A great book from beginning to end.
A series I truly love.
Gritty and raw, just how it should be.

Well done Mr Harffy

This was the first title I had read in this series and I will definitely be catching up on the rest. Anglo-Saxon Britain in the 7th Century is not a period of history I know much about and I found the historical detail fascinating. The battle scenes are epic and Beobrand’s internal battles as he struggles to deal with the events which take place are just as compelling. The supporting characters’ stories are also intriguing and I enjoyed both the male and female perspectives. Highly recommended.

Oh, what can I say? Another great book by one of my favourite historical fiction authors, Matthew Harffy. This time I took a while to read the book as I had many other books to read as well, but it doesn’t mean it is not at least as good as the previous ones.

This book is so heartbreaking. I felt so sorry for Beobrand. He goes from quite okay to so heartbreaking in the end. It actually almost made me cry. Oswald might think Beobrand is lucky, but to any reader (and to Beobrand), it does not feel so. He keeps losing his friends, his family, his loved ones…It just never ends.

He worries that the curse mentioned in the previous books is upon him. He, as it is obvious from the title, he keeps to the ‘old’ gods, Woden, Thunor, even when the world is moving towards the ‘new’, Christian god. He wonders who has the power now.

He also does not have luck with his lords. The life of a king was difficult in the era, and Oswald is no exception. Leading his men to battle against Penda… From the other books happening in the same times as this one, I have known what to expect, what was going to happen. But Harffy makes it seem so real, and even the fact that I knew how it must all end, I felt everything. Historical books have most of their ‘spoilers’ revealed already, as they must at least try to stick to major events, but the true writers will make you feel it again, despite being prepared for what is to happen.

All in all, this is a great book and if you like historical fiction, you should read it…but only after you read the previous books first 🙂 And you will not be sorry, as Harffy is one of the best historical fiction authors I have read 🙂

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first of the series, I did find this one a bit too similar in terms of the story arc to the first book. I didn't feel as engaged, although the period detail was excellent.

Set in AD642, Matthew has written another magical, historical thriller.

Ok, I went into this book blind as a bat. I had no clue this was book number five (5) in a series. To be honest, I would have never read this until I read the first four (4) books. I never feel that I can give a good review without reading the entire series. I still feel that since I do not know the entire backstory of the characters I can not give a review of the story line since I do not know what happened beyond the hints that the author gave in this book.

For what I can tell you though, is this book was quite interesting though there were parts that left me confused though I think that they would have been cleared up if I had read the first four (4) books. The author has researched his subject and the story line does make me want to read the first four (4) books.

I enjoyed the characters and they were well written. Though I think there is a love triangle or something that is going on between the wives of the leaders, but again I am not sure as it would be in the back story. You can read this book as a stand alone, but if you are anything like me then you may get confused with some of the characters reactions and attitude with each other.

If you like historical fiction then I do recommend the book, but I would start with the first one before this one. The reading order goes:

The Serpent Sword (The Serpent Sword (Bernicia Chronicles #1)
The Cross and the Curse (Bernicia Chronicles #2)
Blood and Blade (Bernicia Chronicles #3)
Killer of Kings (Bernicia Chronicles #4)
Kin of Cain: A Short Bernicia Tale (Bernicia Chronicles)

I would read these before reading this one. That way you know what is going on in the back story and how the characters relate to each other.

Overall Book 5 is far stronger than Book 4 and it doesn't do what I thought it would do (in a good way).

For nearly 50% of the book Beobrand is a much happier character than we've seen before. I thought this was an excellent evolution of his character, but sadly it doesn't last and soon he's gripping and moaning as much as in the previous books. This is one of my biggest problems with the books. Beobrand is just not very likeable and I find that hard in a series focused on him and where he's supposed to be the hero. He just isn't heroic enough for my liking, and will clearly never be. He seems genuinely unhappy with his lot in life - unhappy with his not-wife, his son, his king, his hall, who he's killed before, who he hasn't killed before, his horse - it would be nice if he was happy about something.

I am no fan of the short and very brief, point of view changes throughout the novel. If the story is about Beobrand it should be about Beobrand, not Cynan or Rhegan. I think this is an on-going issue for the books.

As to the story itself, it's a very 'Northumbrian' interpretation of events in Britain at this time - there is no attempt to offer anything other than the version of events as given by Bede and the ASC, which means that poor old Eowa gets very short shift . This is a shame as there was definitely scope for betrayal and double-dealing here, but because the story is about Beobrand, the possibilities are not explored. Rather, it seems very easy to kill off Eowa and side-line his character. In fact the major players of the period are so distant as to almost be missing from the story completely - the story we get could have been written anytime, anywhere, it is not truly about events in Britain at the time - a shame really when the events themselves are so significant. It would have been good to have a stand-off between Oswald and Penda - a real grudge battle, but instead Penda is never encountered, only his actions.

Where events are specifically directed at the period, there is a lack of clarity - they are fighting the Welsh and hate them and yet Cynan is Welsh, and one of Beobrand's trusted gesithas. Penda is a pagan and reviled as such for this (especially for his blood sacrifice) - and yet Beobrand is pagan as well with his hammer necklace etc. This might pass many people by, or it might annoy. I just found it confusing - I'm unsure if it was done on purpose or if it just happened.

Yet if I overlook all those problems, the book is stronger than previous ones in the series. It could have been great but it doesn't quite make it because of the issues listed above and because many of the battle scenes are a bit disappointing. Maserfelth - the great battle - becomes a bit of a rugby scrum, and it is the later, smaller skirmishes, that are written with more flow and clarity. As I said, it's as though events in Britain are there only for Beobrand to ride through/stamp through and glower through, and essentially much of the last half of the book is setting up events for future books as Beobrand never faces Oswiu again and clearly the two don't like each other. It'll be interesting to see how the author handles this in future books - after all Oswiu is king for a long time after his brother's death and Beobrand is still young, and the author has more books planned.

A firm 4/5 - the series is getting better but a few issues remain.

And finally, who is the Warrior of Woden? Penda or Beobrand.