Today is my turn on the blog tour for Clash of Kings by MJ Porter!
Here's the blurb
The next bloody and thrilling instalment in MJ Porter's The Brunanburh Series.
Can the Norse and the Scots exact their revenge over the mighty King Athelstan of the English?
AD937
After the slaughter field of Brunanburh, a defeated Olaf Gothfrithson of the Dublin Norse and Constantin of the Scots narrowly escaped with their lives. In their kingdoms, failure has left them demoralised and weak.
Olaf licks his wounds in Dublin, whilst Constantin and the Welsh kingdoms who defied King Athelstan, are once more forced to bend the knee. As Athelstan's reputation grows stronger day by day, their need to exact revenge on the overmighty and triumphant Athelstan has never been greater.
Olaf sets his sights on reclaiming the lost kingdom of Jorvik only for tragedy to strike at the heart of England and a reluctant new King, Edmund steps in the fray.
While England mourns the death of their warrior King, her enemies gather on her borders and England stands alone against the might of the Norse, Welsh and Scots.
Can the new King be victorious and banish her enemies once and for all or will England, and its king lose all that's been gained and succumb to a new pretender?
An epic tale of kinsmanship, greed and power, perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom series.
Review
Clash of King's is book 3 in the The Brunanburh Series and after a disastrous defeat it's time for Olaf Gothfrithson of the Dublin Norse and Constantin of the Scots to retreat and regroup..
You know they won't take the defeat lightly but King Athelstan is wise, he knows it's only a matter of time before they try to rise again.
It's time to force these men to bend to his will!
While the defeated pay their dues to the King of the English they secretly continue to plan… Olaf is a cunning one as has been planning his revenge from the beginning.. so much so it's quite advantageous when King Athelstan sadly passes way.
In his stead we have a new King. Edmund!
Edmund is forced into the role and responsibilities when Olaf strikes quickly, forcing Edmund to concede land.. He doesn't want to do this but he needs to consolidate and strike when he knows he can win. Edmund has an ace up his sleeve. Ealdorman Athelstan.. just like his namesake the previous King, Athelstan is wise and strong and has what it takes to shape Edmund into the King the people need.. it's just going to take time.
While the Norse and Welsh are ready to take what they believe is theirs the Scots hold back a little, to see how things play out.
What's obvious is that if they worked together the outcome might have been different but what's also clear is ego played quite a part in the world at the time… some people just want to make a name for themselves, it's not about making friends.. it's political manoeuvring as is needed but behind the smiles you'd just as likely receive a knife to the back if they could.
What I really enjoyed was the telling of the political landscape, who was married to who. These links were important as it meant warfare was quite a undertaking to plan.. like a game of chess, setting up the pieces just right.
In that is where Ealdorman Athelstan shines, setting up his pawns.. those being the burhs he suggested were setup/refurbished at strategic locations.. his strategy was one of defence but he played his moves perfectly for his King, and for his country.
I think what made the book the 5* enthralling read it is what not only the characters but those extra details and how the are covered. With historical fiction it's sometimes not clear how important some bits of detail are but MJ Porter managed to emphasise without taking your attention away from the plot. I think it's the perfect blend of fact and fiction..these characters are real but we don't know how they really spoke, what they really thought..but MJ Porter manages to bring life to those characters, puts flesh on bones and uses all the known details to portray these historic individuals wonderfully.
I particularly liked Constantin of the Scots, he's an old man now and has outlived many..with his words you can tell he's tiring of the pollical game of warfare but he's still wise and knows when to relent to those who are eager for war.
For the battle fans there's plenty of warfare to fill your needs, and the action is written, putting you right there with them.. the detail.. it's like you can actually feel the force of the war axe, and the blow to your shield as if you are standing right there.
MJ Porter has also written the tale spectacularly well flow wise, you can easily read as a standalone as everything you need is there to understand the motivations at play.
I'm already a fan of the author for sure but this has to be the best yet, it's detailed but has personality and life blended to perfection making this so much more wonderful than words can express.
5/5Stars
My thanks go to @rararesources for having me on the tour, as well as the author and publisher for supplying an ARC to aid my review. As usual though… I've bought the book too. It's a bargain!
To find out more head to Goodreads or here's a handy link if you want to buy 😊 Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/clashkingssocial.
Why not follow the tour?
Author Bio –
MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. They were raised in the shadow of a building that they believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so their writing destiny was set. The first novel in their new Anglo-Saxon series for Boldwood Son of Mercia was published in February 2022.
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Bookbub profile: MJ Porter Books - BookBub
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