A Viking Saga which takes rival warbands deep into the heart of America is set to become a feature film.
Blood-Eagle Saga, a published novel and now a film script, both written by award-winning British journalist John Ingham, has been taken up by London-based Little Dude Films.
The epic tale – which has an 88% five star rating on Amazon – pits one warlord, Grim, against his former right-hand man, Asgeir, who chases him across the Atlantic. Both ally themselves with rival Native American tribes as they fight each other across the Great Lakes and out onto the Great Plains.
The story – which has been compared to George RR Martin’s smash hit Game of Thrones – is inspired by the Norse sagas and sees the world through Viking eyes, highlighting what makes a great warlord and a Valhalla-worthy warrior.
The popular British book is set to be turned into a film
John Ingham
It also explores the similarities between the Vikings and Native Americans, warrior cultures with deep spiritual links to nature.
Throughout there is one burning question: who will be the victim of the Vikings’ favourite execution – The Blood-Eagle?
Ian Beaumont, director of Little Dude Films, said he is “proud to be involved in the making of the film of Blood-Eagle Saga”.
Little Dude Films’ successes include winning the Best Foreign Short Film with “Bubbles” at the prestigious Los Angeles Indie Film Festival. It is currently working on the Lost Blonde, a play and biopic of 1940s Hollywood siren Veronica Lake.
Beaumont said: “Three questions a film producer always asks when looking at a subject for a potential film are: is it a great story; will it make a good film; and is there an audience for it?
“When it comes to John Ingham’s Blood-Eagle Saga, the answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes, which is why I’m so delighted to have come on board as a producer of the film version.
“From the very first lines of the novel, the reader is drawn into the Viking world of dangerous characters and equally dangerous deeds and is transported to a series of exciting locations and adventures in new worlds across the Atlantic.
“I’m convinced that the page-turning excitement the novel generates will transfer brilliantly to the screen, which is confirmed by John’s excellent film script based upon his book.
“The next steps in developing the film are to attach a director, some funding and cast to the project, which will in turn attract other people and organisations to the film.”
British author John Ingham wrote Blood Eagle Saga
John Ingham
Ingham, who wrote the book while commuting to work as Environment Editor at the Daily Express, is descended from Vikings.
This may help explain why he has been inspired to travel widely round Britain, Scandinavia and Greenland visiting Old Norse sites.
To add to the epic feel, he wrote the book in the style of Beowulf or the Poetic Edda – both part of the ancient North European epic tradition.
Ingham, whose awards include Energy and Environment Journalist of the Year at the 2021 British Journalism Awards, said: “I’ve been fascinated by the Vikings since I was a schoolboy.
“They were not only formidable warriors but also great explorers and traders, ranging from Newfoundland to the Caspian Sea, from Greenland to Baghdad. “We know there was a Viking settlement on Newfoundland nearly 500 years before Columbus ‘discovered’ America.
“But I have long thought that they could have got much deeper into North America by using its lakes and rivers.
“After all, in Europe they used their longships to travel down the rivers of what are now Russia and Ukraine. They could just as easily have done the same in America.”
He added: “There may be a deeper reason for my interest. For a newspaper feature I took a DNA test to find out where my ancestors came from. The test correctly showed that on the maternal side I am of Irish stock.
“But I was surprised to learn that on my father’s side I am 90 per cent certain to have been of Viking descent.
“Given that my family and I are from Yorkshire, which was at the heart of the Danelaw, there could easily have been links to the Vikings.
“But my surname, Ingham, is Anglo-Saxon. So maybe 1,000 years ago a Viking did what Vikings were famous for.”
The adventure opens in midwinter in the snowbound Norwegian longhouse of a Viking warlord, Sven Ravenfeeder.
A stranger, a white-haired skald or story-teller from Iceland called Snorri, seeks refuge and offers to pay his way by recounting a saga while his hosts swill ale and mead around the fire.
Sven greets Snorri warmly – but drops a noose around his neck and tells him: “If we like your story, you will live…”
Snorri skalds for his life and weaves word spells to take the drunken warriors to a world of brutality and betrayal, courage and cowardice.
His warbands brave fierce storms to cross the Atlantic in their longships and soon clash in battle with each other and the Native Americans.
Throughout Asgeir is guided by his Irish muse, Mary, a former slave who has every reason to hate Grim. All along the Vikings live in fear of becoming the victims of the Blood-Eagle execution – a particularly grisly fate.
* Blood-Eagle Saga by John Ingham (Austin Macauley) is available on Amazon. Find out more at johninghamauthor.co.uk
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
