Matthew HarffyCritiques

Great book! Historical fiction at its finest. Tales of love, honor, battle, and revenge woven deeply into the construct of the factual time period. I am looking forward to the rest of the series!

Absolute quality.
I have now read several books by this excellent author, and thoroughly enjoyed everyone. Brilliantly written with characters and events that leap of the page and seem so real. Always atmospheric clever descriptive and totally engaging from first to last page. As stated in the Authors notes this is an historical fiction story, but nevertheless it's obvious the writer does plenty of research, and cleverly mixed the fictional and real characters and events. This book was a little shy on the action side than previous reads, but nevertheless is completely and utterly recommended.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book.
Well written and researched engaging from first to last page, the continuing adventures of Hunlaf reliving his youth as he writes his chronicles. The third book in this excellent series but works perfectly as a standalone story. The Author is a master of this genre, and I cannot decide whether I prefer this or the Beobrand Bernicia Chronicles series, both are superb, featuring quality characters and so atmospheric and descriptive that you feel a part of the story. Lots of action sequences sometimes gruesome but always gripping riveting page turners.
Completely recommended.

This is a prequel novella to the author's Bernicia Chronicles series and features the hero Beobrand's older brother Octa (who is murdered at the beginning of the first book) and other warriors being sent out by King Edwin to hunt down and slay a mysterious beast that is terrorising the countryside and killing both animals and people. After adventures in the bleak misty and marshy locale, they eventually encounter the beast near its lair. It turns out to be a wild young man, who is protected by his mother.... and his name is Grendel! So this short story offers a theoretical origin for the Beowulf story. As such it is a good and well written piece though, while tragic, it doesn't really convince as the stuff of legend.

This is the third in the author's series of novels set in 7th century England featuring Beobrand, a Kentish thane who is in service of King Oswald of Northumbria. As a break from fighting Picts, the main plot centres around Beobrand accompanying his master down south so the latter can form an alliance with King Cynegils of Wessex by marrying his beautiful daughter Cyneburg. However, escorting her separately to her new home, Beobrand loses her when she is captured by a band of Mercians. Of course he eventually tracks her down. The overall story arc of war against the Picts resumes though in a final battle to capture their stronghold in what is now Edinburgh, mirrored by Beobrand's personal war against the Nathair family. As I have remarked before, while covering very similar ground to Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred series, albeit set 300 years earlier, I think Harffy's characters are more rounded and interesting than Cornwell's.

Good story-telling, and the characters are decently drawn, but I didn't like the writing mechanics here, which felt clumsy and made this book feel less interesting than it could've been. Probably still worth a look for those interested in this very early time period in English history (AD 600's).

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the ninth book in this excellent series and while there are numerous references to our heroes previous escapades, it can easily be read as a standalone novel, in fact in my case it made want to read the series from the start, and as a result I have several in my to be read pile. Quality writing and research atmospheric descriptive with characters who leap of the page so you feel a part of the story. Engaging and entertaining from first to last page, with plenty of at times gruesome action.
Completely and utterly recommended.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
Once again the Author produces a brilliant read totally engaging from first to last page. Well written and researched, though in his notes he admits to plenty of poetic licence, but when a story is this good who cares. There is a real feel for time and place, superb characters and plenty of well described but somewhat gruesome action. You feel totally immersed in the tale, so much so I felt my stomach heaving during the storm at sea, the tension towards the end of the story found me holding my breath.
Completely recommended.

This follows on from A Time For Swords, and we begin with Hunlaf - in old age - recounting his earlier years.

The motley group of warriors continue their quest - the search for the sacred book The Tree of Life, stolen in the Viking raid that set Hunlaf on the warrior path. But there is an added urgency to their quest, as one of their own must also be found.

Harrfy follows the well-trodden path of the "Hero's Journey" - in "A Time For Swords" we had the departure, wherein young Hunlaf leaves his ordinary existence for adventure, accompanied by his mentor - companion, Runolf. In this second of the series, we see Hunlaf undertake the initiation component, wherein during the course of his adventures he faces many trial and tribulations (or in this case, many battles) with the assistance of his loyal warband. Overcoming the enemy, there is the reward.

