Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Warrior of Woden
    Unavailable
    Warrior of Woden
    Unavailable
    Warrior of Woden
    Ebook483 pages7 hours

    Warrior of Woden

    By Matthew Harffy

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    AD 642. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical thriller and the fifth instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.

    Oswald has reigned over Northumbria for eight years and Beobrand has led the king to ever greater victories. Rewarded for his fealty and prowess in battle, Beobrand is now a wealthy warlord, with a sizable warband. Tales of Beobrand's fearsome black-shielded warriors and the great treasure he has amassed are told throughout the halls of the land.

    Many are the kings who bow to Oswald. And yet there are those who look upon his realm with a covetous eye. And there is one ruler who will never kneel before him.

    When Penda of Mercia, the great killer of kings, invades Northumbria, Beobrand is once more called upon to stand in an epic battle where the blood of many will be shed in defence of the kingdom.

    But in this climactic clash between the pagan Penda and the Christian Oswald there is much more at stake than sovereignty. This is a battle for the very souls of the people of Albion.

    What readers are saying about the series:

    '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' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY.

    'Murder, betrayal and vengeance fuel tribal warfare and personal combat. Beobrand is the warrior to follow' DAVID GILMAN.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHead of Zeus
    Release dateApr 1, 2018
    ISBN9781786696373
    Unavailable
    Warrior of Woden
    Author

    Matthew Harffy

    Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland where the rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline had a huge impact on him. He now lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters. Matthew is the author of the critically acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles and A Time for Swords series, and he also presents the popular podcast, Rock, Paper, Swords!, with fellow author Steven A. McKay. Follow Matthew at @MatthewHarffy and www.matthewharffy.com.

    Read more from Matthew Harffy

    Related to Warrior of Woden

    Related ebooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Nemesis Of The Normans

      Oct 28, 2021

      Nemesis Of The Normans
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Last Of The English

      Aug 19, 2021

      The Last Of The English
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Fool Who Fished For A King

      May 1, 2020

      The Fool Who Fished For A King
      9 min read

    • Article

      Maldon

      Feb 18, 2021

      Maldon
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Battle Of Maldon

      Jun 20, 2019

      The Battle Of Maldon
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Loyal rebel

      Feb 8, 2020

      The Loyal rebel
      17 min read

    • Article

      The Sea King

      Jul 6, 2022

      The Sea King
      3 min read

    • Article

      William Wallace

      Mar 27, 2020

      William Wallace
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Real Berserkers

      Sep 3, 2020

      The Real Berserkers
      6 min read

    • Article

      Merlin And The Red Dragon

      Aug 4, 2021

      Merlin And The Red Dragon
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Vikings Of Birka

      Oct 29, 2021

      I do not know her name, so I have given her one: I call her Hervor. Other famous skeletons have names. Think of Lucy the Australopithecus, named for a Beatles song, and Ötzi the Iceman, named for the valley he was found in. I could have named her Lag

      9 min read

    • Article

      King Alfred And The Cakes

      Apr 1, 2022

      King Alfred And The Cakes
      2 min read

    • Article

      Charles Ii’s Great Escape

      May 23, 2019

      Charles Ii’s Great Escape
      11 min read

    • Article

      England’s Holy Hardman

      Aug 6, 2020

      England’s Holy Hardman
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Sands of TREGANLLAW

      May 5, 2022

      England, 1497. Henry VII, the first Tudor king, reigns, having vanquished Richard III, the last monarch of the House of York, at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. A young man calling himself Richard, Duke of York has spent years striving for recogniti

      5 min read

    • Article

      Famous Battle Barnet 1471

      Nov 29, 2018

      Famous Battle Barnet 1471
      2 min read

    • Article

      Good King Wenceslas

      Dec 5, 2023

      Good King Wenceslas
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Devil Is In The Detail

      Nov 22, 2023

      The Devil Is In The Detail
      6 min read

    • Article

      What Lies Beneath

      Feb 18, 2020

      What Lies Beneath
      4 min read

    • Article

      Beowulf Is Back!

      Mar 12, 2017

      Beowulf Is Back!
      5 min read

    • Article

      BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU FISH FOR (You Might Get It)

      Jan 1, 2020

      Cautiously, Prince Bernard lifted his saddle from the wall. Just a buckle’s jingle or the straw crackling beneath his boots might give him away. “Good afternoon, Your Highness. Are you taking Bright Star for a ride?” Would he never escape? Suppressin

      4 min read

    • Article

      Michael Kohlhaas

      Mar 28, 2019

      Michael Kohlhaas
      24 min read

    • Article

      Welsh Romance

      Feb 1, 2019

      Welsh Romance
      4 min read

    • Article

      Travels With Tom

      Dec 16, 2022

      Travels With Tom
      2 min read

    • Article

      Æthelred the Unready

      Dec 15, 2021

      Æthelred the Unready
      3 min read

    • Article

      Guthrum Viking King

      Feb 20, 2020

      Guthrum Viking King
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Battle of Valcour

      Jun 24, 2021

      The Battle of Valcour
      9 min read

    Reviews for Warrior of Woden

    4.5/5

    9 ratings1 review

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      ‘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.