The Saga of Grettir the Strong

[Ulf]

I. THE FAMILY AND EARLY WARS OF ONUND THE SON OF OFEIG
There was a man named Onund, the son of Ofeig Clumsyfoot, who was the son of Ivar
Horsetail. Onund was the brother of Gudbjorg, the mother of Gudbrand Knob, the
father of Asta, the mother of King Olaf the Saint. His mother came from the
Upplands, while his father's relations were mostly in Rogaland and Hordland. He was
a great viking and used to harry away in the West over the sea. He was accompanied
on these expeditions by one Balki, the son of Blaeing from Sotanes, and by Orm the
Wealthy. Another comrade of theirs was named Hallvard. They had five ships, all well
equipped. They plundered the Hebrides, reaching the Barra Isles, where there ruled a
king named Kjarval, who also had five ships. These they attacked; there was a fierce
battle between them, in which Onund's men fought with the utmost bravery. After many
had fallen on both sides, the battle ended with the king taking to flight with a
single ship; the rest were captured by Onund's force, along with much booty. They
stayed there for the winter, and spent the succeeding three summers harrying the
coasts of Ireland and Scotland, after which they returned to Norway.

[Jägerstaffel]

There's a trilogy of books by Tim Severin entitled 'Viking' - good read - a bit fanciful but tries to capture all of the norse world during the viking age. The protagonist is Thorgils Leifsson (Leif Erikson's half-Irish son).

The second book focuses on Thorgil's bloodbrother Grettir the strong; who was notorious in Iceland and forced into Skóggangur - outlawry - because of his unimposing look but incredibly strong arms and equally incredible bad streak of luck. I recommend it for someone who finds the saga cumbersome to read.