A Time for Swords cover art

A Time for Swords

A Time for Swords, Book 1

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A Time for Swords

By: Matthew Harffy
Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
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About this listen

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 Fiction Historical Fiction Medieval Viking Royalty

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Critic reviews

"Harffy's writing just gets better and better.... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown." (Jemahl Evans)
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this book is worth a listen, it has plenty of action although the story line is fairly weak, but surprisingly enjoyable.

a good tale

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Decent storyline, enjoyed the history, but a bit too bloodthirsty for my taste. I found the names of the characters tricky to remember because they were such unfamiliar sounds, so it took me a few chapters to remember who was who.

Liked the historical aspect

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The story is quite good, but there are no local accents used. Perhaps Northumberland was in Yorkshire in those days.

No Local Accents.

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A good story well told.. the historical aspect at the end ties things together a bit.. but it was a bit predictable to do this more humour is needed I think the main character is a bit of a Tortured soul that gets a bit monotonous for me..
but I’m not a writer! Well narrated and I would get the next book if there was one

Enjoyed the listen

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I bought this in the sale for £2.99. The language was over descriptive, over flowery, the narration was hammy and over blown although he did very well with the various accents. Can't believe I wasted 17hrs and 11 minutes of my life listening to it, but felt weirdly compelled to see how many more 'his anger was like steel forged on an anvil', his cry was like lightening striking from a blackened sky, his blood seeped like ice melting in the first days of spring' etc etc etc And it was soooooo repetitive. 17 hours 11 minutes could easily have been edited to 5 hours or less. If you like Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom do yourself a favour and give this a wide berth.

A complete rip off of Bernard Cornwell

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have listened to 3 of harffy,s books now and this is the best so far .narrator is excellent.A sort of magnificent 7 in viking times,can't wait for the sequel

Best yet

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Having Finished a number of books in similar series to this by other authors, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this particular book. However, it turned out to be a fantastic lesson well narrated and I thoroughly recommend it to people who enjoy the genre.

Recommended.

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Brilliant book fantastic story from start to finish, the narrator is absolutely awesome, one of Matthews best

Brilliant

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I have listened to the series of books that are linked to this, avidly. I was expecting the same ‘jump in and go’ from this book. Not so, for me. This was due to the narration. I found the voice over acted and annoying to the point that I wanted to return the book. I couldn’t, do I thought I may as well carry on. At some point, the narration and story clicked and it was super. I’m searching now for more in this series!

Is immersive after a very shaky start

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Loved it, great that it continues on from Beobrand and he is mentioned in this book.

Another great Saga starting. Here

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