Harrfy's narrative is such that the reader finds themselves not only drawn into Hunlaf's world but posited into the warband itself. Again, Harrfy's extensive knowledge of this period comes to the fore. The next instalment is eagerly awaited.

Well written and researched, atmospheric descriptive. Riveting from first to last page, with superb characters throughout. I was fortunate in one way to receive the latest book in the series from NetGalley, but enjoyed it so much I had to start back at the beginning, which could prove expensive, but based on this excellent read worth it. The action and there is plenty of it leaves little to the imagination, an absolute quality page turner.
Completely recommended.

‘Storm of Steel’ features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and some decent drama; however, of Books 1–6, I feel this is the weakest in the series. I liked it in parts rather than on the whole.

Like with many historical novels I’ve read, the author puts so much effort in getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Don’t tell the reader that a character ‘was confused’ – show his confusion with action, or body language, or a facial expression.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is they ‘tell’. For example, at one point we’re told that someone ‘walked determinedly’, which tells us the character got from A to B but we don’t see it. Cut the adverb and use a strong verb to ‘show’ the determination.

Adverbs are pointless in instances like ‘vomited noisily’ (do people ever vomit at any other volume?) and ‘squirmed uncomfortably’ (‘squirmed’ alone implies the discomfort).

Among the worst adverbs is ‘clearly’. To tell the reader that a character was ‘clearly waiting’ or ‘clearly curious’ is ‘telling’ at its worst. In fiction, if you use ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’, be assured that you’re not ‘showing’ the reader anything.

Two other style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced.

‘Had’ appears in this and previous novels in the series like an infection. It may not bother most readers, but I find it a major distraction. In fact, before I started reading ‘Storm of Steel’, I made a bet with myself that ‘had’ would feature in the first sentence. It did – and in most sentences of the opening page.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid. It reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it’s easy to cut them down.

For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works fine as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ works better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that these events have already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

In this novel, we get the likes of ‘had come', which annoys and baffles me when ‘came’ is available.

The frequency of ‘had’ stands out in all novels in this series, but in this one and Book 5 most prominently, owing to a lot of jumping around the story’s chronology. In several cases, I pondered why this scene or that scene couldn’t have been fitted in as they happened, rather than open with a character located in a certain place, only to start with the, ‘He had done this, and then he had done that’ type of thing. Stories flow better if kept linear, and when backstory is needed, there’s no need to over-swell it with ‘had, had, had’.

So, the opening scene is slowed down through the overuse of ‘had’, as is the final chapter. The penultimate chapter, which features an exciting battle with pirates, is great, but in last chapter, scenes from the battle are told from different viewpoints after the event, rather than being dramatized alongside the main character’s point of view, leading once again to ‘he had done this, he had done that’, etc. It’s devoid of drama this way. It would’ve been way better to have included these scenes alongside the main character’s actions *as they happened*, and not report it afterwards as added information.

Similar, in the last chapter, we see events from an antagonist's viewpoint, which is dramatized and engaging. Following this, we see the scene from one of the protagonists, only this time it’s like reading another report, as we’re told ‘He had done this, he had done that’, etc.

One other general criticism I have for this novel, and all sequels in the series, is that every so often a character from a previous book is referred to with the assumption that the reader has read all previous novels. Not everyone reads full series. Some people might see Book 5 for sale, like the synopsis, and decided to buy. So, if a character who dies in, say, Book 3 is briefly referred to when the main character is reminded of them, the reader is locked out of the story.

Also, those people who do read an entire series may have long gaps between books, in which case it could be a challenge to remember a character from Book 1 when you’re reading Book 6 five years later.

Sometimes an explanation is given regarding who a past character is, but even then it’s debatable whether there’s much point in mentioning them if it has no real significance to the current narrative. To me, I see no point in having main character Beobrand remember a friend being hanged in Book 1 because he sees someone hanging in Book 6.

