Buying Options
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

![The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles) by [Matthew Harffy]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Jt+2x76eL._SY346_.jpg)
The Serpent Sword (The Bernicia Chronicles) Kindle Edition
Price | New from | Used from |
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial |
MP3 CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio, Unabridged
"Please retry" | $11.35 | — |
- Kindle
$0.00 Read with Kindle Unlimited to also enjoy access to over 3 million more titles $4.99 to buy -
Audiobook
$0.00 Free with your Audible trial - Hardcover
$27.54 - Paperback
$15.60 - MP3 CD
$13.49
AD 633
Beobrand is a young man with a shadowy past. As an outsider in the kingdom of Bernicia, he is compelled to join his brother, Octa, as a warrior in the household of King Edwin. He must learn to fight with sword and shield to defend the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria.
In a period of great upheaval for Dark Age Britain, all he finds is death and war. Men and women strive to seize control of their destinies in a time of despair, and the land is rife with danger as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. Amongst the blood and the betrayals, Beobrand learns of his brother's near-certain murder. Inexperienced but ruthless, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight as a warrior with sword and shield.
Driven by a desire for vengeance and a relentless 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, can Beobrand mete out the retribution he craves without sacrificing his honour... or even his soul?
Praise for Matthew Harffy:
'Nothing less than superb... The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every page' Historical Novel Society
'Beobrand is the warrior to follow' David Gilman
'A tale that rings like sword song in the reader's mind' Giles Kristian
'A brilliant characterization of a difficult hero in a dangerous time. Excellent!' Christian Cameron
'A terrific novel. It illuminates the Dark Ages like a bolt of lightning' Toby Clements
'Battles, treachery, revenge and a healthy dose of Dark Age adventure' Simon Turney
'Matthew Harffy tells a great story' Joanna Hickson
'Harffy's writing just gets better and better... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown' Jemahl Evans
'Harffy has a real winner on his hands... A genuinely superb novel' Steven McKay
'A breathtaking novel that sweeps the reader into a dark and dangerous world' Paul Fraser Collard
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHead of Zeus -- an Aries Book
- Publication dateJune 1, 2016
- File size9273 KB
-
Next 3 for you in this series
$18.97 -
Next 5 for you in this series
$32.95 -
All 9 for you in this series
$60.91
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
- “Like the different stories that make up a man’s life. The more twists in each story, and the more stories that are beaten together by life’s adversities, the stronger the man,”Highlighted by 118 Kindle readers
- “That you cannot know the mind of those around you. You must judge them on their actions, not on what they say.”Highlighted by 71 Kindle readers
- He had decided long ago that dwelling on the past was for fools. You could not go back and change your actions, so why go over and over your mistakes in your memory?Highlighted by 58 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
Review
“With strong, believable characters and plot, this is a remarkable debut novel.” —Historical Novels Review
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria's Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical fiction novels that became THE BERNICIA CHRONICLES.
Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. He has co-authored seven published academic articles, ranging in topic from the ecological impact of mining to the construction of a marble pipe organ.
Matthew lives in Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.
Matthew was the singer in Rock Dog.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.Product details
- ASIN : B01DBZ51FO
- Publisher : Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book; 1st edition (June 1, 2016)
- Publication date : June 1, 2016
- Language : English
- File size : 9273 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 347 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #105,857 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #10 in 449-1066 History of UK
- #13 in Medieval Military History
- #93 in General Great Britain Travel Guides
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about Northumbria's Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical fiction novels. The first of them is the action-packed tale of vengeance and coming of age, THE SERPENT SWORD.
Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day 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.
For all the latest news and exclusive competitions, join Matthew online:
www.matthewharffy.com
twitter.com/@MatthewHarffy
www.facebook.com/MatthewHarffyAuthor
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Usually I am really not a fan of third person omniscient storytelling. I can’t say I have a preference for first or third person but I prefer it to be limited to one character’s point of view at a time, knowing only their thoughts and feelings rather than multiple people’s within the same paragraph or chapter. Harffy did such a great job at using omniscient narration though that I hardly even noticed it at first and even after realizing it, it still barely stood out to me. So I am very impressed by that. It shows how smoothly he can write in my opinion.
I struggled to connect to the characters and really root for the MC. I like that the author was able to introduce the main character to a wide range of emotions in this one book and that we really saw his character grow and evolve up close but wouldn’t have minded to see a little bit more detail in the supporting cast in that regard also, especially because of the narrative choice. I did enjoy though that his writing can be a bit deceptive about some of the characters sometimes, which added an extra layer of fun to it. Sadly the few characters that I did get really attached to didn’t get as much page time as I would’ve liked until the end (for one of them).
There definitely was a strong historical feeling to the story and it felt well researched. I don’t have a lot of experience with historical fiction so I don’t know how it compares to other books in the genre, but I found it quite atmospheric. I like the contrast between Coenred and Beobrand, and between the old gods and new. I’ve also rarely ever felt the level of dread that the author was able to conjure up with his story so I do commend him for that.
While I sadly didn’t connect quite as much with this story as the rest of the buddy reading group and never fully felt invested in the MC’s journey, I do think this is a solid debut novel and am looking forward to continuing on with the series since I was told they only get better from here.
Rather than risk spoiling the story, I will list the pros and cons of this story below:
Pros
*Atmospheric and immersive writing
*Mostly fleshed out characters
*Riveting plot of revenge (if a little derivative)
*Good pacing
*Bloody action scenes (described in vivid detail)
*Attention to historical accuracy and detail
Cons
*Main character felt a little overpowered in his fighting ability
*Villain should have been more rounded out and less derivative, given a better motivation for their actions. It has been said that the greatest and most fascinating villains are those that you can understand and empathize with on some level.
Top reviews from other countries

