Ansgar isn't your typical viking: He tells stories of gods and heroes for a living. When viking crews set out to do something insane, they want a chronicler who can spin the crazy into the heroic. Ansgar runs into one band of brothers intent on doing something truly stupid. They need a skilled storyteller, as their last five were all devoured, drowned, or hacked to death soon after joining. That new recruit has to be capable of surviving long enough to tell the tale, though. Ansgar doesn't want some troll to rip his arms off. But damn, it's going to be a great story if he survives. Burden to Bear is book one of Gregory Amato's Norse fantasy series Spear of the Gods, where the myths, magic, and monsters of the Viking Age are all real.