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"Good God, have mercy!" cried the sleepy English sentry, watching King Canute the Merciless and his armada of dragon-headed Viking ships approaching from the horizon. Ten years earlier, a horrified young girl named Godiva watched as the bloodthirsty invaders pillaged the peaceable town of Coventry. Now the marauders have returned---can Godiva save her people without betraying her faith and losing her soul? 320 pages, hardcover from Whitaker.

Bent on conquest, King Canute and his Viking legions invade England in 1016, cutting a bloody path across the peaceful countryside. In an overwhelming show of force, Canute, the feared dragon king, destroys the town of Coventry, and a young girl watches as her once idyllic life is turned into a deadly nightmare. Ten years later, the young girl has grown into the beautiful Lady Godiva. In the midst of Canute's quiet empire, she has managed to rebuild her life and town and even find love. But the dragon king rises once more and threatens to devour her beloved Coventry. Can she save her people without betraying her faith and losing her very soul?

A predictable plot and weak characterizations mar this debut novel from Rose, a screenwriter. When the Danish warrior Canute attacks England in 1016, 13-year-old Godiva watches in horror as her village of Coventry is destroyed. Eleven years later, she tries to save Coventry from King Canute's unfair taxes by donating her own jewels, and then reaps the king's rage at her defiance. In this novel, unlike the legend, it is the king and not Godiva's husband who promises to abolish the tax if she rides naked through Coventry. The story is further embellished with a pagan-Christian twist: Godiva, a Christian, must dishonor herself by riding during a pagan fertility rite. Rose delivers solid descriptions of battles and scenery, but character nuance is lacking due to the author's reliance on telling over showing. (Godiva's father, for example, is introduced as "a spiritual man" who is "fair, judicious, and endlessly devoted to England.") Characters are either wholly bad or wholly good; Canute is godless and murderous, while Godiva is courageous, pious, physically lovely and kind to small animals and children. Technical problems include anachronistic dialogue, inexplicable shifts in point of view and didacticism. Although some readers may appreciate the novel's clear message that "it is worth every bit of trouble to save one life," the clunky storytelling will deflect others. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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Author: David Rose
Submitted: December 03, 2004

    Tell us a little about yourself.  I worked for years in the entertainment industry producing graphic effects for such movies as Independence Day and Star Trek: Deep Space 9. My company, VisionArt shared an Academy Award for our work on Independence Day. I am originally from Kansas City, MO, and am married to a lovely lady, Toni.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  I wanted to let readers know that the story was deeper than what most common knowledge offers. I was also motivated by the power the book can have to make people think more deeply about their relationship with God.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  My hope is that readers will gain a clearer understanding of the Christian roots in the story of Godiva, and that after reading the book, that readers will see more depth to the story than is commonly known. I have always been fascinated by my genealogical ties to Godiva and find the story fascinating with all of its intricacies involving the Viking invasion of England.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  Look for the continuation of the Viking saga coming soon!

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