Tag: action

#BlogTour #BookReview A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy @AriesFiction

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A Night of Flames - Blog Tour BannerWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Night of Flames by Matthew Harffy. My thanks to Andrew at Head of Zeus for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy. Before I share my thoughts, let’s see what some of the other book bloggers taking part in the tour have been saying about A Night of Flames:

“Harffy’s narrative is such that the reader finds themselves not only drawn into Hunlaf’s world but posited into the warband itself.” Melisende

“It’s unreal how haunting amazing this book is.. how is it even possible to write something so disturbingly beautiful! There’s so many emotions that pass through you as you read this one and it’s something that will really stay with you.” David at David’s Book Blurg

“I cannot remember the last time I was so terrified reading a work of historical fiction – the way Harffy builds suspense, ramping up to a tense and heart-in-the-mouth climax is impressive in the extreme.” Sue at Brown Flopsy’s Book Burrow

“It is edge-of-the-seat drama that will keep the reader engrossed late into the night. The battles are vicious, the losses devastating and the outcome uncertain – this is Matthew Harffy at his best.” Sharon at History…The Interesting Bits

A Night of FlamesAbout the Book

A wild land. A lethal fanatic. A violent revolt.

Northumbria, AD 794. Those who rule the seas, rule the land. None know the truth of this more than the Vikings. To compete with the sea-faring, violent raiders, the king of Northumbria orders the construction of his own longships under the command of oath-sworn Norseman, Runolf.

When the Northern sea wolves attack for the second year, the king sends cleric turned warrior, Hunlaf, on a mission across the Whale Road to persuade the king of Rogaland into an alliance. But Runolf and Hunlaf have other plans; old scores to settle, kin to seek out, and a heretical tome to find in the wild lands of the Norse.

Their voyage takes them into the centre of a violent uprising. A slave has broken free of his captors, and, with religious fervour, he is leading his fanatical followers on a rampage – burning all in his path.

Hunlaf must brave the Norse wilderness, and overcome deadly foes to stop this madman. To fail would see too many die…

Format: Hardcover (544 pages)     Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 3rd March 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find A Night of Flames on Goodreads

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Bookshop.org
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Hive | Amazon UK
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My Review

A Night of Flames is the sequel to A Time For Swords which saw monk Hunlaf forced to take up arms to defend the minster of Werceworthe (modern day Warkworth in Northumberland) from a Viking raid. The book is structured as Hunlaf’s memoir in which he looks back in old age at events in his life. Alongside recounting his many adventures, he reflects on the decisions he has taken and his actions, not all of which had the consequences he wished for.  As he reflects, ‘Many times in my life, my pride has led me into trouble’. And he remains conflicted about having giving up his priestly vows for the life of a warrior, even if the latter seems to be one he was born for. He also confesses to having succumbed to temptation in the past, admitting ‘I have ever been a fool for a pretty face and swaying hips’. Hunlaf – what would Leofstan say!

With support from King Aethelred, Hunlaf and Runolf who, as well as being a fearsome warrior is also a master-shipbuilder, undertake the construction of a huge ship that will withstand a voyage across the Whale Road. The price of Aethelred’s support for the task is that they negotiate a peace treaty and trade agreement with the King of Rogaland whose nickname (which I won’t divulge here) gives a clear idea of the sort of man they’re dealing with. With the ship completed, they gather together a crew made up of fisherman and warriors, some of whom take time to find their sea legs. Their journey is perilous with the ship and its largely untried crew being severely tested by vicious squalls.

However, the hazards they face at sea are nothing compared to what they encounter when they reach Rogaland. The fear of Leofstan, Hunlaf’s mentor, that the content of the book known as The Treasure of Life may be put to dangerous purposes is proved correct.  Its heretical teachings have become embedded in the warped mind of a religious fanatic, a man calling himself Ljósberari, the Lightbringer. In fact what he brings is just the opposite – a reign of terror and unspeakable cruelty. Much of the book is taken up with the quest by Hunlaf and his companions to reach Ljósberari’s encampment.  (The author’s note provides details of the literary and cinematic inspiration for their journey.) The wonderful maps at the beginning of the book make it easy to follow their progress even if you can’t pronounce the names of the places they pass along the way.

As always, comradeship is a strong theme with some of Hunlaf’s companions from the first book returning as well as new characters arriving. Whatever their background and whether lined up in a shieldwall or pulling on the oars in stormy seas, they are a band of brothers each of whom are prepared to risk their own life to save a comrade. Sadly, it’s not always successful. We know Hunlaf will not die – although of course at the time he doesn’t – but his comrades, well that’s a different story.  Much of the tension in the book comes from knowing that not all of those who start out on the journey may make it back. Although as Runolf is fond of saying, ‘Anything is possible’.

At the beginning of the book Hunlaf recalls advice he was once given, ‘Never turn your back on adventure, for your tomorrow will come too soon’.   A Night of Flames has adventure aplenty including  the sort of thrilling action scenes readers have come to expect from the author, depicted in all their bone-crunching, bloody and visceral detail. You really are immersed in the heat of battle or one-on-one combat so you feel every thud of axe or sword upon shield.

The book gives some tantalising glimpses of exploits Hunlaf has yet to tell us about – such as drinking a potent concoction of fermented mare’s milk in the smoke-filled tent of a Kumyk leader – leaving me, and I’m sure many others, desperate for the next volume of the Annals of the life of Hunlaf of Ubbanford.

