Peter Gibbons – MJ Porter

Today, I’m taking part in the blog tour for Brothers of the Sword by Peter Gibbons #histfic #blogtour

Here’s the blurb:

An epic battle where heroes fight and die to protect a Kingdom from Viking invasion…

991AD
King Aethelred the Unready’s Kingdom of the English is threatened. Olaf Tryggvason and his fleet of Viking warships snap at the coastal edges like ravenous wolves, and Sweyn Forkbeard, King of the Danes, has landed in East Anglia with an army of battle-hardened warriors.

Ealdorman Byrhtnoth of Essex must stand against them faced with overwhelming odds, forging his legend in the blood of his deadly enemies.

By his side, his Thegn, Beornoth, a brutal warrior and savage Saxon fighter is torn between his need to protect his loved ones, and his duty to fight for his Lord.

As the Vikings raid and slaughter, Beornoth is forced to fight for the survival of his oath sworn brothers, his Lord, and the Kingdom itself when all roads lead to the fateful Battle of Maldon.

Can Beornoth protect his people and survive one of the most famous battles of the Viking Age?

A thrilling story, packed with war, vengeance and visceral combat.

Purchase Link

https://mybook.to/brothersswordsocial

My Review

Brothers of the Sword is the third book in the Saxon Warrior Series, which began with Warrior and Protector, and Storm of War set during the early 990s in Saxon England. Æthelred II is the king of the English, but the Viking raiders have begun to turn their eyes once more toward England. The second viking age is underway.

Beornoth is a man with divided loyalties, to his wife, his warriors and Ealdorman Byrhtnoth. His enemy, Olaf Tryggvason, has sworn vengeance against him, while Sweyn, king of Denmark, has also laid claim to parts of East Anglia and perhaps turned some of the English to his side as well. Worse, both enemies know of one another and might well be allies. Does the riddling contest that Beornoth loses to Sweyn portend what is to come? (I was pleased to have solved the riddles along with the characters:))

What follows is a blood drenched battle, between Vikings and the English, which, alas, is only ever going to have one outcome, but which ebbs and flows, as does the tide on Northey Island.

While the ending may never be in doubt (it can’t be, as it’s based on the surviving Battle of Maldon poem), Brothers of the Sword is sure to thrill readers as it reaches its blood-drenched finale.

Meet the Author

Peter Gibbons is a financial advisor and author of the highly acclaimed Viking Blood and Blade trilogy. He comes to Boldwood with his new Saxon Warrior series, set around the 900 AD Viking invasion during the reign of King Athelred the Unready. He originates from Liverpool and now lives with his family in County Kildare.

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Follow the Brothers of the Sword blog tour with Rachel’s Random Resources

Today, I’m taking part in the blog tour for Storm of War by Peter Gibbons #histfic #blogtour

Here’s the blurb:

The fight for a torn kingdom rests in the hands of a few brave men…

990AD.

King Aethelred II, who men will one day call The Unready, rules over a land divided by the shadowy spin of his mother Queen Ælfthryth and the sprawling power of the Church.

The Viking Warlord, Olaf Tryggvason smelling the Kingdoms weakness brings the vicious Jomsvikings to the Saxon coastline ravenous for war and plunder.

Together Lord Byrthnoth, Ealdorman of the East Saxons and Beornoth his Saxon Thegn lead a force of oath sworn Viking killers, every bit as brutal and war-skilled as the Norse invaders to protect the Kingdom against enemies both from within, and from the cruel seas. They are pushed to the very limits of their bravery and endurance in a desperate fight for the very existence of the Saxon Kingdom.

In a riveting story of trachery, betrayal, vengeance and war, can Beornoth defeat his enemies and protect the Kingdom from destruction?

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/3Cm3MNf

My Review

Storm of War is the second book in the Saxon Warrior Series, which began with Warrior and Protector, set during the early 990s in Saxon England. Æthelred II is the king of the English, but the Viking raiders, quiet throughout the reign of his father, known as Edgar the Peaceable, have begun to turn their eyes once more to the riches that England has to offer.

Beornoth is a thegn once more, connected to Ealdorman Byrhtnoth, a man who has long-supported the claim of others than the current king to rule England, firstly, Eadwig, the uncle of Æthelred II, to whom he owed his elevation to the ealdordom, and also, Edward the Martyr, Æthelred’s stepbrother. Often brought into conflict with the queen, Lady Elfrida, or Ælfthryth, as she is called in the book, Byrhtnoth is not the easiest of allies for the king and his mother, and Beornoth, a warrior like the ealdorman, is needed for his warrior-prowess but perhaps distrusted for the very same reason.

The book opens with a battle at Watchet in which we encounter the Viking raider, Olaf Tryggvason, for the first time, soon to be a bane to England, and while Beornoth and his quick thinking, alongside Ealdorman Byrhtnoth, are victorious on that occasion, there is a fear that Olaf will attack once more.

Yet, Beornoth and his allies soon find themselves heading north to counter a problem amongst the ruling elite of the northern parts of the kingdom, on the commands of the king’s mother, if perhaps not the king.

We begin to encounter more of the men who will one day be famously remembered in the Battle of Malden poem as the story continues, Ælfwine perhaps of most relevance to me (as he might, or might not, have been the father of Ealdorman Leofwine of the Twice). Beornoth is still an angry man, eager to kill the enemy who destroyed his family but he is involved in a dangerous game with enemies surrounding him while he fears that Olaf will attack once more.

A tale of Saxon England on the cusp of the Second Viking Age sure to thrill fans of the era.

Meet the Author

Peter Gibbons is a financial advisor and author of the highly acclaimed Viking Blood and Blade trilogy. He comes to Boldwood with his new Saxon Warrior series, set around the 900 AD Viking invasion during the reign of King Athelred the Unready. The first title of the new series, Warrior and Protector, will be published in October 2022. He originates from Liverpool and now lives with his family in County Kildare.