Another downside to remarking on characters killed off in earlier books, or recalling in detail past battles or such like, is that if someone picks up Book 6 first, they may not want to go back to the beginning and read through the series because they’ve now read several spoilers.

While it’s good to have continuity in a series, an ideal sequel should also work as a stand-alone novel. Thinking about it, a key to writing a quality novel is to always keep the story moving forwards, so this trait should apply even more so to a series.

Criticisms aside, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. Also, he recreates the period well, making me feel like I’m in the seventh century.

He’s gifted at creating child characters. Children don’t surface often in this novel or its predecessors, but when they do appear, they’re vivid and believable. Better still are his depictions of animals and birds.

A Dark Ages page turner

Mathew Harffy delivers yet again. His take on historical fiction is superb. I can not wait to bury myself in the next book in The Bernicia Chronicles.

Yet another great installment of Beobrand's life

Mather Harffy has a talent not many have. He doesn't just write books, he grabs you and pulls you into his telling of a great great story. A

Great reading

Mathew Harffy is a name to know if you enjoy historical fiction o the dark ages. His in depth research really pays off for we the readers.

A decent continuation

I did enjoy the book. It seems there was a little big of filler as parts of the book seemed to drag on. I will definitely continue the series.

A very good read

I enjoyed how Mathew Harffy entwined fictional characters in to factual history and created a very good book with great characters.

AD 838. While out hunting Dunston comes across a mutilated body, in the forests of Wessex. Soon he finds the scared daughter, Aedwen, of the man. It would seem that Dunston's solitary life is soon to come to an end when he takes the body and girl to Briuuetone (the nearest settlement) for Rothulf, the Reeve, to investigate. But soon Dunston is under arrest. But this is only Dunston's first challenge as he tries to get to the truth and motive for the murder.
A very enjoyable well-written story. It caught my interest straightaway and I was eager to find out how the story developed, I was not disappointed.
A NetGalley Book

‘Warrior of Woden features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and some decent drama. I prefer all the previous books in the series, but this one still has plenty to offer, especially in the last quarter of the book.

As with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort in getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Don’t tell the reader that a character ‘looked shocked’ – show his shock with action, or body language, or a facial expression.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is they ‘tell’. For example, at one point someone ‘walked nervously’, which tells us the character moved from A to B but we don’t see it. Cut the adverb and use a strong verb to ‘show’ the action.

Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: ‘more slowly’, ‘more quickly’, and ‘more loudly’, whereas ‘slower’, ‘quicker’, and ‘louder’ convey the meaning with a concise verb.

Adverbs are also pointless in instances like: ‘nodding silently’; ‘Someone was retching noisily’ (do people ever retch quietly?); ‘Shifted uncomfortably’ (‘shifted’ alone implies the discomfort).

Two other style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced.

‘Had’ appears many times in the previous four novels, but they’re like an infection in this one, which was a major distraction.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it’s easy to cut them down.

For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works fine as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ works better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that these events have already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

In this novel, we get the likes of ‘had shaken’, which annoys and baffles me when ‘shook’ is available.

The frequency of ‘had’ stands out in all novels in this series, but in this one most of all, owing to a lot of jumping around the story’s chronology. In several cases, I pondered why this scene or that scene couldn’t have been fitted in as they happened, rather than open with a character located in a certain place, only to start with the, ‘He had done this, and then he had done that’ type of thing. Stories flow better if kept linear, and when backstory is needed, there’s no need to over-swell it with ‘had, had, had’. It’s a filler word, too.

On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. Also, he recreates the period well, making me feel like I’m in the seventh century.

He’s gifted at creating child characters. Children don’t surface often in this novel or its predecessors, but when they do appear, they’re vivid and believable.

Despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.

‘Killer of Kings’ features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and some decent drama.

