The Sea-King and the Sorceress: Life and Death in the Viking Age by Price, Neil

From the acclaimed author of Children of Ash and Elm, an intimate, continent-spanning human journey through the Viking world.

"[Price] has a talent for visual reconstruction; it's like being with him on these digs, watching as ancient secrets are revealed. Nearly every page brings a surprise, sometimes disturbing, often moving, always profound."―Times (UK)

For centuries, Vikings have been stereotyped as brutish and violent pillagers. But now, based on the latest archaeological research, preeminent scholar Neil Price reveals the true diversity and individuality of the Viking Age.

From an arctic hunter to a woman of Persian ancestry; from a Sámi nomad to a bear endowed with personhood; from Viking raiders to Rus' river traders; from sorceresses to shape-shifters; from immigrants to diplomats; from followers of many gods, to the worshippers of one; from settlers to farmers--as we meet all these and many more, Price enlists the full range of modern archaeological knowledge to reconstruct Norse lives in personal detail, presenting a new and complex image of the Viking Age. Taking the reader from Greenland to Greece and across three centuries, Price demonstrates that Vikings--in all of their heterogeneity--were both surprisingly similar to us today, and also thrillingly strange.

Densely peopled, beautifully rendered, and impressively wide-reaching, The Sea-King and the Sorceress sheds a light on the realities of life in the Viking diaspora.

Author: Neil Price
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 10/13/2026
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.46lbs
Size: 9.41h x 6.31w x 1.47d
ISBN: 9781541603042

Review Citation(s):
Shelf Awareness 01/01/0001
Booklist 09/01/2026

About the Author
Neil Price is distinguished professor and chair of archaeology at Uppsala University, Sweden. He has been researching, teaching, and writing on the Vikings for nearly forty years and is the author of several books on the history of the Viking Age, including Children of Ash and Elm. He lives in Sweden.