A Time for Swords

A Time for Swords, Book 1

By: Matthew Harffy

Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards

Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

When the Vikings attack, a novice monk's life is changed forever in Matthew Harffy's new historical adventure.

Lindisfarne, AD 793. There had been portents - famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site. It is 8th June AD 793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne, the Viking Age has begun. While his fellow monks flee before the Norse onslaught, one young novice stands his ground. He has been taught to turn the other cheek, but faced with the slaughter of his brothers and the pagan desecration of his church, forgiveness is impossible.

©2020 Matthew Harffy (P)2021 W F Howes

Critic reviews

"Harffy's writing just gets better and better.... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown." (Jemahl Evans)

Very well done

The attention to detail and mindset was outstanding.

One of the best Stories in this genre that I’ve come across.

Great Storytelling!

It started out slow but still managed to keep my interest I guess because of the solid writing thru out. Good character development and plot lines. Now I'm waiting for the next installment.

Good Listen

Wow this was really good. I am surprised it doesn't have more reader reviews. Good story and the narrator does a good job also, win-win. If you like Bernard Cornwell, George RR, Patrick Rothfuss etc. you will probably like this. It does have some sexual violence and bloodshed so its not for kids. I imagine Northumbria in AD 794 could be a pretty bloody and violent place. I listened to book one and book 2 and enjoyed them both. Listening to Harffy's other series The Bernicia Chronicles now.

Good start to a new series.

Barnaby Edwards does an excellent job with the narration with a 5 star performance in my opinion.
All historical fiction series start with an origin story for the main character and this one starts with a young monk witnessing a viking raid and his fight or flight reaction.
Story is good, character development for main character and supporting characters is very good. The first 2 books develop plot lines and back stories for several characters that will add to the longevity of the series in my opinion. These are the things that separate a good series from a great series.
I will be following the development of this series with intrest.
I also enjoyed the historical facts at the end of the books and the explanations of the fictional plot lines.
A solid 4 star start to a potentially excellent series.

So Excited About This Series!

If you’re searching for a series like Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Chronicles/Last Kingdom series (this series takes place during the same period), or you share my taste for historical fiction authors like Conn Iggulden, Sharon Kay Penman, Christian Cameron, Griff Hosker, Philippa Gregory, Elizabeth Chadwick, Maurice Druon, David Gilman, etc., GET INTO THIS SERIES!

A Great New Series from Harffy!

I have enjoyed the Beobrand series, and this is a new series set a little further along in history. The novel is set in what is now Northern England, and it starts with the first Norse (Viking) attacks on the unguarded monasteries. A monk who becomes a warrior by necessity has to gather together a motley crew of warriors to defend his home Abbey. It is action packed, and it is another great work by Harffy. I can’t wait to read the next book of this series.

if you like Saxon Chronicles, you'll love this.

kind of piggy backs off Bernard Cornwell, but I love Cornwell so I'm completely okay with that. great story and can't wait for the next book.

Overall a Good Story. I was SUPER IRRITATED as each person could

not absorb new information. I understand that they were young men with little experience in fighting. But OMG it drove me crazy that these discussions were still happening weeks after they began their training.
I hope if future novels follow out of this novel, the author will have corrected the amount of time spent arguing over ridiculous problems. I had to play the speed at 1.8 during certain frustrating sections. I enjoy this type of fiction so i give it a ‘good’ & and will try next novel if it appears.

Alternate history

There’s believable historical fiction and then there is this. 5 warriors with 2 boys that aren’t battle tested beat veteran northern raiders that overwhelmingly outnumbered them. I think some of these authors should have had to at least gotten into a fistfight before writing anything about a battle. It would help them be a little realistic.
This author says multiple times that the raiders raped men. I searched and couldn’t find any evidence of that happening. During the raid they threw women into a barn to burn and would rather rape a monk? GTFO. There also seems to be a lot of tears shed. Those times were incredibly difficult to live. Men were far tougher than today and no doubt dealt with things at earlier ages we do now. I sincerely doubt they would cry over an old man willing to die that was on the brink of death anyway.
The narrator was good though. I only comment on books that have better competition out there.