The Serpent Sword The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1 edition by Matthew Harffy Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
Download As PDF : The Serpent Sword The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1 edition by Matthew Harffy Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks 
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?
The Serpent Sword The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1 edition by Matthew Harffy Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks
When I purchased this book I wasn't sure that it wouldn't be a Bernard Cornwell knockoff. Cornwell's Saxon Tales are a hard act to follow. The Serpent Sword is set several centuries earlier but the historical situation was very similar. Harffy introduces Beobrand, a farming boy who becomes unmoored and sets out to find his brother who has made a name as a warrior. Upon hearing that his brother is dead he becomes certain that it was murder. He vows to find the killer. Step by step he learns the ways of the warrior, under the tutelage of Hengest, a superb swordsman with a mercurial temperament. This book is both a coming of age story and a quest to find his brother's killer.The book is well written. There is a lot going on, but there is no confusion. I was impressed by Harffy's knowledge of that era; it seems very well researched. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. The characters are well developed, not a single cardboard cutout among them.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was certainly worth taking a chance on. I have already preordered the next installment of the Bernicia Chronicles. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in England in the early Middle Ages.
Product details
|
Tags : The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1) - Kindle edition by Matthew Harffy. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1).,ebook,Matthew Harffy,The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1),Aria
People also read other books :
- Proclaiming Jesus ChristCentered Teaching and Preaching edition by Tony Merida Religion Spirituality eBooks
- Ghost Legion Star of the Guardians Book 4 eBook Margaret Weis
- From Me With Love A Poetry Collection edition by Melissa Holden Literature Fiction eBooks
- Cassandra for IT Students Toby Sanders 9781533040831 Books
- Picasso Wild Stallion of the West The Icon of Sand Wash Basin John A Wagner 9781508763840 Books
The Serpent Sword The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1 edition by Matthew Harffy Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks Reviews
I was hesitant. Harffy is a new author to me and this was my first time committing to one of his novels. You all know how disappointing getting a bland or poorly written book is, right? Well, let me say that I'm really impressed with his writing style and story development. it's not all blood, guts, spears, and swords, although the realities of battle are appropriately covered. He makes characters very real and easy to recall from book to book. I love the realistic approach to people of the period. Some historical fiction writers focusing on medieval periods make all in their book seem either hateful inhuman brutes or cowering pawns on a chessboard. Harffy does a much better job at portraying characters as people truly behave. They love, they hate, get angry, experience remorse, seek vengeance, and seek forgiveness. Excellent job bringing out the humanity of the time that was likely much more true to the human experience. I've been and always will be a fan of Bernard Cornwell. but I have to say I think I enjoy Mr Harffy's writing a bit more, as the characters come through as more true to life and easier to buy in to as real. I'm on book #3 of this series, still enjoying the tales of his imperfect hero, Beobrand.
This was a strong HF novel, much in the style of Cornwell’s “Sharpe” series. The main character, Beobrand, is tough and a great fighter, but not without weaknesses. There is a wide variety in the other characters, which makes the story more interesting. The dialogue was quite believable; Harffy did not use too many ‘archaic’ sounding phrases, but still managed to get the sound and rhythm that matched the setting. From my knowledge of the era, the research was very good, and Harffy fit his fictional character very well into the story of King Oswald of Northumbria (c 604 – 5 August 642).
For me, there was just a little too much graphic description of all the battles, and not enough human interest. There is certainly a little family backstory alluded to, but it becomes repetitive in the same sketchy details, so Beobrand’s anguish was never completely understood or felt. Even the courting of his woman, Sunniva, is love at first sight, and faces no great obstacles. The most thoroughly explored relationship is between Beobrand and Hengist, his arch-enemy, which is mostly related to killing and other evils. Thus, I did not experience a lot of satisfaction with the more human elements of the story.
Nevertheless, it’s a great adventure, and provides an excellent view of life in England during Oswald’s rise to power. I will certainly read the sequel, and recommend this to anyone more interested in history than deep human analyses.
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!
When I purchased this book I wasn't sure that it wouldn't be a Bernard Cornwell knockoff. Cornwell's Saxon Tales are a hard act to follow. The Serpent Sword is set several centuries earlier but the historical situation was very similar. Harffy introduces Beobrand, a farming boy who becomes unmoored and sets out to find his brother who has made a name as a warrior. Upon hearing that his brother is dead he becomes certain that it was murder. He vows to find the killer. Step by step he learns the ways of the warrior, under the tutelage of Hengest, a superb swordsman with a mercurial temperament. This book is both a coming of age story and a quest to find his brother's killer.
The book is well written. There is a lot going on, but there is no confusion. I was impressed by Harffy's knowledge of that era; it seems very well researched. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. The characters are well developed, not a single cardboard cutout among them.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was certainly worth taking a chance on. I have already preordered the next installment of the Bernicia Chronicles. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in England in the early Middle Ages.
0 Response to "[HSR]≡ Libro The Serpent Sword The Bernicia Chronicles Book 1 edition by Matthew Harffy Mystery Thriller Suspense eBooks"
Post a Comment