The Coming of the Dragon (Legacy of Beowulf Book 1)

Rebecca Barnhouse weaves Norse gods, blood feuds, and a terrifying dragon into this spectacular retelling of the end of the Old English poem Beowulf. When he was a baby, Rune washed up onshore in a boat, along with a sword and a pendant bearing the runes that gave him his nickname. Some people thought he was a sacrifice to the gods and wanted to send him right back to the sea. Luckily for Rune, King Beowulf disagreed. He lifted the boy from the boat and gave him to Amma, a wisewoman living on a farm far removed from the king's hall, to raise as she saw fit. Sixteen years later, Rune spends his summers laboring on the farm. And at King Beowulf's request, he comes to the hall each winter for weapons training. But somehow he never quite fits in. Many people still fear he will bring a curse on the kingdom. Then a terrible thing happens. On a lonely crag on a mountain that belongs to the giants, someone awakens a dragon. It is time for Rune to find the warrior inside himself and prove to the doubters once and for all that he is a true hero. From the Hardcover edition ** Rune is an infant when he washes ashore in a mysterious boat and is spared death by King Beowulf and Amma, a strange old woman who becomes a mother figure to him. The king protects Rune and trains him to fight, but he remains a threat and a misfit in the minds of most villagers. He is content living a simple life until a vicious dragon is awakened and destroys everyone and everything he loves. Avenging his family leads him to answers about his own heritage as well as some nail-biting suspense as he confronts the dragon more than once. While Rune's naked insecurity and self-doubt wear thin at times, his innocence and perseverance make him a sympathetic and unlikely hero. An adventure-filled coming-of-age tale. Rune, an orphaned young man raised among strangers, tries to save the kingdom from a dragon that is burning the countryside and, along the way, learns that he is a kinsman of Beowulf.