Book Review – The Serpent Sword by Matthew Harffy

About the Book

633AD. Anglo-Saxon Britain. Beobrand is compelled by his brother’s almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits.

With no patronage and no experience Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in 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 and the bodies pile up, can Beobrand mete out the vengeance he craves without sacrificing his honour … or even his soul?

Format: ebook (346 pages) Publisher: Aria
Publication date: 1st April 2015 Genre: Historical Fiction

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My Review

The Serpent Sword is the first book in Matthew Harffy’s ‘The Bernicia Chronicles’ series set in 7th century Anglo-Saxon Britain, the period often referred to as the Dark Ages. I came across the series at book six, Storm of Steel and have read all the subsequent books: Fortress of Fury, For Lord and Land and Forest of Foes. (Links from the titles will take you to my review of each book.) Browsing my NetGalley shelf I realised that I had this, the first book in the series, still unread so I set about putting that right.

The young Beobrand we encounter at the beginning of the book is a rather tortured soul. He has suffered the loss of most of his family and then discovers he has in fact lost all of his family following the murder of his brother, Octa. His thirst for revenge only fuels his desire to become a warrior. Although he dreams of glory in battle, he’s unprepared for the reality of warfare and the anguish it will bring.

Beobrand makes mistakes, falling in with a band of warriors whose ruthless actions bring about a crisis of conscience. Where is the honour in such deeds? He also witnesses first-hand – and we the reader along with him – the full horror of warfare and the visceral nature of being part of a shieldwall. ‘All along the line men were grunting and shouting abuse. Screams of the injured and dying mingled with the mad laughter of warriors wallowing in the glory of battle. All was accented by the clash and and crash of metal on metal.’

Although possessing the natural instincts of a warrior – and just as importantly, luck – Beobrand has to learn his craft. It’s work that will stand him in good stead as he takes on a formidable opponent. And by the end of the book, there is more at stake than just his honour or even revenge. What does ‘wyrd’ [fate or destiny] have in store for Beobrand? As he is reminded, ‘[…] the way of the sword is not rife with happiness. The sword is like a serpent. You can try to tame it, but it is venomous and will often bite the hand that holds it’. Those who have read subsquent books in the series will know how true this is.

Although Beobrand is a fictional character, real historical figures feature in the book too. However, as the author points out in the Historical Notes, no contemporanous accounts exist although that does provide opportunities for the novelist. As Matthew Harffy observes, ‘The fact that it is a time seen as “through a glass, darkly”, makes it a perfect time to write about’.

My digital copy of The Serpent Sword includes a preview of the next book in the series, The Cross and the Curse, which intriguingly opens in 619AD, fourteen years before The Serpent Sword. Luckily I recently came across a copy of The Cross and the Curse in the Oxfam bookshop in Henley-on-Thames. I just need to make sure I don’t leave it as long to read it as I have this one.

Matthew Harffy is also the author of the A Time for Swords series set in 8th century Britain, comprising A Time for Swords, A Night of Flames and A Day of Reckoning, and the standalone Wolf of Wessex. As you may have gathered, I’m a big admirer of Matthew’s books and if you’re a fan of action-packed historical fiction I can wholeheartedly recommend The Bernicia Chronicles series. Unlike me, perhaps start the series from the beginning though?

I received a digital review copy of The Serpent Sword courtesy of Head of Zeus via NetGalley.

In three words: Action-packed, compelling, authentic
Try something similar: The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

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About the Author

Before becoming a full-time author, Matthew worked in the IT industry, where he spent most of his days 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 (Photo: Goodreads author page)