"Bloomsbury presents Bane of Bernicia by Matthew Harffy, read by Barnaby Edwards.
Anglo-Saxon warlord Beobrand must navigate the caprices of kings as he fights for his honour and his life. The unmissable new Bernicia Chronicles novel from Matthew Harffy.
Returning from a dangerous mission to Rome, warlord Beobrand looks forward to peace at home, but bloodshed remains his constant companion.
While bringing criminals to justice Beobrand believes he has discovered a secret alliance between two of Bernicia's enemies: the Picts and the Mercians.
He hastens to warn his king, but finds Oswiu distracted, preparing to marry his eldest son to the daughter of former adversary Penda of Mercia, who remains as slippery as ever.
Dismayed, Beobrand finds himself blamed for breaking the truce with the Mercians, and must fight once more for his life. Worse, Penda insists on taking Oswiu's young son as a hostage.
Beobrand is surprised when Queen Eanflæd concocts a plot to rescue her son and orders him to take part. It will take all their guile to achieve their goal... and keep their heads, when half the kingdoms of Albion want Bernicia destroyed.
A gripping Anglo-Saxon adventure perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and David Gemmell.
'Beobrand is the warrior to follow' David Gilman C 2026 Matthew Harffy P 2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"PREORDER MATTHEW HARFFY'S THRILLING NEW NOVEL BANE OF BERNICIA NOW!
Hunlaf risks the wrath of the mighty Byzantine Empire on a dangerous voyage to the Holy Land. A rip-roaring Viking-era adventure from the author of the Bernicia Chronicles.
'Extremely satisfying and rewarding, Dominion of Dust rampages across the page with slicing action' LoveReading
AD 797, Cyprus. Warrior-monk Hunlaf and his crew are on a voyage to acquire an important Christian relic before it falls into the hands of Byzantium's scheming Empress Eirene.
Hunlaf’s crew receive unexpected help as they seek their treasure, but soon find themselves betrayed. About to leave for home empty-handed, the adventurers instead sail further east: to Jerusalem, the Holy Land, abundant in relics.
And dangerous intrigues.
Hunlaf and his friends will face a deadly race against time as they attempt to secure a holy treasure, outwit Byzantium's zealous agents, and avoid grisly deaths at the hands of the local rulers.
From bestselling author MATTHEW HARFFY, A Time for Swords is an epic historical action-adventure series set during the dramatic Viking Age. The thrilling tale of Hunlaf, a monk who becomes a warrior following a devastating Viking attack, the series chronicles his daring quests through Early Medieval Europe. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell and Giles Kristian.
READ ALL OF MATTHEW HARFFY'S TERRIFIC A TIME FOR SWORDS SERIES:
#1 A Time for Swords
#2 A Night of Flames
#3 A Day of Reckoning
#4 Dominion of Dust C 2025 Matthew Harffy P 2025 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Bloomsbury presents Shadows of the Slain by Matthew Harffy, read by Barnaby Edwards
The thrilling new instalment in the action-packed Bernicia Chronicles from Matthew Harffy. Warlord Beobrand travels to holy Rome... but sinister plots and bloody conflict line his path once more.
AD 652. After surviving dark intrigues at the Merovingian court of Frankia, Beobrand is finally able to undertake the mission his queen set him: to escort a party of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome.
But Beobrand's life is never easy. His party includes a scheming novice churchman whose ambition is boundless, and a mysterious envoy from Frankia.
Entering the lands of the Langobards, Beobrand discovers unexpected similarities to his native Northumbria in their speech and customs... and their willingness to spill blood.
The roads heading south are filled with danger. Meeting other pilgrims who have been attacked and robbed, Beobrand soon finds himself reluctantly responsible for their safety. Confronting brigands and robbers at every turn, they press on towards their goal.
But when Beobrand reaches the snakepit of ruins and relics that is Rome, his difficulties truly begin... and his homeland has never been further away.
'Harffy is the gold standard of historical action adventure.' Theodore Brun
'The rightful heir to Gemmell's crown.' Jemahl Evans C 2024 Matthew Harffy P 2024 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Bloomsbury presents Dark Frontier by Matthew Harffy, read by Barnaby Edwards.
A thrilling historical western set in 1890s Oregon, from the author of the critically acclaimed Bernicia Chronicles. An English soldier turned policeman escapes to the American West for a new future, but life on the frontier proves far harder than he ever imagined...
A man can flee from everything but his own nature.
1890. Lieutenant Gabriel Stokes of the British Army left behind the horrors of war in Afghanistan for a role in the Metropolitan Police. Though he rose quickly through the ranks, the squalid violence of London’s East End proved just as dark and oppressive as the battlefield.
With his life falling apart, and longing for peace and meaning, Gabriel leaves the grime of London behind and heads for the wilderness and wide open spaces of the American West.
He soon realises that the wilds of Oregon are far from the idyll he has yearned for. The Blue Mountains may be beautiful, but with the frontier a complex patchwork of feuds and felonies, and ranchers as vicious as any back alley cut-throat in London, Gabriel finds himself unable to escape his past and the demons that drive him. Can he find a place for himself on the far edge of the New World? C 2024 Matthew Harffy P 2024 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Hunlaf battles peril and intrigue on a dangerous voyage to Muslim Spain.
AD 796. Sailing in search of an object of great power, Hunlaf and his comrades are far from home when they are caught up in a violent skirmish against pirates.
