Giles Kristian Books in Order: Raven, Sigurd, Lancelot and More

Giles Kristian writes some of the most vivid Viking fiction around, and he has carried the same swagger into the English Civil War and the legend of King Arthur. Bernard Cornwell called his debut “an astonishing and riveting debut,” and Kristian has since become one of the names readers reach for when they have finished The Last Kingdom.

This guide covers all of his books in reading order: the Raven and Rise of Sigurd Viking trilogies, the Bleeding Land novels, the Arthurian trilogy, his Wilbur Smith collaboration, his Arctic thriller and his shorter fiction, with advice on where to start and what to read next.

This page contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

About Giles Kristian

Early Life

Giles Kristian was born in 1975 in Leicestershire, England, to a Norwegian mother and an English father. As a child he spent many holidays around the fjords of Norway’s west coast, not far from Bergen, where his family had a home for twenty-one years.

His family worked in the steel business and nobody in it had been to university. Kristian has said he decided to become a writer at seventeen, after reading Seamus Heaney’s poem “Digging,” and he went on to study English Language and Literature at the University of Central England.

From Pop Star to Novelist

He left university after a few months to become lead singer of the 1990s pop group Upside Down. The band had top twenty hits, appeared on Top of the Pops and played the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena. After the group split he signed as a solo singer-songwriter and toured in Europe for two years.

Tired of the music industry, he turned to fiction. His first manuscript, about a knight on the First Crusade, found no publisher. In 2003 a visit to the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo gave him the idea for a new novel, and he wrote the first lines of Raven: Blood Eye when he got home.

Writing Career

Kristian finished Raven: Blood Eye in 2004 while living in New York and collected, in his words, enough rejection letters to wallpaper a small room. The A.M. Heath agency took him on, Transworld (Penguin Random House) signed the trilogy in 2007, and Raven: Blood Eye came out in 2009 and became a bestseller.

Since then he has written two Viking trilogies, two English Civil War novels and an Arthurian trilogy, co-written Golden Lion with Wilbur Smith, and won the 2022 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize with his first contemporary thriller. He lives in Leicestershire. You can follow his news on his official website.

Writing Style

Kristian writes first-person, action-driven historical fiction with a poetic edge. The Times reviewer Antonia Senior wrote that “nobody writes this type of swaggering historical fiction better than Kristian,” and described him as “a modern skald” borrowing the rhythms of the Norse sagas.

His novels centre on brotherhood: a fellowship of warriors bound by oaths, loyalty and the hunger for fame. Battles are brutal and close up, but the books also make room for quiet moments around the hearth fire. In the Viking novels the gods feel very near, while the Arthurian books keep their magic subtle and the setting grounded in Dark Age Britain.

Giles Kristian Series in Reading Order

Kristian has written four series. The two Viking trilogies share characters: The Rise of Sigurd is a prequel to Raven, following Sigurd before he becomes the Sigurd the Lucky whom Raven meets.

The Raven Saga (Viking Age)

Setting: England, the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, and the long road to Constantinople, in the Viking Age
Books: 3 (2009 to 2011)
Main characters: Raven (Osric), Sigurd the Lucky and his Fellowship of Norsemen

Raven is a coming-of-age story about a young Englishman taken in by a Viking crew. The trilogy follows the Fellowship across the seas in search of silver, revenge and the fame that outlives a warrior. For the full breakdown, see our Raven Series Reading Order.

1. Raven: Blood Eye (2009)

Osric has lived for two years in an English village, shunned for his mysterious past and his blood-red eye. When Norse raiders ransack the village he is taken prisoner by their chief, Sigurd the Lucky, who renames him Raven, and Osric soon proves to be a natural warrior.

2. Sons of Thunder (2010)

Raven and the Wolfpack pursue the Saxon traitor Ealdred, who has fled to the court of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne. The pagan Norsemen sail into the heart of a Christian empire that would wipe their kind from the earth.

3. Odin’s Wolves (2011)

With good men dead and hard-won treasure lost, the brotherhood sets out for Miklagard, the city we know as Constantinople. The journey takes them through the marshes of the Camargue and the faded glory of Rome, chasing fame as much as gold.