I liked it in the most part, but as with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort in getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Don’t tell the reader that King Penda was ‘seemingly amused’– show his amusement with action, or body language, or a facial expression.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is they ‘tell’. For example, when a male character ‘made his way quietly”, this tells us how the character got from A to B but we don’t see it. He ‘crept’, for example, not only ‘shows’ the action, it flows better because it’s more concise.

Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: ‘more quickly’ and ‘more loudly’, whereas ‘quicker’ and ‘louder’ convey the meaning with a concise verb.

Adverbs and ‘telling’ are blatant in instances like this: ‘walked slowly and stealthily’, which could be ‘shown’ with ‘crept’ or ‘stalked’. There’s always a stronger verb than ‘walked’, none of which require any help from adverbs.

To tell the reader that a king was ‘clearly shocked’ is ‘telling’ at its worst. In fiction, if you use ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’, be assured that you’re not ‘showing’ the reader anything.

Two other style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it’s easy to cut them down.

For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works fine as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ works better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that these events have already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

In this novel, we get the likes of ‘had seen’, which annoys and baffles me when ‘saw’ is available.

This is also one of many novels across all genres that describes a character as shedding ‘silent tears’. Are tears ever loud? You can cry at different volume levels but tears themselves aren’t known for making a noise.

On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. Also, he recreates the period well, making me feel like I’m in the seventh century.

Despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.

‘Blood and Blade’ features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and some decent drama.

I liked it in the most part, but as with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort in getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Don’t tell the reader that Beobrand ‘seemed mollified’ – show *how* he seemed with action, or body language, or a facial expression.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is that they ‘tell’. For example, when a male character ‘made his way quietly”, this tells us how the character got from A to B but we don’t see it. He ‘crept’, for example, not only ‘shows’ the action, it flows better because it’s more concise.

The adverb in ‘shifted uncomfortably’ isn’t necessary, as ‘shifted’ alone implies the discomfort.

Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: ‘more quickly’ and ‘more tightly’, whereas ‘quicker’ and ‘tighter’ convey the meaning with a concise verb.

Adverbs and ‘telling’ are blatant in instances like these: ‘walked purposefully’, which could be ‘shown’ with ‘strode’ or ‘marched’, and ‘He stepped quickly forward’, when ‘He darted’ would’ve ‘shown’ the action. There’s always a stronger verb than ‘walked’, all of which do not require any help from adverbs.

To tell the reader that ‘The man was clearly distressed’ is ‘telling’ at its worst. In fiction, if you use ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’, be assured that you’re not ‘showing’ the reader anything.

Two style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it’s easy to cut them down.

For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works fine as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ works better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that these events have already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

In this novel, we get the likes of ‘had begun’ and ‘had run’, which annoys and baffles me when ‘began’ and ‘ran’ are available.

On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. Also, he recreates the period well, making me feel like I’m in the seventh century.

Despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.

‘The Cross and the Curse’ features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and an engaging romantic storyline.

I liked it in the most part, but like with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort into getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. Don’t *tell* the reader that a character ‘looked confused’ – *show* it with action, or body language, or a facial expression.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is that they ‘tell’. For example, ‘She made her way quickly’ tells us how the character got from A to B but we don’t see it. ‘She hastened’, She rushed’, etc., not only ‘show’ the action, it flows better because it’s more concise.

In ‘shifted uncomfortably’, the adverb isn’t necessary, as ‘shifted’ alone implies the discomfort.

Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: ‘more firmly’ and ‘drinking more deeply than usual’, whereas ‘firmer’ and ‘drinking deeper than usual’ convey the meaning with a concise verb.

Adverbs are wasted words in instances like this: ‘vomited noisily’ – is vomiting ever a quiet occupation?

Also, to describe a monk as being ‘clearly frustrated’ is telling at its worst. In fiction, if you use ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’, be assured that you’re not ‘showing’ the reader anything.

Free-indirect speech is also absent in lines like: ‘He knew there was nothing he could do to help.’ This quote also uses the passive ‘there was’, which, as writers who study English style know, should always be avoided. The active version to the above passive sentence, which also incorporates free-indirect speech, is: ‘He could do nothing to help.’