Book seven in this series is centred on Bebbenburgh castle or, Bamburgh castle as it is today, just down the road from where I live so, as that tweaked my interest, I thought that I'd better start at the beginning of this series, with 'The Serpent Sword'.
Here's the problem; the story itself is pretty good, well constructed with rounded out characters and it moves along nicely, but the writing style leaves much to be desired and has the naivety of a young and inexperienced author. The poor writing style jars the whole story and I found myself, after the first couple of chapters, deciding that I'd flog through to the end but not buy any more from Mr Harffy. At that point, this wasn't a book that drew me back to it, keen to read the next thrilling installment; I was getting through it because I very, very, rarely fail to complete a book once I've started it.
Gradually, things changed. The story drew me in and it seemed to me that the writing style improved a little; it now felt as though it had been written by a sixteen year old rather than a twelve year old. When i reached the end, I was hooked on the story and I want to know what happens next so, on that basis, I'm prepared to give Mr H another chance and I'll buy the next in this series. If his writing improved over the course of one novel, then perhaps his next outing will show some further improvement.
So, on the basis that I do intend to read the next in this series, I wanted to give a three and a half star rating and, as you can see, I opted for three rather than four. Harsh but, hey, that's me!

This is an epic tale of men and women swept up by terrible events. The hand of fate lies heavy on them but they strive their utmost to seize and shape their destinies. In doing so they court disaster and despair. The novel is powered by an intricate interplay between character and plot, each driving the story forward with unstoppable momentum.
Matthew Harrfy creates a world of unforgettable characters. Beobrand is a young man forced to face terrible choices. Sometimes he chooses wisely, other times less well. His journey is one of pain and peril and kept me reading non-stop. His enemy, Hengist, is a masterly creation, complex, beguiling and utterly ruthless. Other characters, men and women, are drawn so well I almost felt I’d met them. I walked with them in the wilds of 7th century England.
The story moves at a fast pace, with one heart-stopping event followed hard on the heels by another. There’s no time to rest for the characters in the novel and no time for the reader to do so either. I read the book in one sitting. I went to bed thinking about it and woke up the same.
Matthew Harrfy is a master story-teller; the Serpent Sword a wonderful book. I can’t wait to read the sequels.

