The North is calling! Journey through time and place to the land of Vikings with Sim, Jeopardy & Nelson – children with unique abilities to open doors to the past, fight off enemies and solve problems no one else can. In the outstanding sequel to the first Time Keys book, The Hunt for the Golden Scarab, this time team shares history in a whole new way. Combined with music, geography and lots of adventure, The Legend of Viking Thunder is a heart-pounding, perilous race to locate a precious artefact, rescue rogue time travellers and defeat the all-powerful Council of Keys while making sure the path of history remains unchanged (as much as possible).
“All lasting stories grow from a seed of truth.”
This couldn’t be more true than for the legendary Viking horn, the Gjallarhorn. Said to transcend time and place, it heralds Ragnarök – the end of the world. In the wrong hands, it’s deadly. Jeopardy’s father, Emmett, is determined to find it and sets off on his own. Time Keys should never travel alone so there’s a huge risk that Emmett has become trapped in the past. Jeopardy and the others set out to find him on a quest that takes them to the incredible fjords of Norway and the streets of Viking York. There’s danger at every turn as they discover the truth about this ancient horn and what it means to play it.
Every one of MG Leonard’s books in meticulously researched. Details about Viking culture, settlements and beliefs are described through powerful characters with very real personalities. The arguing of siblings and cousins, the dreams and ambitions of young people, the responsibilities of family and the protection of community all rise off the pages in such an engaging manner. Authentic facts about locations and time periods make these books reliable choices to read alongside historical studies. The Legend of Viking Thunder would be a fantastic choice for a class read during a Viking topic.
Links to Norse mythology and the role of a Skald (poet and oral storyteller) in a Viking community celebrate language and traditional storytelling. Readers will love learning the Saga of Ragnar’s First Sons and discovering how it links to the time team’s journey through the past. There is so much scope to use the themes and characters of Norse mythology as prompts for children’s own writing and oral storytelling.
Manuel Šumberac’s illustrations are intense and powerful. The might of the Vikings leaps from the pages to completely captures readers’ imaginations. These are not gentle stories, but ones with real danger and difficult choices. The black and white drawings capture the thrill and peril of each decision.
I’m thrilled there is a third Time Keys book on the way with The Impossible Gladiator. This series fits perfectly into the Key Stage 2 History curriculum by providing high quality class reads that enhance what is being explored in lessons.
Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Books and NetGallelyUK for an early read of this fantastic book. It will be published on 11th September 2025.
An extract from The Highland Falcon Thief, also by MG Leonard, has been included in Contemporary Children’s Literature for Years 3-4 in the Developing Reading Comprehension Skills series.
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