After the bloody onslaught, an encounter with ships from Islamic Spain soon sees them escorted under guard to the city of Qadis, one of the jewels of the Emirate of Al-Andalus and the true destination of their voyage.
Hunlaf believes the Emir's lands hold the key to his search, but there are dangerous games at play. To achieve his goal, Hunlaf and his allies must walk a difficult path where friends and enemies alike are not always what they seem - and where a weapon deadlier than any yet seen could change the future of all the kingdoms in Europe.
The third thrilling historical adventure in the A Time for Swords series by Matthew Harffy, perfect for fans of Ben Kane, Simon Scarrow and Bernard Cornwell.
Includes a audio exclusive bonus Q&A between the author and narrator, as well as an authors note, narrated by the author."
"Beobrand finds himself caught between the perilous intrigues of royalty and the Church in this latest thrilling Bernicia Chronicles adventure.
AD 652. Beobrand has been ordered to lead a group of pilgrims to the holy city of Rome. Chief among them is Wilfrid, a novice of the Church with some surprisingly important connections. Taking only Cynan and some of his best men, Beobrand hopes to make the journey through Frankia quickly and return to Northumbria without delay, though the road is long and perilous.
But where Beobrand treads, menace is never far behind. The lands of the Merovingian kings are rife with intrigue. The queen of Frankia is unpopular and her ambitious schemes, though benevolent, have made her powerful enemies. Soon Wilfrid, and Beobrand, are caught up in sinister plots against the royal house.
After interrupting a brutal ambush in a forest, Beobrand and his trusted gesithas find their lives on the line. Dark forces will stop at nothing to seize control of the Frankish throne, and Beobrand is thrown into a deadly race for survival through foreign lands where he cannot be sure who is friend and who is foe.
The only certainty is that if he is to save his men, thwart the plots, and unmask his enemies, blood will flow."
"In the wild lands of Norway, Hunlaf must quell a vicious slave uprising in Matthew Harffy's latest historical adventure.
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..."
"Greed and ambition threaten to tear the north apart.
War rages between the two kingdoms of Northumbria. Kin is pitted against kin and friend becomes foe as ambitious kings vie for supremacy.
When Beobrand travels south into East Angeln to rescue a friend, he unwittingly tilts the balance of power in the north, setting in motion events that will lead to a climactic confrontation between Oswiu of Bernicia and Oswine of Deira.
While the lord of Ubbanford is entangled in the clash of kings, his most trusted warrior, Cynan, finds himself on his own quest, called to the aid of someone he thought never to see again. Riding into the mountainous region of Rheged, Cynan faces implacable enemies who would do anything to further their own ends.
Forced to confront their pasts, and with death and betrayal at every turn, both Beobrand and Cynan have their loyalties tested to breaking point.
Who will survive the battle for a united Northumbria, and who will pay the ultimate price for lord and land?"
"When the Vikings attack, a novice monk's life is changed forever in Matthew Harffy's new historical adventure.
Lindisfarne, AD793. 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.
“Harffy's writing just gets better and better ... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown” - JEMAHL EVANS"
"Beobrand is besieged in the action-packed instalment in the Bernicia Chronicles set in AD 647 Anglo-Saxon Britain.
War hangs heavy in the hot summer air as Penda of Mercia and his allies march into the north. Caught unawares, the Bernician forces are besieged within the great fortress of Bebbanburg. It falls to Beobrand to mount the defence of the stronghold, but even while the battle rages, old and powerful enemies have mobilised against him, seeking vengeance for past events. As the Mercian forces tighten their grip and unknown killers close in, Beobrand finds himself in a struggle with conflicting oaths and the dreadful pull of a forbidden love that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear. With the future of Northumbria in jeopardy, will Beobrand be able to withstand the powers that beset him and find a path to victory against all the odds?
“'Matthew Harffy's tale of England in the Dark Ages is nothing less than superb ... The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every page” HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY."
"AD 630. Anglo-Saxon Britain. A gripping, action-packed historical tale set in the world of The Bernicia Chronicles. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.
Terror stalks the hills, moors and marshes of Bernicia. Livestock and men have been found ripped asunder, their bones gnawed, flesh gorged upon. People cower in their halls in fear of the monster that prowls the night. King Edwin sends his champions, Bassus, Octa and band of trusted thegns, to rid his people of this evil. Bassus leads the warriors into the chill wastes of the northern winter, and they soon question whether they are the hunters or the prey. Death follows them as they head deeper into the ice-rimed marshes, and there is ever only one ending for the mission: a welter of blood that will sow the seeds of a tale that will echo down through the ages."
"AD 838. Deep in the forests of Wessex, Dunston's solitary existence is shattered when he stumbles on a mutilated corpse.
Accused of the murder, Dunston must clear his name and keep the dead man's daughter alive in the face of savage pursuers desperate to prevent a terrible secret from being revealed. Rushing through Wessex, Dunston will need to use all the skills of survival garnered from a lifetime in the wilderness. And if he has any hope of victory against the implacable enemies on their trail, he must confront his past – becoming the man he once was and embracing traits he had promised he would never return to. The Wolf of Wessex must hunt again; honour and duty demand it.
“Matthew Harffy's tale of England in the Dark Ages is nothing less than superb ... The tale is fast-paced and violence lurks on every page” - HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY on Matthew Harffy."
Join our community for the latest bookish news, reading recommendations, exclusive opening extracts, author events and competitions. It\'s all free. And enter a monthly draw to win a £50 Gift Card. See past winners here