In his author’s note, Matthew Harffy writes that A Night of Flames ‘is historical fiction with a capital F’. If you ask me, that ‘F’ stands for fabulous.

In three words: Thrilling, action-packed, immersive

Try something similar: Blood Eye by Giles Kristian

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Harffy_MatthewAbout the Author

Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him. Matthew is the author of Wolf of Wessex and the Bernicia Chronicles series. He now lives in Wiltshire with his wife and their two daughters.

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#BookReview The Silver Wolf by J. C. Harvey @AllenAndUnwinUK @ReadersFirst1

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The Silver WolfAbout the Book

The extraordinarily rich, dark, panoramic tale of an orphaned boy’s quest for truth and then for vengeance as war rages across 17th-century Europe.

Amidst the chaos of the Thirty Years’ War, Jack Fiskardo embarks upon a quest that will carry him inexorably from France to Amsterdam and then onto the battlefields of Germany. As he grows to manhood will he be able to unravel the mystery of his father’s death? Or will his father’s killers find him first?

Format: Hardback (560 pages)          Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 3rd February 2022 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find The Silver Wolf on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

The Silver Wolf is the first book in a planned trilogy featuring the feisty and resourceful Jack Fiskardo. He’s on a mission of vengeance and, as soon becomes apparent, it’s best not to get in his way. For those like me who’ve heard of the Thirty Years War but must have been asleep the day it was covered in their history class, the author provides a useful introduction to the political situation at the time. And, joy of joys, there’s a map as well showing Europe looking very different from the way it does today.

At first I wasn’t sure about the non-chronological structure of the book, which is divided into three parts, but it soon made sense. It’s May 1619 when the reader is first introduced to Jack. He’s a waif and stray, alone in the world but evidently capable of looking after himself if needed.  In part two, the reader is taken back in time, finding out more about Jack’s childhood and the events that shaped him. These include the origin of his proficiency with a sword or knife, and his natural horsemanship. We also learn about the events that will fuel his relentless quest for revenge, a quest that will take him across the war-torn continent of Europe.

There’s a picaresque quality to the novel with Jack encountering many colourful characters during his adventures. Some of my favourites were tavern owner Magda and her partner Paola, or to address her by her full name, Paola di Benedetta di Silvia. ‘Woman soldier. Hippolyte. Battle-bitch. Freak.’ An elite swordswoman herself, Paola plays an important role in honing Jack’s swordsmanship, building on the natural talent that is already evident. She provides him with some life lessons as well.

The Silver Wolf positively oozes period atmosphere such as this description of the cosmopolitan clientele of The Carpenter’s Hat inn. ‘As they make their way across the room the two men pass a game of dice, another of backgammon, a dinner-party of Venetian merchants crooning madrigals a cappella, a pedlar attempting to sell the dinner-party a tiny trembling monkey in a tasselled bolero’ as well as the innkeeper’s daughter with her ‘face bright with fiery rouge’ and ‘breasts bared almost to the nipple’.

The third and final part of the book, set between the years 1623 and 1630, picks up the story from the end of part one. Having attached himself to a company in the army of General Tilly, commander of the Catholic League’s forces, Jack has his first experience of battle, and a bloody business it is too. The author conjures up the sights and sounds of the battlefield through the eyes of army sutler (victualler), Cyrius.

‘Nothing of it is as he had expected…. These roiling clouds of grey and white. These whirling clots and straggling lines of men. The appalling lightning-like flashes in the smoke. The riderless horses, seeming in their terror not even to know to put the battlefield behind them. The cannon, there on the bald rise, hurling their shot overhead; the crowd at the battlefield’s edge, God above, as if this was a prize-fight at a fair; and all about him, everywhere, this terrible noise, which is both one sound and has somehow distinguishable within it every scream and detonation of which it is made up… This is hell, Cyrius thinks. This is what it sounds like down in hell.’

In the years that follow, Jack’s prowess on the battlefield, in hand-to-hand combat and his seeming invincibility earn him a fearsome reputation as a so-called ‘hard out man’, marked by the silver pendant he wears around his neck. The desire to avenge his father spurs him on, determined that nothing or no-one will stop him, even if it takes years. He has a job to do and, have no doubt, he’s going to do it.

The Silver Wolf is a rip-roaring adventure story with a fabulous central character who, with his facility for getting himself out of tight spots, is a sort of 17th century James Bond. The book is jam-packed with historical detail, has some lively touches of humour and a compelling plot. At over 500 pages, it’s a chunky read but well worth the time investment as far as I’m concerned. I shall be eagerly awaiting the next instalment, an extract from which is included at the end of the book and which has the brilliant first line ‘Now – where were we?’

I received an advance reader copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin via Readers First.

In three words: Action-packed, lively, dramatic

Try something similar: Master of War by David Gilman

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Jacky Colliss HarveyAbout the Author

J. C. Harvey is the fiction pen-name for best-selling non-fiction author Jacky Colliss Harvey. After studying English at Cambridge, and History of Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Jacky worked in museum publishing for twenty years, first at the National Portrait Gallery and then at the Royal Collection Trust, where she set up the Trust’s first commercial publishing programme.

The extraordinary history of the Thirty Years War (1618-48) and of 17th-century Europe has been an obsession of hers for as long as she can remember, and was the inspiration behind the Fiskardo’s War series, which begins now with The Silver Wolf, marking her fiction debut.

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