Octavia Randolph's books
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
Treasure sought. Treasure surrendered. Treasure passionately guarded. Hrald, Jarl of Four Stones, has forfeited the golden treasure of his wife, Pega, the richest heiress in Mercia. The shrewd and powerful Lady Æthelflaed, daughter of Ælfred, King of Wessex, knows just what to do with that gold, and with the young woman to whom it belongs. She moves with swift decision. Hrald must undertake a startling penance for the harm he has caused. The one reward at the end will be his right to again wed Dagmar, the daughter of the late King of the Danes in Angle-land. If he survives. At Kilton, Lord Edwin is brought an urgent message, with an offer he has little choice but to accept. Its royal sender will soon follow and demand an answer. Edwin's older brother Ceric, and his wife, the Welsh Princess Dwynwen, are constant reminder to Edwin of a happiness he fears...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
An unpredictable journey with unforeseen consequences… On Gotland Sidroc wakes from a disturbing dream; one of his sons, Hrald or Yrling – perhaps both – are in trouble. Both are in far-off Angle-land, and beyond his reach. Eskil the Svear sails to the island, offering Sidroc a rare opportunity to gain untold riches, with equal risk to life for those joining the venture. Edwin, Lord of Kilton, returns empty-handed from his search for a bride, while his brother Ceric knows true delight with his young wife Dwynwen, the Princess of Ceredigion. A royal commission sends the wedded pair off as envoys of King Ælfred, bringing Ceric face to face with his family’s past. At Four Stones a troubled Jarl Hrald maintains leadership of men and lands, while questioning his resolve to move forward in his life. Hrald’s sister Ealhswith, rejected by Edwin as a potential bride, returns to Four Stones....
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
It is water Dwynwen lifted in her cup of silver. Water, too, the Lady Luned uses in her scrying bowl. And it is over water one must travel to resolve an old conflict. Set high upon its seaside cliff, the hall of Kilton is racked by inner turmoil. Ceric, on the margin of sanity, finds strength and even bliss returning to him. But it is not without price, as his young brother Edwin, Lord of Kilton, grasps for a possession he never fully won. Hrald is called to Witanceaster by King Ælfred himself, and there awarded a rare prize. A chance meeting in the King's hall proves more Fate-ful than the young Jarl of Four Stones could have ever imagined - and the one challenge he cannot overcome. The King's bailiff, Raedwulf, brings Lady Ælfwyn to his hall in Defenas, where a new life awaits. With them travels her small...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
Dragons are said to guard treasure with their lives... Ceric, beset with madness from the trauma of the losses he has suffered, wanders the forests of Kilton. An urgent need to stave off the hunger of his folk calls his younger brother Edwin, Lord of Kilton, to the Kingdom of Mercia, and though he fulfils his mission, finds the greater prize he sought out of reach. Four Stones now has the second son of Sidroc under its lofty roof - Yrling, come from Gotland to train under the hand of his half-brother Hrald. An unexpected visit from Raedwulf, Bailiff of Defenas, sends Hrald on a journey of vital importance to both Four Stones and to King Ælfred himself. On Gotland, a dragon ship oars steadily for shore, its warriors ready to leap out as soon as the keel strikes the pebbled beach. Sidroc is there to meet them - the...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
In an Angle-land riven by contesting Danes… Hrald of Four Stones has fallen in love with Dagmar, the daughter of dead King Guthrum, who once ruled all Anglia. Dagmar is beautiful and poised; very much a King's daughter. Yet she owns nothing but the jewels about her neck – and the secrets she carries with her. “Are you always fighting Fate and the will of the Gods? Then you will be thwarted at every turn…” Ashild has not forgotten this advice given her by her step-father Sidroc before he sailed for Gotland. Her own desires are contrary to the goals of those who love her best – how much more difficult to make decisions for two? Ceric of Kilton is now a proven warrior, and made second in command to Prince Eadward of Wessex. In the ceaseless attempt to bring the Danish interloper Haesten to heel, the Prince’s small troop...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
Duty versus Desire The Peace between the Saxons and Danes has collapsed. Viking forces led by the war-lord Haesten strike at will across borders. One more push will destroy Wessex. The Danish warriors settled under the Dane-law are tempted to join with these new invaders, wiping clear the game board as they seek full dominance of Angle-land. Sidroc, having witnessed his son Hrald's victory at Four Stones, undertakes the perilous return to Gotland, a journey shadowed by the spirit of his long-dead uncle Yrling. Before his father's eyes Hrald has won the garrison fortress of Turcesig, but can he keep it? Ceric, the son of Ceridwen, rides with Ælfred's ambitious son, Prince Eadward, in their wild pursuit of the invaders. After distinguishing himself in the field Ceric receives a startling order from the King, sending him to Four Stones. There Ashild and her mother Ælfwyn contend with the dual claims...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