The Rise of Sigurd (Viking Age)

Setting: Norway and Sweden, AD 785
Books: 3 (2014 to 2016)
Main characters: Sigurd Haraldarson, Olaf, Bram (called Bear), Black Floki and the shield maiden Valgerd

Kristian’s second Viking trilogy goes back in time to tell the story of Sigurd, son of Jarl Harald, and the oath of vengeance that shapes his life. It can be read before or after Raven.

1. God of Vengeance (2014)

Norway, AD 785. King Gorm puts Jarl Harald’s family to the sword but fails to kill Harald’s youngest son, Sigurd. Hunted and unsure whom to trust, Sigurd gathers a small fellowship of warriors and swears to make a king pay in blood. The Times named it one of its Books of the Year.

2. Winter’s Fire (2016)

The oath-breaker King Gorm still lives, and Sigurd knows his band is not yet strong enough to face him. To win silver, warriors and fame, the fellowship travels to Sweden to fight as mercenaries.

3. Wings of the Storm (2016)

Sigurd and his oathsworn band need riches before they can confront King Gorm. When a raid goes wrong, Sigurd is taken prisoner by the powerful Jarl Guthrum and carried to the temple at Ubsola, where he learns of Gungnir, a spear that could help him raise a host strong enough to challenge the king.

The Bleeding Land (English Civil War)

Setting: England from 1642
Books: 2 (2012 to 2013)
Main characters: The Rivers family: Sir Francis, his sons Edmund and Tom, and his daughter Bess

Kristian has said he had long been fascinated by the English Civil War. These two novels follow a gentry family torn apart as brothers choose opposite sides.

1. The Bleeding Land (2012)

England, 1642. The Rivers family owes its loyalty to the King, but while Edmund, the eldest son, does his duty, his brother Tom turns his back on everything he once believed. From the raising of the King’s Standard at Nottingham to the Battle of Edgehill, the brothers follow opposite paths through the war, while the women of the family defend their home.

2. Brothers’ Fury (2013)

Rebel Tom Rivers catches the eye of the Parliamentarian spymaster Captain Crafte, while Edmund leads a band of Royalist marauders and draws the attention of Prince Rupert. Their sister Bess leaves home in search of someone who can stop her brothers’ feud.

The Arthurian Trilogy (Dark Age Britain)

Setting: Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, after the Roman legions have gone
Books: 3 (2018 to 2024)
Main characters: Lancelot, Galahad, Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin and the ageing mercenary Beran

Kristian first described Lancelot as one big book rather than a trilogy, but he returned to the legend twice more. Together the three novels follow Arthur’s Britain from its rise to the years after its fall. Read them in publication order.

1. Lancelot (2018)

Uther Pendragon is dying and enemies stalk the land. An outcast boy grows up under the eye of Merlin, meets the wild and proud Guinevere and is dazzled by Arthur. Told in Lancelot’s own words, this is the story of the most revered and most reviled of Arthur’s warriors. It was a Sunday Times bestseller.

2. Camelot (2020)

The Saxons have returned and the lords of Britain will not unite as they once did under Arthur. A novice monk in a marshland monastery in Avalon is pulled from his sheltered life by the Saxon-killing Iselle and the ageing warrior Gawain. His name is Galahad, and he is the son of Lancelot.

3. Arthur (2024)

Years later the Saxons are lords of Britain, yet the bards still sing that Arthur will come again. The ageing mercenary Beran is ordered to murder a boy, the grandson of High King Ambrosius, and instead vows to take him to Camelot, the last place still holding out against the invader.

Standalone Novels and Shorter Fiction

Golden Lion (2015), with Wilbur Smith

Kristian co-wrote this novel in Wilbur Smith‘s Courtney saga. Hal Courtney, now captain of his own ship, the Golden Bough, sails the Indian Ocean in the 17th century, until a powerful enemy abducts his wife Judith. It became a number one bestseller. See where it fits in our Courtney Series Reading Order.

Where Blood Runs Cold (2022)

Kristian’s first contemporary thriller. Erik Amdahl takes his daughter Sofia on a cross-country ski trip deep into Norway’s Arctic. When an accident forces them to seek shelter with an old Sami couple, they discover they are not the only visitors that night. It won the 2022 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and is in development for film.

