Lars Walker, a regular contributor to this publication, just happens to be a highly talented and widely admired historical novelist. If you haven’t read any of his books, you can remedy that quite easily tomorrow (April 16), for amazon.com is making his Hailstone Mountain Kindle edition free for one day.

Here’s the Amazon description:

In the latest entry in the saga of Erling Skjalgsson, the 11th Century Norwegian chieftain is struck by a deadly curse, and must journey north along with his friends in order to crush it at its source. Meanwhile Freydis, niece of the smith Lemming, is kidnapped by the servants of a mysterious, ancient cannibalistic race who dwell in secret in the mountains of the north. Once again the Irish priest Father Ailill narrates a tale of struggle, faith, endurance, and supernatural peril. Fans of H. Rider Haggard will delight in this “lost world” adventure.

That description really doesn’t do full justice to Walker’s fiction, however. The books give a powerfully realistic sense of how Vikings lived in 1,000 A.D., transporting the reader to a vividly realized place where people deal with elemental problems that still have relevance to our lives today, as they bring up questions of faith, honor, purpose, courage, the need to fight for the things one values, and other serious matters. In addition to creating memorable characters, Walker is a gifted storyteller who knows how to pace the action to engage readers’ interest throughout a narrative.

To get a free copy of Hailstone Mountain, visit the book’s amazon.com page on April 16. You may also buy Walker’s other books if you are so inclined—I recommend them highly.