Between the eighth and eleventh centuries, Vikings permanently transformed the British Isles. Vikings came to plunder, and ultimately to settle, to colonize, and to rule. They reshaped Britain's language, geography, and culture in ways that persist across the English-speaking world. Descendants of Vikings and Britons settled Iceland and first explored the North American coast. Monsters and Gods offers a new history of this lost world and its lasting legacies. Thomas J. T. Williams recounts the violent exploits of warriors like Erik Bloodaxe and Thorfinn Skullsplitter. He leads readers through ditches, barrows, and ruins to explore how Viking-age people understood their world. And he considers the Vikings' profound influence in modern times on artists and writers from Longfellow to Tolkien. Engrossing and lyrically written, this is a book for anyone who has ever felt the powerful allure of the Vikings and their world.