thoroughly engaging!" (Edward Zapletal, History Magazine)

"The Last Viking is a masterful and pulse-pounding narrative that transports the [listener] into the middle of the action." (Carl Gnam, Military Heritage)

"The story pulls you in, and doesn't let go." (Stephen Harding, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Battle)

What listeners say about The Last Viking

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    41
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

gutted when finished. a truly amazing man. 👏Sean.

loved this. learnt so much about Byzantium empire of the time too. hardrada was truly a flawed but amazing man.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A great way to re-tell the sagas

Don Holloway has mixed and matched all the available sagas about Harald in a compelling and easy to listen to way. It helps to have the fabulous Mark Meadows narrating. I look forward to more tales from the author and narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A gripping adventure

Yes, the events may be debatable, as made clear in the book, but what a story!! Up there with the best audiobooks I’ve listened to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent narration.

A history I knew nothing about except his name. As long as you don't expect to keep up with all the family trees etc it's an absorbing listen and very enjoyable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

True story?

The book is full of assumptions and hearsay. Decades are missing too. If you want to know about HH. Read the original sources.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

disappointed

struggled to finish this lengthy 'saga' of the Vikings. learned new things about their times in the East and Constantinople and a disappointing final flourish of the events of Stanford Bridge which I had expected to be the main thrust of the book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!