Godiva
David Rose

By Alyce Wilson

Godiva: The Viking Conquest Saga is the title of the book, and yet the story focuses on the residents of the British Isles who fight back against the Vikings, chief among them the plucky young woman of the title.

The novel is sort of a shaggy dog story with a certain conclusion, the famous nude ride by Godiva through the streets of Coventry. In David Rose's version, her ride holds deep symbolic meaning for both the people of Coventry and Christians, as well.

While the book does boast an introduction by best-selling evangelistic author Tim LaHaye (of the Left Behind series), the novel does not come across as preachy. Instead, key characters of the novel demonstrate a faith that lends them strength as they face the barbarous invaders. That faith serves to influence others, sometimes leading to enlightenment and conversion.

Godiva is action-packed, crammed full of battle scenes and political subterfuge but weak on character development. As a counterpoint, the title character begins the book as a bouncy, carefree teen, whose unrelenting good nature strains credulity. Even as circumstances force her into new roles, she maintains a sort of purity that feels more idealized than real.

In his efforts to create a textured portrait of the time, Rose has clearly researched the 11th Century history of Coventry. The story follows the political maneuverings and tragedies leading to Godiva's famous ride. Even minute details, such as the fact that a young Godiva plays soccer, turn out to be based on historical fact, the game of soccer (or football, as the Brits call it), being popular in Britain from the 8th Century onwards.

If such touches feel occasionally like anachronisms, it is only because of very modern-sounding dialogue. Young Godiva's conversations with her parents, for example, sound a little too much like a forthright 21st Century teen chatting with equally modern parents. The parents are a little too forgiving of her anarchic ways, a little too loving to seem believable.

And therein lies the real weakness in this work: while Rose is relatively successful in retelling a legendary tale, he is less successful in making his characters believable, in endowing them with human characteristics, human failings, so that their tale seems less like legend and more like reality.

Whitaker House, 2004 (ISBN: 0-88368-028-9)