Our main character is Beobrand, who is easy to love and root for, and his coming of age story is a fast tracked one which helps us get to the action faster.
Matthew Harffy brings edge of your seat action and an eye for historical detail, expertly capturing the atmosphere and setting. I liked the fact at the end of the book, Harffy explains his thought processes behind many of the historical references, where creative liberties were taken etc. and it really puts into perspective how much work went into making the book as true to the time period as possible whilst maintaining the excitement and action that makes Beobrand’s tale particularly engaging.
There isn’t a reliance on adrenaline alone to propel the story though and I really liked Beobrand’s honest internal strife and the inner turmoil he goes through, weighing up the man he wants to be and questioning his own ethics.
This links into what is probably the heart of the book, which is revenge. It’s tricky to make a reader care enough to share the character’s passion for vengeance and this is another aspect that makes this such a page turner in that you do share these feelings and each encounter has you willing Beobrand on. There are some despicable characters, and there are those that commit despicable acts that are otherwise portrayed as good people. It serves as a good reminder that when taken out of ‘normal’ stress free circumstances, there is a primal, animalistic nature within some humans – yet this should not serve as an excuse for heinous actions.
There is one scene in which Beobrand has to weigh up whether to seek justice against one such character, and it is satisfying to see justice served and actions having consequences rather than our protagonist taking the easy route. Beobrand is definitely in the Goldilocks zone in terms of not being too cold or barbaric to relate to, whilst also being real enough not to develop into a shining hero of chivalry – he can be brutal and there is a level of fear he invokes in other men at times, but there are moments we see his softer side. This is a theme that runs through the book and is done very well; characters are human, with flaws, layers to their personalities, loyalties and betrayals, grabs for power and acts of both kindness and evil when you might not expect them.
The Serpent Sword is a real page turner, full of entertainment, brutality, emotive moments and well researched history. If you like historical fiction and a good dose of action, I’m confident you’ll love this.

I feel a review is required in case anyone checks before reading. From the beginning I loved this book and the following ones. If you want adventure great fighting and wonderful descriptions through out these are the books for you.
I can't wait for number 7. Mathew Harffy has a great skill of story telling and within each book is a poetic descriptive phase which I read over and over it was that captivating. I won't reveal one as each person is different. But this writer has class.
I have read lots of these historical tales and can say, for me , these books are amongst the best.

Storytelling is of a top-notch quality, all characters, whether they are real great historical or fantastic fictional, are believable and lifelike and they come vividly to life within this wonderful historical adventure, and the atmosphere of Albion in the Dark Ages comes splendidly off the pages.
Right at the inside of the book you'll find two well-drawn maps of Albion in AD 633, and of Northumbria, divided in Bernicia, Deira and Elmet, with their neighbours in the west, Hibernia, and north, Dal Riata.
At the beginning of the book you'll find a short passage by the Venerable Bede in Latin and English, as well as Place Names with places that will play an important part in this tremendous tale.
At the back of the book you'll notice a superbly documented Historical Note, where the historical details concerning this terrific story are wonderfully explained by the author.
The book is set during the years AD 633-634, in Bernicia, where our protagonist Beobrand has arrived by ship from Cantware in an effort to find and unite himself with his brother Octa, only to hear that his brother is already dead, and later to find out that his brother has been murdered by Beobrand's deadly foe, Hengist.
What follows overall is a tremendous historical tale about the Kings of Bernicia and their fates and deaths, one due to war, King Edwin, and one due to treachery, King Eanfrith, and in this environment of hostility and war Beobrand must find a way to become a worthy warrior of Bernicia, but it also an environment where his love and devotion for his woman Sunniva will grow, where camaraderie between him and the warriors of Bernicia, especially Acennan and the bard Leofwine will also mean everything to him, and finally where desperate battles will have to be fought against the forces of King Cadwallon of Gwynedd and against his foe Hengist, before he and his fellow warriors are safely within the walls of the mighty fortress of Bebbanburg, to fight another day for the new king of Bernicia, Oswald.
Highly recommended, especially for lovers of the Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred series, simply because this Beobrand of Bernicia is just as formidable in his cunning, deeds and loyalty to his Kings and Lords, and that's why I like to call this first episode: "A Stunning Beobrand Of Bernicia Opener"!