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River Kings
- A New History of Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads
- Narrated by: Cat Jarman
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
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River Kings
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Summary
The Sunday Times best seller and The Times History Book of 2021
Follow bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman—and the cutting-edge forensic techniques central to her research—as she uncovers epic stories of the Viking age and follows a small ‘Carnelian’ bead found in a Viking grave in Derbyshire to its origins thousands of miles to the east in Gujarat.
Dr Cat Jarman is a bioarchaeologist, specialising in forensic techniques to research the paths of Vikings who came to rest in British soil. By examining teeth that are now more than 1,000 years old, she can determine childhood diet and thereby where a person was likely born. With radiocarbon dating, she can ascertain a death date down to the range of a few years. And her research offers new visions of the likely roles of women and children in Viking culture.
In 2017, a carnelian bead came into her temporary possession. River Kings sees her trace its path back to eighth-century Baghdad and India, discovering along the way that the Vikings’ route was far more varied than we might think, that with them came people from the Middle East, not just Scandinavia, and that the reason for this unexpected integration between the Eastern and Western worlds may well have been a slave trade running through the Silk Road and all the way to Britain.
Told as a riveting story of the Vikings and the methods we use to understand them, this is a major reassessment of the fierce, often-mythologised voyagers of the north and of the global medieval world as we know it.
Critic reviews
"A bead was discovered in a Viking warrior’s grave, and that discovery led Cat Jarman on an amazing journey which is described in this extraordinary story. That bead, in Cat Jarman’s hands, taught me more about the Vikings than a score of history books. River Kings is an astonishing and compelling triumph." (Bernard Cornwell)
"This fresh look at the Vikings is a thrilling read. Cat Jarman’s brilliant forensic deductions take us from a burial ground in England’s Midlands, along the Silk Road to Baghdad and on to India, in a voyage of discovery that illuminates Viking culture in an utterly intriguing new light." (Charles Spencer)
"Cat Jarman will transform the way you think about the Vikings." (Dan Snow)
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What listeners say about River Kings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karen
- 20-08-21
Well researched book written in an engaging style
A well researched and written book. The only reason I haven't rated performance higher is that Cat Jarman reads her text too quickly for my taste. More than once I had to remind and listen again to take in exactly what she'd said. Well worth persevering though and I will buy the book in hardcopy to read it again at my own speed.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pam Harper
- 26-11-21
Narration too fast ☹️
I found the subject matter fascinating but the narration is far too fast, meaning that names of people and places are skimmed over and not clear to a listener unfamiliar with them. There is nothing wrong with Ms Jarman's voice but it's just too fast.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Max G.
- 12-07-23
Amazing
really good read love the author and the subject, really well covered overall and will reread
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 19-05-23
Absorbing
As easy to listen to as a story, nothing like a textbook, and I enjoyed hearing the Scandinavian names pronounced by a genuine Scandinavian.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- EB
- 28-01-23
Interesting information but not well narrated
The author narrates much too fast, with a fairly strong Scandinavian accent. The book is interesting, but you need to be hyper focused on it at all times, which defeats the reason I picked it as an audio book in the first place. Shame.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 20-12-22
River Gods is so fascinating
I was wrapped up into the story of the head and the author’s experiences and travelled all over with her. I am impressed by our human endeavours and the stories that make up our lives. It is good to be reminded that there are many histories and many rivers.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mgsblade
- 07-09-22
Supurb
this was a spectacular education in bioarchaeology and the history of the Vikings. Told in a very engaging and accessible manner can't wait for Cat's next book!
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- James M Love
- 08-07-22
Terrible narration and little that is new
The narration was not good, too qucik, accent inconsistent, no surprise that vikings went east and not much science.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kuma
- 24-06-22
An engaging, rigorous and exciting history
I really enjoyed this book. its rare to find a history that is at once so readable and yet so academically rigorous. Cat Jarman, writes a thoughtful and well considered, that challenges the reader's preconceptions of viking history and provides tremendous insight as to the latest research methods in archaeology.
I listened to it in just over day, a great sign of how compelling a work it is.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- RH2017
- 22-03-22
Fascinating, but...
I learned a lot from this book, many things about the Viking era I never knew. The only thing I found difficult was the speed of the author's delivery. It wasn't a relaxing listen as I was continually trying to take it all in! But her obvious knowledge and enthusiasm for the subject made me persevere.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR M B HENDERSON
- 15-04-22
Fascinating and relevant
Well researched and read and current to today’s events.
The author has a clear love for history.
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