How The Boy Became a Viking. How The Man Became A Legend. The origin story of Sidroc the Dane, a new standalone entry point into The Circle of Ceridwen Saga. Read first, read last, read between any of the Saga novels. But read it and learn how Sidroc became Sidroc. A discarded child Fated to become a powerful Jarl – here is the story of Sidroc. Fate guides the path of his father, Hrald, to his meeting with the woman whose son would help change the face of 9th century Angle-land. An ever-growing rivalry between Sidroc and his cousin Toki defines the boys’ early years. Their young uncle, Yrling, knows success as a raider in far-off Angle-land, and trains his nephews in the ways of the warrior. Ahead of them is the perilous crossing of the North Sea, which stands between them and the plunder they seek. Once on the...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
A Peace which must be defended. A vow which must be broken. It is the final decade of the ninth century. The Peace between Wessex and the Danes long-settled in the Danelaw erodes. A new onslaught of Danes attacks Angle-land, trying once and for all to destroy Ælfred. Ceric of Kilton, now a young man, travels across Kingdoms to visit his friend, Hrald of Four Stones - and to see Ashild, who he desires for his wife. But renewed hostilities threaten Ceric's hopes for deeper ties between strongholds. And hundreds of leagues away on the Baltic island of Gotland, Hrald's father Sidroc the Dane must defy his Gods. The revered Hammer of Thor. The sacred Cross of the Christians. And the conflict that pits two beliefs, two great war-chiefs, and three young people against each other. A New Generation Beckons You...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
The Lady of the Forest, Freyja, the Goddess of all woodland beasts, appears here on Midgard as a white hind. So great is her love for her deer that she herself comes in their guise. None has ever seen her; but if she permitted man but a glance, that is what they would see... Tindr is handsome, kind, and the best hunter on 9th century Gotland. He possesses a deep empathy with animals, which powers his reverence towards the game he takes to survive. But he is also deaf, which closes him off from the society that surrounds him - and seemingly, from finding love. Devoted parents and friends can’t protect young Tindr from the bully who taunts him, from jealousy that turns murderous, or from the threat of surrender to the allure of the Lady of the Forest, who might destroy him. Tindr’s haven is the greenwood. It is...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
It is said that every man is haunted by one mistake... The year is 881. Ten years have passed since fifteen year old Ceridwen set out from her Priory home to make her own life. She has known love and loss, triumph and heartbreak. Yet the Circle which has moved about her is largely intact, although the counterpoint has changed, bringing with it the hope of renewed love. Ceridwen and Sidroc build their new lives together on the Baltic island of Gotland, where they are free and unknown. The bond between them, always strong even when years and wars separated them, deepens quickly into the profound and exquisite love that Sidroc had always claimed was their shared Fate. Their new island home is a place of peace and beauty. They make fast friends of the brew-house keeper Rannveig and her deaf son, Tindr, a young man who is both an...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
How long can you fight Fate? How far must you go to claim what is yours? Sidroc the Dane has been in Angle-land for twelve years. The first nine were all hard fighting. He has won treasure beyond counting, and now peace for his men. But there is one thing he still desires: Ceridwen as his wife. Now Fate conspires to tear Ceridwen and Sidroc away from Angle-land. Thrust together amidst great danger and hardship they fight to survive -- and fight each other. Each day takes them farther from the loyalties and laws of the lands they have called home, and deeper into new challenges and opportunities. Ceridwen's ties to Kilton and all it represents are strong, yet Sidroc is steadfast in his claim to her. A rescued stranger stands between both of their desires, threatening to destroy all that Sidroc has worked and killed to preserve... Surrender to...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
An uncontrolled passion. A heart-breaking decision. A battle that seals the Fate of all. Ninth-century Saxon England crumbles under the onslaught of a relentless foe - the Danish Vikings. Ceridwen, a young woman with divided loyalties, watches as the peace and plenty she enjoys at the Saxon stronghold of Kilton gives way to wary watchfulness. Her dearest friend, Ælfwyn, sold in marriage to a Dane in a desperate bid for peace, travels to Kilton and recounts the events that befell the fortress of Four Stones in captured Lindisse. But Ceridwen is also confronted by Sidroc, the Dane she ran from, and cannot forget. Ceridwen's life revolves around her beloved husband Gyric, rendered now unfit for battle and seemingly, for happiness. At the heart of Kilton is Gyric's brother Godwin, the young lord who struggles both against the Danish invaders and an unthinkable desire. Growing tensions between the brothers mirror the...
Genres: Adventure, Historical Fiction
Formats: E-Book, Audio, Paperback, Hardback
Age Groups: 16-18, 18+
It is the year 871. Of seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, five have fallen to the invading Vikings. No trait is more valued than loyalty, and no possession more precious than one's steel. Across this war-torn landscape travels fifteen year old Ceridwen, now thrust into the lives of the conquerors. Lost in the frozen woods, Ceridwen is discovered by the warriors accompanying young Ælfwyn, daughter of a Saxon lord, sold against her will in marriage as part of a peace treaty with a marauding Viking war chief. Their destination is the captured fortress of Four Stones, a ruin holding glittering treasure. There Ælfwyn must keep her vow and wed Yrling - and Ceridwen must do all she can to support her new friend in the rebuilding of the ravaged village and great hall. But living with the enemy affords Ceridwen unusual freedoms - and unlooked-for conflicts. Amongst them she explores again her...