The Terror (2014)

A short story published as an ebook, a quick taste of Kristian’s writing between the Viking trilogies.

Hellmouth (2021)

A historical horror novella. In Bohemia in 1370, a lost soul named Galien leads a band of hardened mercenaries on a mission for the Church, and in the dark forests of central Europe a darker secret awaits. The story draws on the legend of Houska Castle. An audiobook edition is narrated by the filmmaker Philip Stevens.

Where to Start with Giles Kristian

Best First Book

Start with God of Vengeance. It is the first book of a complete trilogy, it was a Times Book of the Year, and it shows Kristian at his most confident. Because The Rise of Sigurd is a prequel, you can follow it with the Raven trilogy and meet Sigurd again as an older man.

If you prefer to read in publication order, start with Raven: Blood Eye, the book that launched his career.

If You Want…

Classic Viking adventure: Raven: Blood Eye
A revenge saga with a strong fellowship: God of Vengeance
King Arthur retold: Lancelot
Family drama in a civil war: The Bleeding Land
A modern survival thriller: Where Blood Runs Cold
A short, dark read: Hellmouth

Books by Time Period

Dark Age Britain (5th and 6th centuries)

The Arthurian trilogy, from Lancelot to Arthur, is set in the Britain left behind by Rome. For more novels set here, see Best Arthurian Historical Fiction.

The Viking Age (late 8th century)

The Rise of Sigurd opens in Norway in AD 785, and the Raven saga follows with raids on England and voyages through Charlemagne’s empire. Explore more in Best Viking Historical Fiction and our Medieval Europe historical fiction hub.

The Late Middle Ages (14th century)

Hellmouth takes place in Bohemia in 1370. For more fiction from the period, see Best Medieval Historical Fiction.

The 17th Century

The Bleeding Land novels cover the English Civil War from 1642, and Golden Lion follows Hal Courtney across the Indian Ocean in the same century.

The Present Day

Where Blood Runs Cold is set in the Norwegian Arctic of today.

Popular Giles Kristian Series

The Rise of Sigurd

The Rise of Sigurd is a classic revenge saga, but its heart is the fellowship Sigurd gathers around him: the loyal Olaf, the giant Bram, the deadly Black Floki and the shield maiden Valgerd. Each warrior has a voice and a story of their own.

The books are steeped in Norse belief. Sigurd’s bond with Odin, the All-Father, runs through all three novels, and Kristian’s prose borrows the rhythm of the sagas. Antonia Senior called Wings of the Storm “a fitting end to a trilogy that fans of Bernard Cornwell should devour.”

The Arthurian Trilogy

With Lancelot, Kristian took on one of the most retold stories in English literature and found a fresh angle: the life of Arthur’s greatest warrior, told in his own voice. Conn Iggulden called the book “a masterpiece.”

Kristian has said that Bernard Cornwell’s Warlord Chronicles are his favourite trilogy, and like Cornwell he sets his Arthur in a grounded Dark Age Britain without dragons or overt sorcery. Camelot and Arthur widen the story, so that by the end the trilogy reads as an epic about how a legend is born and how it survives.

Beyond the Novels

Kristian also writes for games and film. He worked as a narrative designer on the online survival game Valnir Rok and is the writer of NORSE: Oath of Blood, a Viking tactics game from the Norwegian studio Arctic Hazard.

He wrote and produced the short film The Last Viking (2016), directed by Philip Stevens, and was an executive producer on Stevens’s feature film Lapwing. A graphic novel, The Saga of Black Floki, is in development with the artist Christian Sloan Hall and Philip Stevens.

Awards and Recognition

Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize (2022): winner for Where Blood Runs Cold
The Times Books of the Year: God of Vengeance was chosen by The Times
Sunday Times bestseller: Lancelot
Number one bestseller: Golden Lion, co-written with Wilbur Smith

His novels have been praised by Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden, Wilbur Smith, Steven Pressfield, Ben Kane and Manda Scott, among others.

Writing Schedule and Upcoming Books

Kristian’s most recent novel is Arthur, published in June 2024, which completes the Arthurian trilogy. He has not announced a new novel yet.

