The Serpent Sword

Name: The Serpent Sword
Rating: 4.24 (9578 reviews)

by Matthew Harffy Book 1 in the The Bernicia Chronicles series.

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In 633, the young outsider Beobrand joins the household of King Edwin as war divides the Northumbrian kingdoms. Forced to learn the disciplines of the shield wall, he discovers that his brother's death may have been murder. His search for the killer draws him through changing loyalties, battlefield violence and the struggle for power after Edwin's fall, turning a desire for revenge into the beginning of a warrior's career.

Beobrand’s private search unfolds during one of the most unstable periods in early Northumbrian history. Edwin’s death destroys an apparent political settlement and forces warriors to choose new lords as rival kingdoms and pagan rulers compete for power. Revenge becomes inseparable from survival, because finding the truth about one murder requires Beobrand to remain alive through the collapse of the world that gave him protection.