The Cross and the Curse (Bernicia Chronicles)

One of the perks of having a growing reputation, a well deserved one for this humble scribbler of book reviews, is obtaining advanced copies of an author's upcoming release. Such was the case here as the author sent me a copy of The Cross and the Curse, the follow up to his excellent debut, The Serpent Sword. Beobrand is now a renowned warrior in the retinue of King Oswald, is married to a beautiful and loving woman; things are looking up...for a while at least. Mr. Harffy has avoided any semblance of a sequel jinx by putting together an intriguing account of what it could have been like when the Cross met the old gods in post Roman Britain. Beobrand, while not a follower of Christ, is oath sworn to a very Christian king while at the same time he has to deal with a witch who has a surprising link to Beobrand and utters a terrible curse upon him. An entertaining story ensues, one with great story-lines and and plenty of Dark Ages treachery and heroics. Add in a bit of inner turmoil and a dash of wavering sanity and you have a page turning tale that leaves you yearning for book three. 5 stars

This is the second volume of the Bernicia Chronicles, set in seventh century Britain, at the time when Kings, and in particular Oswald of Northumbria, Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon of Gwynedd where vying for supremacy. In this episode, the action mostly takes place in Northumbria which included at least part of the Lowlands at the time. However, Beobrand (the hero) also gets sent on a mission to Iona and accompanies his King on a parley in the extreme south of his kingdom.

Just like the first book, the author has carefully researched his topic. Again, his historical note is both interesting and meticulous in listing where he had deviated from what little is known of the historical events. Also like the first book, the hero, despite his fighting prowess and his valorous deeds, is no “superhuman”. He is both superstitious and quite unsecure. In fact, one of the main themes running through the book and explaining part of its title is his belief that he is cursed. The other characters are also believable.

Another interesting feature is the role played by the monastery of Iona in re-Christianising Northumbria, and the influence that its bishop had on the very religious Oswald. The circumstances of the foundation of Lindisfarne are historical. So is the fact that King Oswald seems to have got rid rather quickly of the first candidate that was sent to him, although probably not for the reasons shown in the book, as the author freely admits. Here again, however, and even if fictional, these reasons (which I will just about manage to not mention) make the religious characters that much more human and credible.

The circumstances surrounding the defeat of Cadwallon may have been largely invented by the author although we know little about the battle itself, except that it took place somewhere near Hadrian’s Wall, that Oswald won supposedly against the odds and that the enemy King was heavily defeated and killed. King Oswald might have been outnumbered and won thanks to the unusual tactics shown in the book. Anyway, regardless of whether this was the case or not, the author’s choices and the description of the battle itself are rather superb, exciting, griping and plausible, with the hero – of course - playing a sufficiently critical role to earn a very significant reward from his Lord and King.

The political context is also well shown. The defeat of Cadwallon was certainly not easy and King Oswald’s forces, even after uniting Deira with Bernicia, must have been weakened by both these losses and those sustained by Northumbrian warriors during previous defeats under both Oswald’s brother and King Edwin before him. Even if the meeting that produced the truce described in the book never took place, there does seem to have been such an agreement with Penda and this suited both leaders because both needed time to consolidate their rule.

A related point is the character and ambitions of King Oswald and his brother Oswiu. The later was a warrior’s warrior. The former, although pious and perhaps more of a statesman than his younger brother and successor, seems to have been no mean warrior himself. This is perhaps something that the book does not show sufficiently. What it does show rather well, however, is Oswald’s ambition to become the Bretwalda and be recognised as supreme. It also shows how one of the ways to achieve this was to strike alliances with the somewhat weaker Kingdoms of East Anglia, Kent and Wessex in order to contain Mercia, the remaining rival after Cadwallon’s death.

I could go on and on but by now it should be rather clear that I “loved” this book, to use Amazon’s terminology. I will therefore recommend this one just as much as I did for volume 1, and rate it accordingly. Also, and for those wanting to read more about this period, but something non-fictional, I can also warmly recommend “King of the North” by Max Adams, which is very readable and covers the whole period.

The only problem with Matthew Harffy's books is that they end. Such a gifted and entertaining writer. I can't wait for the next in the series, By Blood and Blade.

Matthew Harffy brings together fact and fiction in a skillful manner - the reader is transported right there into the midst of post-roman Britain in an adrenaline-pumped tale involving themes of leadership, war, love, religion and revenge. Though the brutality of war and darkness of those times feature a great deal, I like how the author expertly conveys what is going on in the characters' heads. The emotions and feelings are dealt with very well - I got really involved and towards the end couldn't put the book down as I was really interested in getting to know what the fate of the characters was. Though there are sad parts (don't want to give spoilers but I really started singing Trent Reznor's 'Hurt' in my head while going through some passages) there are humorous sections - a man's confusion as he's trapped between choosing the pagan ways and Christianity springs to mind. The combat is amazingly well described - I love how the author kind of goes back in time to describe the perspective of both combatants in a manner that still makes it very easy for the reader to understand what's going on. I cannot wait for the release of By Blood and Blade to rejoin Beobrand in King Oswald's Dark Age Northumbria - Andreas Azzopardi