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Matthew Harffy

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The Serpent Sword (1) (The Bernicia Chronicles)

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The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Matthew Harffy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.3 5,419 ratings

Book 1 of 10: The Bernicia Chronicles

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'HISTORICAL FICTION DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS' ANGUS DONALD
AD 633

Beobrand is a young man with a shadowy past. As an outsider in the kingdom of Bernicia, he is compelled to join his brother, Octa, as a warrior in the household of King Edwin. He must learn to fight with sword and shield to defend the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria.

In a period of great upheaval for Dark Age Britain, all he finds is death and war. Men and women strive to seize control of their destinies in a time of despair, and the land is rife with danger as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. Amongst the blood and the betrayals, Beobrand learns of his brother's near-certain murder. Inexperienced but ruthless, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight as a warrior with sword and shield.

Driven by a desire for vengeance and a relentless pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man who stands strong in the clamour and gore of the shieldwall. As he closes in on his kin's slayer, can Beobrand mete out the retribution he craves without sacrificing his honour... or even his soul?
Praise for Matthew Harffy:
'Nothing less than superb... The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every page' Historical Novel Society

'Beobrand is the warrior to follow' David Gilman

'A tale that rings like sword song in the reader's mind' Giles Kristian

'A brilliant characterization of a difficult hero in a dangerous time. Excellent!' Christian Cameron

'A terrific novel. It illuminates the Dark Ages like a bolt of lightning' Toby Clements

'Battles, treachery, revenge and a healthy dose of Dark Age adventure' Simon Turney

'Matthew Harffy tells a great story' Joanna Hickson

'Harffy's writing just gets better and better... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown' Jemahl Evans

'Harffy has a real winner on his hands... A genuinely superb novel' Steven McKay

'A breathtaking novel that sweeps the reader into a dark and dangerous world' Paul Fraser Collard

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Historical fiction doesn't get much better than this” ―Angus Donald, author of The Outlaw Chronicles

“Matthew Harffy's tale of England in the Dark Ages is nothing less than superb... The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every page... I look forward to its sequels'” ―Historical Novel Society

“Murder, betrayal and vengeance fuel tribal warfare and personal combat. Beobrand is the warrior to follow” ―David Gilman

“The new hardback is so gloriously beautiful I just had to own it'” ―David's Book Blurg

About the Author

Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria's Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical fiction novels that became THE BERNICIA CHRONICLES.

Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. He has co-authored seven published academic articles, ranging in topic from the ecological impact of mining to the construction of a marble pipe organ.

Matthew lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.

Matthew was the singer in Rock Dog.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01DBZ51FO
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book; 1st edition (June 1, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 1, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 9273 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 347 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #245,081 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #24 in 449-1066 History of UK
- #28 in Medieval Military History
- #268 in General Great Britain Travel Guides

Customer Reviews:
4.3 5,419 ratings

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Matthew Harffy

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Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria's Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical fiction novels. The first of them is the action-packed tale of vengeance and coming of age, THE SERPENT SWORD.

Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. Matthew lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.

For all the latest news and exclusive competitions, join Matthew online:

www.matthewharffy.com

twitter.com/@MatthewHarffy

www.facebook.com/MatthewHarffyAuthor

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5

5,419 global ratings

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J.R.

Beobrand

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024

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Well done. Really enjoyed every page. The conflicts were believable and did not dominate the story line. The novel was ( fictional) like history being written but in an enjoyable way. ( one mans opinion) Either I am reading to many novels about this time, place, and people that the names seem to be familiar or the writers are useing historical characters names. Kudos, for researching. That makes the story line sooo much more interesting. As I said well worth the read.

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2023

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While there are some things that didn’t quite work for me in this book, overall I still think this is a solid start to a new series.

Usually I am really not a fan of third person omniscient storytelling. I can’t say I have a preference for first or third person but I prefer it to be limited to one character’s point of view at a time, knowing only their thoughts and feelings rather than multiple people’s within the same paragraph or chapter. Harffy did such a great job at using omniscient narration though that I hardly even noticed it at first and even after realizing it, it still barely stood out to me. So I am very impressed by that. It shows how smoothly he can write in my opinion.

I struggled to connect to the characters and really root for the MC. I like that the author was able to introduce the main character to a wide range of emotions in this one book and that we really saw his character grow and evolve up close but wouldn’t have minded to see a little bit more detail in the supporting cast in that regard also, especially because of the narrative choice. I did enjoy though that his writing can be a bit deceptive about some of the characters sometimes, which added an extra layer of fun to it. Sadly the few characters that I did get really attached to didn’t get as much page time as I would’ve liked until the end (for one of them).

There definitely was a strong historical feeling to the story and it felt well researched. I don’t have a lot of experience with historical fiction so I don’t know how it compares to other books in the genre, but I found it quite atmospheric. I like the contrast between Coenred and Beobrand, and between the old gods and new. I’ve also rarely ever felt the level of dread that the author was able to conjure up with his story so I do commend him for that.

While I sadly didn’t connect quite as much with this story as the rest of the buddy reading group and never fully felt invested in the MC’s journey, I do think this is a solid debut novel and am looking forward to continuing on with the series since I was told they only get better from here.

2 people found this helpful

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Reader

Lovers of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Series need to read this!