Readers often ask about a third Bleeding Land novel. Kristian has said he very much wants to write it and has already started, but no publication date has been given. For the latest news, his official website and readers’ club are the best places to check.

Similar Authors You’ll Enjoy

Bernard Cornwell: the author who inspired Kristian to write. Read The Last Kingdom for Vikings in England (see the reading order) or The Winter King for Kristian’s favourite take on Arthur.
Conn Iggulden: Kristian has said the Emperor series taught him much about storytelling. Start with our Emperor reading order.
Robert Low: his Oathsworn novels, beginning with The Whale Road, follow a Viking brotherhood in the same gritty, first-person style.
Matthew Harffy: the Bernicia Chronicles, starting with The Serpent Sword, bring shield walls and oaths to seventh-century Northumbria.
Christian Cameron: Kristian calls his Long War series a benchmark for the genre. Begin with Killer of Men.
Ben Kane: a fellow writer of battle-heavy historical adventure who has praised Kristian’s books. Try The Forgotten Legion.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Giles Kristian’s best book?

God of Vengeance is the most praised of his Viking novels and was chosen as one of The Times Books of the Year. Lancelot, a Sunday Times bestseller, is the favourite of many readers who prefer Arthurian legend.

In what order should I read Giles Kristian’s books?

Read each series in publication order. For the Viking books you can start with Raven (Blood Eye, Sons of Thunder, Odin’s Wolves) or with its prequel, The Rise of Sigurd (God of Vengeance, Winter’s Fire, Wings of the Storm). The Arthurian trilogy runs Lancelot, Camelot, Arthur, and The Bleeding Land comes before Brothers’ Fury.

Should I read The Rise of Sigurd or Raven first?

Either works. The Rise of Sigurd is set earlier and tells Sigurd’s backstory, so reading it first gives you the story in chronological order. Reading Raven first follows publication order and lets you meet Sigurd as the seasoned leader Sigurd the Lucky.

How many books has Giles Kristian written?

He has written 13 novels: three Raven novels, three Rise of Sigurd novels, two Bleeding Land novels, three Arthurian novels, Where Blood Runs Cold and Golden Lion (with Wilbur Smith). He has also written the short story The Terror and the novella Hellmouth.

Is Giles Kristian historically accurate?

His novels are built on careful research into Viking Age belief, warfare and seafaring, and The Bleeding Land follows real events such as the Battle of Edgehill. His main characters are fictional, and the Arthurian books retell legend rather than documented history.

What time periods does Giles Kristian write about?

He writes about the Viking Age in the late 8th century, Dark Age Britain after the Romans left, the English Civil War from 1642, 14th-century Bohemia in Hellmouth, and present-day Norway in Where Blood Runs Cold.

Are Giles Kristian’s books suitable for teenagers?

His novels are written for adults. They contain graphic battle violence and some sexual content, so they suit older teens and adult readers.

Has Giles Kristian’s work been adapted for film or TV?

None of his novels has reached the screen yet. Where Blood Runs Cold is in development for film, and Kristian wrote and produced the short film The Last Viking in 2016.

Will there be another Bleeding Land book?

Kristian has said he wants to write a third Bleeding Land novel and has made a start on it, but no title or publication date has been announced.

Did Giles Kristian write with Wilbur Smith?

Yes. He co-wrote Golden Lion (2015), a novel in Wilbur Smith’s Courtney series about Hal Courtney’s voyages in the 17th century.

Is Giles Kristian Norwegian?

He is English, born in Leicestershire, but his mother is Norwegian. His Norwegian family history and childhood holidays near Bergen inspired his Viking novels.

What is Giles Kristian’s latest book?

His latest novel is Arthur, published in June 2024, which completes his Arthurian trilogy after Lancelot and Camelot.

Conclusion

Giles Kristian has built a body of work around oaths, brotherhood and the stories people tell about their heroes, whether those heroes sail Viking longships or ride with Arthur. His prose has the swagger of a saga and the warmth of a hearth fire.

Start with God of Vengeance or Raven: Blood Eye for the Vikings, or Lancelot for Arthurian legend. Then explore Best Viking Historical Fiction for more books in the same spirit.