A Life Without Purpose After the assassination of King Sweyn and the execution of Askeladd,?Thorfinn lost the object of his vengeance, his sense of purpose, and?his freedom. Now a broken young man, he labors far from the battlefield,?clearing a forest for his slave master's farm alongside the amiable?Einar. But a sudden and brutal tragedy will shock Thorfinn out of his?apathy, and force him to answer the question, "Do I still want to live?" From the Hardcover edition.