Two style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene as opposed to taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd 'had' is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it would've been easy to cut them down.

For starters, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works fine as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ works better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense. If a scene that has past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that these events have already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department. Also, he recreates the period well, making me feel like I’m in the seventh century.

So, despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.

“The Serpent Sword” features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and an engaging ‘boy-meets-girl’ storyline.

I liked it in the most part, but like with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort into getting the history elements correct that essential creative writing skills are neglected. Main problem being too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’.

Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is that they ‘tell’. For example, with ‘walked determinedly’ you have a weak verb coupled with a ‘telling’ adverb. There’s always a stronger verb than ‘walked’. In this case, ‘strode’ or ‘marched’ would’ve ‘shown’ the determined walk.

Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: “More slowly”, “more quickly”, “more brightly”, when ‘slower’, ‘quicker’, and ‘brighter’ convey the meaning in one concise verb.

Two style issues that irritated me are the overuse of ‘then’ (to state what happens next), and ‘had’ (past perfect).

To keep using ‘then’ is lazy and unimaginative. It’s fine in children’s books, but for gritty historical fiction I expect more imagination. Most can be cut, the rest replaced. It's sometimes natural for a character to say 'then', but this word should be purged from any third-person narrative.

The frequent use of ‘had’ in the past perfect tense is something all authors should avoid, as it reports on the scene rather than taking the reader into the action as it unfolds. The odd one is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it would've been easy to cut them out.

For one thing, this narrative is in the past tense, so ‘had’ should only be used if a sentence sounds odd without it. For example, ‘He had said’ works as ‘he said’ because ‘said’ is in the past tense. ‘She had sat down’ flows better as ‘She sat down’ because ‘sat’ is past tense making 'had' superfluous. If a scene that’s past is being recalled, all that’s needed is to inform the reader that it has already happened, after which the frequent use of ‘had’ is unnecessary.

On the plus side, this author uses some excellent similes. I was impressed with his creativity in this department.

So, despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a proof kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the eighth book of this successful series, but the first i have read and there are numerous references to previous experiences and incidents that have happened to the characters, but this in no way spoilt my enjoyment of this excellent book, in fact it made me want read the earlier books. Well written and researched with terrific characterisation, and a good mix of real and fictional characters, atmospheric descriptive and engaging with a real feel and sense for time and place. Gripping from first to last page with a reasonable amount of descriptive exciting action scenes.
Totally recommended.

This is the second in the author's series of novels set in early Anglo Saxon England featuring the young warrior Beobrand from Kent who is now in Northumbria and serving the new king Oswald based in Bebbanburg (Bamburgh). In reward for his efforts, Beobrand is made a thegn and is given his own land. However, Beobrand faces conflict from his Pictish neighbours and finds his loyalties challenged in various ways, including by the actions of his old rival Wybert. The plot is full of drama and tragedy for our hero, and, once again, I find this more plot driven and with more interesting characters than Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred series, with which this invites inevitable comparisons. I will keep reading this series.

A Time for Swords open with violence. Out of seemingly nowhere ships land and men attack a monastery – wreaking havoc as they rape, pillage, steal and take prisoners to sell as slaves. One young monk finds a warrior within and fights back rather than cowering in fear. Hunlaf had been sent to the church as a younger son but it had never been a burning desire to be a monk. When his “family” was in danger he found his inner warrior. From that moment on though he could not go back to the quiet life.

As Hunlaf goes forward into his new life he finds that traveling this new path is not going to be easy nor is it going to be what he thought it would be when he changed his vocation. But he does find his new band of brothers as it were and he learns his new craft slowly, surely and well.

The book is written as if it were Hunlaf’s diary of sorts. His writing down the story of his life as he remembers it. It makes for a bit of a slow beginning but it does pick up as Hunlaf leaves his monastic life behind. It’s the first of two books so one can guess that Hunlaf had one hell of a life!