Eric Brighteyes

"Eric Brighteyes" by H. Rider Haggard is a captivating romance novel rooted in Icelandic Sagas from the late 1800s and tells the story of the strong and handsome Eric Brighteyes, whose life becomes tangled with two beautiful women: Gudruda the Fair and Swanhild the Fatherless, and is set in a world of Norse mythology where love meets betrayal and honor is hard-won; the tale begins by painting a picture of Eric, the valiant son of a fearsome warrior, admired by all but destined to face hardship because of the two women who vie for his affection, and when Asmund the Priest, Gudruda’s father, has a bad dream about a rivalry that will lead to destruction, the scene is set for conflict, and characters start gearing up for a face-off between Eric and Ospakar Blacktooth, pointing toward themes of fate and fighting, as Eric prepares to risk everything for love, the growing tension among the characters makes for an exciting story of battles, heartbreak, and devotion in a richly described Norse setting.