My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a free digital copy of Sword Brethren to read and to the author Jon Byrne for writing it.
The book comes under the Historical Fiction category. The story begins with Richard, a gray haired wounded warrior in the hands of Grand Prince Alexander of Yaroslavl, Russia, The prince promised to ransom Richard home back to the Warrior Teutonic knights if he tells how he came to be crusader knight fighting so far from home This novel is that story- or part of it; more about that later.
The book spans the early thirteenth century, beginning in England in the reign of King John, of Robin Hood fame ( of infamy) and tells the story of Richard Fitz Simon who at a young age sees his father’s life and his home taken from him by his uncle, a powerful ally of the King.. Homeless and hunted, the teenaged boy of fourteen flees his uncle’s grasp, finding refuge in the lowlands of Europe, working for the owner merchant as a house man/ guard/ laborer. But after a while he is on the run again ,this time from the rage of the merchant and also a vindictive, cuckhold son in law Richard escapes by swearing vows as a warrior monk in the Livonian order , Brothers of the Sword, on their crusade to Christianize the “ pagans” of the lands of the Baltic nations. That is how Richard winds up in the hands of a Russian Grand Prince.
The book is very well done, with a story that is filled with realistic backgrounds and descriptions of the hard daily life led by people in those dark ages. Richard is a likable hero, headstrong, but not haughty , who labors with hope of one day returning to claim the land rightfully his. Richard finds good friends, and bad enemies, faces love and loss., engages in battle , and , obviously live to dictate his exciting story.
I quite enjoyed the book and recommend it . It was obvious that this book is only the first of at least a two part series, and maybe more. I look forward reading more from this author.
Cautions: The Dark ages were called dark for many reasons.Life was, as has been said, “ Nasty, brutish and short.” Combat involves hacking and slashing. Women were chattel. There is little bad language and no descriptive sex. But at least Richard’s adopted kitty hasn’t been killed… so far.

This book, set in 1242 sees Richard Fitz Simon is wounded in the Battle on the Ice. He becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod where he then writes his life story. And so this is his story. A very interesting one too. There is plenty in this book that will grab your attention and keep you reading.

A wonderful read, a strong story and strong writing and a book that kept me turning the pages. Intriguing, well written and so much more.

Thank you NetGalley and The Book Guild for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This uses the 1200s element perfectly and enjoyed this as a historical fiction novel. The overall feel worked with everything that I wanted and enjoyed in this type of book. Jon Byrne has a strong writing style and enjoyed the way the characters were written. It left me wanting to read more from Jon Byrne.