This book tells the story of Sigurd, a young Viking boy who hears his father tell tales of adventures sailing to far lands and longs for adventures of his own. It looks like his dreams may come true when his father's friend Gorm comes to his home and tells of his plan to sail for the legendary land of Wineland, west of Greenland.

The adventure soon takes an ominous turn as the ship encounters storms and the fears and dreams of the ship's owner, Halfred, who wants to turn back. The quarrel reaches a pitch between Gorm and Halfred, with murderous results that change Sigurd's life forever.

This book is one of many historical adventures written by Clyde Robert Bulla, and it is fast-paced and exciting like his others. Because of this, it might be a good book for an older reluctant reader. There is an interesting sub-plot about the value of the written word – at the beginning Sigurd refuses to learn to read and write because he doesn't see the point in his warrior culture, but in the end he changes his views when he has a valuable story to tell.

The terse style and fast pace is reminiscent of Norse sagas, and the lesson – that it takes hard work to become strong and skilled, and that even a warrior culture needs readers and writers – is a good one for a young person struggling to become literate. The reading level is probably about 2nd or early 3rd grade. I recommend this book for children ages 6 and up – a younger child could probably understand it, but might be upset by the fact that several main characters die during the course of the story.

In the tradition of the Vision Series, this book is a very readable and even enjoyable story of one of the most popular saints whom no one seems to know very much about. Although he is commonly known as Saint Anthony of Padua (Italy) and Finder of Lost Things, Saint Anthony actually hails from Portugal. The beginning of the story, the author admits, is somewhat fictional as very little is known about Saint Anthony's early life. An extremely gifted, orator, Saint Anthony traveled throughout Europe as a humble Franciscan (during the lifetime of Saint Francis of Assisi), preaching the faith, performing miracles, and spreading his devotion to the Christ Child. You'll also learn why Saint Anthony is the patron of the Lost – but I don't want to spoil that for you!

I found it rather disappointing to learn at the end of the story that almost the entire childhood portion of the story is fictitious.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the well-known saint/scholar, founder of the Jesuits and author of the Spiritual Exercises, was a surprisingly simple and humble man. Although he was rather arrogant and adventurous as a young soldier, a serious battle wound forced him into an extended bed rest. Restless and bored, he finally gave in to reading the only two books available to him – The Life of Our Saviour and The Lives of the Saints. Reading and studying these stories placed Ignatius onto a new and completely unexpected path – one of serious devotion to God and profound humility. The story follows his life as he seeks God's will, returns to school as a 33 year old man, gains folllowers while in the University and finally puts together his dream of "the Company of Jesus."

We are reminded in the story of what effect the stories of the lives of the Saints can have. The story of Ignatius is of particular value, not only because of his great effect on the world, but also because of the glimpse we are given of the spiritual development that takes place within him as he seeks to do God's will. Despite the depth of content, the story is told in a simple enough manner to be understood and appreciated by the whole family.