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    The Cross and the Curse
    Unavailable
    The Cross and the Curse
    Unavailable
    The Cross and the Curse
    Ebook508 pages8 hours

    The Cross and the Curse

    By Matthew Harffy

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    AD 634.

    ANGLO SAXON BRITAIN.

    Confusion and conflict continue as warlords battle across Britain to become the first King of the English.

    After a stunning victory against the native Waelisc, Beobrand returns to a hero's welcome. His valour is rewarded by wealth and land by Oswald, King of Northumbria.

    Exhausted, he retires to his new estate with his bride only to find himself surrounded once again by enemies old and new. With treachery and death on all sides, Beobrand fears he will lose all he holds dear.

    On a quest for revenge and redemption, he accepts the mantle of lord, leading his men into the darkest of nights and the bloodiest of battles.

    The Cross and the Curse is the second gripping, action-packed instalment in The Bernicia Chronicles.

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

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHead of Zeus
    Release dateAug 1, 2016
    ISBN9781784978839
    Unavailable
    The Cross and the Curse
    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.

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    Reviews for The Cross and the Curse

    4.5/5

    15 ratings2 reviews

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    • 4/5
      ‘The Cross and the Curse’ features a blend of quality battles, tense encounters, and an engaging romantic storyline.I liked it in the most part, but like with many historical novels, the author puts so much effort into 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 confused’ – *show* it with action, or body language, or a facial expression.Adverb overuse is another evil, and the biggest problem with adverbs is that they ‘tell’. For example, ‘She made her way quickly’ tells us how the character got from A to B but we don’t see it. ‘She hastened’, She rushed’, etc., not only ‘show’ the action, it flows better because it’s more concise. In ‘shifted uncomfortably’, the adverb isn’t necessary, as ‘shifted’ alone implies the discomfort.Adverbs are at their most superfluous with this kind of thing: ‘more firmly’ and ‘drinking more deeply than usual’, whereas ‘firmer’ and ‘drinking deeper than usual’ convey the meaning with a concise verb.Adverbs are wasted words in instances like this: ‘vomited noisily’ – is vomiting ever a quiet occupation?Also, to describe a monk as being ‘clearly frustrated’ is telling at its worst. In fiction, if you use ‘clearly’ or ‘obviously’, be assured that you’re not ‘showing’ the reader anything.Free-indirect speech is also absent in lines like: ‘He knew there was nothing he could do to help.’ This quote also uses the passive ‘there was’, which, as writers who study English style know, should always be avoided. The active version to the above passive sentence, which also incorporates free-indirect speech, is: ‘He could do nothing to help.’Two 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.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 'had' is inevitable, but in this book it’s consistent, even though it would've been easy to cut them down. For starters, 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 has 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.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.So, despite the criticisms, I liked this novel well enough to read the next in the series.
    • 5/5
      This is the second in the author's series of novels set in early Anglo Saxon England featuring the young warrior Beobrand from Kent who is now in Northumbria and serving the new king Oswald based in Bebbanburg (Bamburgh). In reward for his efforts, Beobrand is made a thegn and is given his own land. However, Beobrand faces conflict from his Pictish neighbours and finds his loyalties challenged in various ways, including by the actions of his old rival Wybert. The plot is full of drama and tragedy for our hero, and, once again, I find this more plot driven and with more interesting characters than Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred series, with which this invites inevitable comparisons. I will keep reading this series.