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2015

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Any comparison to Bernard Cornwell's popular Saxon series intrigues me, and this book was no exception. I must admit that I picked it up a bit skeptically, wondering how in the world Matthew Harffy would pull it off -- there can only be on Uhtred of Bebbanburg after all, so how would he manage to keep me interested? I needn't have worried.

Just because I like a book doesn't automatically qualify it for 5 stars. But this book -- this book -- kept me coming back, hungry to read more, to find out what was next, and where the characters were going and how they were growing. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about reading it.

Beyond that, Harffy does several things with this book which led me to a 5 star review. First, his characters. Beobrand is young, hot-headed, and he makes so many mistakes. The plot doesn't hold back anything authentic -- there is violence and gore (some of which may be difficult for some readers to handle), but it's what happens to Beobrand that makes it significant to me -- he learns, he wrestles with what happens around him, he thinks about it, suffers through it, and it changes him in ways both good and bad. But it's all authentic, and I found myself cheering him on every step of the way.

Secondly, Harffy doesn't just write to progress the plot. He tells a story in a way that makes it feel like it's happening all around me as I read. Descriptive detail, language use, sentence structure, etc. all are polished throughout, even when a battle is raging. I felt hungry, thirsty, sick, injured, and tired whenever Beobrand was. I could feel the cold water splashing on my face as he washed in the early morning. Harffy writes in a way that invites us into the pages of the book.

I highly recommend this book to HF readers, to Bernard Cornwell fans, and to anyone wanting to learn more about a period of history often overlooked by modern readers. I eagerly await the next book and will be worried about Beobrand until it comes out!

28 people found this helpful

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King Reviewer

Solid Start!

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2021

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3.5 stars. This was a good start, but the beginning was getting a little old for all the blubbering the main character did. Too much!

But by the middle of the novel, the author went into a bigger and better direction, and managed to keep me engaged until the end. Lots of pretty solid action sequences, along with some interesting characters, made this debut novel good enough for me to get the sequel.

Hopefully the 2nd book will be even better...

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Sir Seán J. Madsen

Absorbing tale of heroic age Britain

Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2023

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I consume everything available about this period in Britain's history.

This series is simply stupendous. The narrative is complex and riveting. The descriptions are colourful and true to detail. This author is a master story teller.

Kindle Customer

For Bernicia!

Reviewed in Mexico on January 26, 2022

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I am obsessed with the Angelfolc world and Harffy has supplied the daily doses. When you stop reading another book to continue with The Serpent Sword until you finish it, you realise its author is skilled at telling stories.

BücherFreak

Fantastic start of the series

Reviewed in Germany on January 7, 2023

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First book in the Bernicia Chronicles introduces us to Beobrand. A young man seeking purpose and his brother. On his journey of becoming a warrior, there are hardships, new friends, love, foes and blood. Britain in his dark age is brutal and unforgiving.
This Harffys debut long time ago is full of heart, brotherhood, betrayal and brutal battles.
While reading you feel the land and its people captured between the lines. Its like living in these times.
Beobrand is becoming a new favorite character.

Alex

A really fast paced and immersive historical fiction!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2021

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The Serpent Sword was such a fast paced, thrilling read, that I listened to on audiobook.

Our main character is Beobrand, who is easy to love and root for, and his coming of age story is a fast tracked one which helps us get to the action faster.

Matthew Harffy brings edge of your seat action and an eye for historical detail, expertly capturing the atmosphere and setting. I liked the fact at the end of the book, Harffy explains his thought processes behind many of the historical references, where creative liberties were taken etc. and it really puts into perspective how much work went into making the book as true to the time period as possible whilst maintaining the excitement and action that makes Beobrand’s tale particularly engaging.

There isn’t a reliance on adrenaline alone to propel the story though and I really liked Beobrand’s honest internal strife and the inner turmoil he goes through, weighing up the man he wants to be and questioning his own ethics.

This links into what is probably the heart of the book, which is revenge. It’s tricky to make a reader care enough to share the character’s passion for vengeance and this is another aspect that makes this such a page turner in that you do share these feelings and each encounter has you willing Beobrand on. There are some despicable characters, and there are those that commit despicable acts that are otherwise portrayed as good people. It serves as a good reminder that when taken out of ‘normal’ stress free circumstances, there is a primal, animalistic nature within some humans – yet this should not serve as an excuse for heinous actions.

There is one scene in which Beobrand has to weigh up whether to seek justice against one such character, and it is satisfying to see justice served and actions having consequences rather than our protagonist taking the easy route. Beobrand is definitely in the Goldilocks zone in terms of not being too cold or barbaric to relate to, whilst also being real enough not to develop into a shining hero of chivalry – he can be brutal and there is a level of fear he invokes in other men at times, but there are moments we see his softer side. This is a theme that runs through the book and is done very well; characters are human, with flaws, layers to their personalities, loyalties and betrayals, grabs for power and acts of both kindness and evil when you might not expect them.

The Serpent Sword is a real page turner, full of entertainment, brutality, emotive moments and well researched history. If you like historical fiction and a good dose of action, I’m confident you’ll love this.

One person found this helpful

Michael Stephen Worsfield

A Great Read.

Reviewed in Australia on July 25, 2021

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I’m always looking for an enjoyable book to read and was not disappointed reading my first Matthew Harffy book. And the pleasure that he has written two more books in the series, which I can not wait to purchase.
His first book is a page turner!

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The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition

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The Serpent Sword (1) (The Bernicia Chronicles)

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