Lassa Erickson likes normal teenage things, like reading ancient texts on chemical analysis and studying books on advanced alchemy. He's never read anything frivolous like The Joy of Axe Wielding or Uthbert's Guide to Decapitation. So, when he's conscripted into the 11th-century Viking army, and finds himself surrounded by an ocean of the fiercest, toughest, ugliest warriors the world has ever seen, he accepts his hapless brother Sven's brilliant idea of hiding at the back of his first battle, while everyone else does all the fighting.

But, when Lassa trips over a tree root and impales the enemy Saxon leader by accident, he's hailed as a hero. His epic decision of cowardice thrusts him on a terrifying mission deep into enemy territory, where he battles hordes of saber-clawed witches, rescues a princess, marries a leper, and discovers the true enemy of the Vikings: a half-man, half-demon dragon king, intent on wiping out the human race with his army of dragons.

Lassa must rally the warriors, overcome his cowardice, buckle up his breastplate, and rise up as a hero before his world is burned to a crisp.

"This short, fun, humorous novel feels like a cross between Horrible Histories and Game of Thrones, and it deftly combines elements of a comedy of errors and a fantasy epic." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Great for fans of Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants, Terry Jones' The Saga of Erik the Viking." (Booklife Reviews)