Kin of Cain: A Short Bernicia Tale
by Matthew Harffy
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.
Winter grips the land in its icy fist. 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 hunt down the beast and 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.
The Coffee Pot Book Club Review
Cain, that murderous creature, was banished by
God for killing his brother. He has been silent for a long time. But now the
monster stirs once more and takes up arms to continue his savage war.
A blood-curdling cry in
the darkest of nights. Lifestock slaughtered. Good men dead. This cannot
continue. King Edwin will not allow such a monster to remain at large. He must
be hunted. He must be killed.
On a cold winters day,
King Edwin's favoured thanes set out on a quest to find and kill the beast that
has brought such terror to their King's beautiful kingdom. But this will be an
adventure like none before it. And all their lives will be changed forever...
As poetic and as
exciting as the Old English epic poems of times gone by, Kin of Cain: A Short
Bernicia Tale by Matthew Harffy really appealed to me. The story is an
action-packed adventure where new horrors (both real and imagined) lurk around
every corner. The characters, particular Octa are fresh and vibrant — very real
in the telling. Octa was a perfect protagonist. He is strong but weak. Brave but
fearful. Very human. I thought he was wonderfully portrayed.
For those of you who
love the old epic poems, this story will be very familiar to you. I am not
going to give away any spoilers, but very early on in the story, I cottoned on
to what Mr Harffy was writing about. I have to admit, the story he depicted is
one of my favourites!!
Mr Harffy has written a
fresh take on a very old story. It was a very satisfying retelling with a few
little twists of his own.
I thoroughly enjoyed Kin
of Cain: A Short Bernicia Tale and I shall look forward to reading more books
in the Benicia Tale saga.
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Matthew Harffy
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Matthew Harffy lived in Northumberland as a child and the area
had a great impact on him. The rugged terrain, ruined castles and rocky
coastline made it easy to imagine the past. Decades later, a documentary about
Northumbria's Golden Age sowed the kernel of an idea for a series of historical
fiction novels. The first of them is the action-packed tale of vengeance and
coming of age, THE SERPENT SWORD.
Matthew has worked in the IT industry, where he spent all day
writing and editing, just not the words that most interested him. Prior to that
he worked in Spain as an English teacher and translator. Matthew lives in
Wiltshire, England, with his wife and their two daughters.
Sounds intriguing and a great cover - I'll give it a read!
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