Book excerpt: Packed with battles, blood and thrilling adventure, the third blood-stirring chapter in the story of Raven and his fellow Viking warriors is historical fiction at its very best. We lusted for an even greater prize... It is the one prize that can never be lost or stolen or burnt. And we would find it in Miklagard... Raven and the Wolfpack have suffered. Good men have died and the treasures they fought so hard for have been lost. But to such men as these there is something more valuable than silver. That thing is fame -- for fame is the saga-story that a Viking warrior leaves behind when he dies. Now the sea road leads to Constantinople, which Norsemen call Miklagard, the Great City, for it is there that they might find both riches and glory. But the Great City is far away and the voyage there takes the Fellowship in to unknown waters where they face new enemies. From the wind-whipped marshes of the Carmargue to the crumbling walls and arenas of a decaying Rome, Raven must fight harder for his life than ever before. He must prove himself to others -- and he must watch his back too, for an old enemy is sharpening his treacherous claws. The young warrior with the blood-tainted eye will even challenge the Norns of fate who, it is said, have spun his doom. But the Valkyries are stalking, eager for new heroes to take to Ódin's hall. The clash of sword and axe and spear will ring out in Miklagard and the Fellowship will pay a high price in blood for the fame they seek.