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Book Review
A Christian Viking King
Reviewed by Mark Lardas
May 17, 2026
“Hammer of the Gods: King Olaf’s Viking Conquest,” by Don Hollway, Osprey Publishing, May 2026, 400 pages, $30.00 (Hardcover), $21.00 (E-book), : $20.78 (Audiobook)
Olaf Tryggvason was the man who brought Christianity to Norway and made it stick. As Olaf I, he led enough of Norway’s inhabitants to Christianity that when Olaf II (St. Olaf) gained the throne fifteen years later, thereafter Norway was Christian.
“Hammer of the Gods: King Olaf’s Viking Conquest,” by Don Hollway tells Olaf Tryggvason’s story. It is a story encompassing more than Olaf Tryggvason’s five-year reign as Norway’s king. Olaf Tryggvason became one of the legendary figures of Viking history, celebrated in sagas and recorded in different Anglo-Saxons chronicles.
Olaf’s life was worthy of notice. He was born in exile, after he father Tryggvi Olafsson, king of Viken, today’s southeast Norway was overthrown. As a child he was captured by Estonian pirates and sold as a slave, when his mother was fleeing to relatives in Viking Rus. He was bought out of slavery by a distant relative after a chance encounter.
Hollway relates Olaf’s subsequent rise. In Novgorod he served Vladimir the Great, eventually commanding Vladmir’s men-at-arms. When Vladmir grew jealous of Olaf, Olaf left, becoming a Baltic raider. There he met and married Geira, Queen of Wentland, afterwards reconquering breakaway provinces of her kingdom for her.
Following her death he again became a wandering raider. After four years of raiding, he stopped at the Scilly Islands. There he met a seer who converted Olaf to Christianity. Thereafter, as Hollway shows, Olaf exercised his own version of very muscular Christianity.
From there Olaf wandered to England, married another ruling noble (running her domain). Afterwards he established a kingdom in Ireland. He was one of the Viking leaders at the Battle of Maldon. When word leaked to Jarl Haakon, then ruling Norway, a king of Norwegian blood was in Ireland, Haakon lured Olaf to Norway, to kill Olaf.
Unfortunately, Haakon had outworn his welcome. Haakon’s former supporters switched to Olaf, who became king. Olaf then set about Christianizing Norway using a convert or die strategy. Olaf literally put his faith in God, plunging in where others might hesitate. Eventually after five years as Norway’s king, his enemies lured him into an ambush. The battle resulting in Olaf’s death would be food for sagas.
Hollway pieced together Olaf’s biography from numerous and often contradictory sources. He does a masterful job of fitting the pieces together to form a coherent picture. The result is an exciting story set in a violent era.
Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City. His website is marklardas.com.
Hammer of the Gods: King Olaf's Viking Conquest: Hollway, Don: 9781472871589: Amazon.com: Books