Matthew Harffy Books In Order

Publication Order of The Bernicia Chronicles Books

Publication Order of A Time for Swords Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Matthew Harffy
Matthew Harffy grew up in Northumberland as a child and the area had a major impact on him. The ruined castles, rugged terrain, and rocky coastline made it rather easy to imagine the past. Decades later, he watched a documentary on Northumbria’s Golden Age that wound up sowing the kernel of his idea for a series of historical fiction books, the “Bernicia Chronicles”.

He has worked in the IT industry, where he spent his days editing and writing, just not the words that interested him. Before that, he worked in Spain as an English translator and teacher. And he has also been a rock singer, singing for the band Rock Dog.

He has co-written seven published academic articles, which range in topic from the construction of a marble pipe organ to the ecological impact of mining.

Matthew finds that the best part of being a writer is having the chance to tell the tales that you truly want to read. He also believes that this is the secret to good writing. If you truly like what you’ve written and enjoy the tale you have told, then you can be certain some other readers will as well.

Reading a lot and writing a lot help to get him inspired to write, finding that the more he writes, the easier the ideas flow for him.

Matthew’s debut novel, called “The Serpent Sword”, was released in the year 2015 and is the first of the “Bernicia Chronicles” series. His work is from the historical fiction genre.

“The Serpent Sword” is the first novel in the “Bernicia Chronicles” series and was released in the year 2015. Britain in the year of 633 A. D. A young farmhand called Beobrand, who is absolutely sure that his brother was murdered, goes off on a revenge quest in war-torn Northumbria. When he bears witness to some barbaric acts at the warriors’ hands that he thinks of as his friends, Beobrand begins to question the path that he’s chosen and then vows to bring these men to justice.

Beobrand, ruthless in the pursuit of his own personal enemies, faces a few challenges that alter him forever. Right as a great sword is being forged by beating some rods of iron together, his foes turn him from the farm boy he was at one time into a man that stands strong in all of the gore and the din of the shield wall.

While he begins to close in on the killer of his family, and the bodies start to pile up, will Beobrand be able to dole out the revenge that he so desires without sacrificing his own honor, perhaps his own soul even?

“The Serpent Sword” is a novella in the “Bernicia Chronicles” series and was released in the year 2017. In the year AD 630 in Anglo-Saxon Britain.

Winter grips the land within its icy grip. Terror is stalking the moors, hills, and marshes of Bernicia. Men and livestock have been found ripped apart, with their flesh being gorged upon and their bones gnawed on. People are cowering in their halls out of fear for the monster that is out prowling the night.

King Edwin sends out Octa and Bassus (his champions) as well as a band of trusted thegns, in order to hunt this beast down and rid his people of this evil.

Bassus leads these warriors out into the chill wastes of the northern winter, and quickly they start questioning whether they are the prey or the hunters. Death follows them while they move deeper into the ice-rimed marshes, and there is only a single ending for this mission. A welter of blood that is going to sow the seeds of a story that is sure to echo down through the ages.

This is a story filled with suspense and is gruesome, dark, and gritty. It is an edge of the seat read that keeps you captivated the entire time. Matthew is a master story teller and delivers a clever short story.

“Wolf of Wessex” is the first stand alone novel and was released in the year 2019. AD 838. Deep in the forests in Wessex, Dunston’s solitary existence gets shattered once he stumbles upon a mutilated corpse. Dunston, who is accused of the murder, has to clear his own name and keep the dead guy’s daughter alive in the face of the savage pursuers that are desperate to ensure a horrible secret isn’t revealed.

Dunston rushes headlong through Wessex, and is going to need to use all of the skills of survival that he has garnered from spending a lifetime in the wilderness. And if he has any hope of victory against these implacable enemies that are coming after them, he has to confront his long-buried past. This means that he will have to become the man that he used to be and embrace certain traits that he promised once he would never go back to. The Wolf of Wessex has to hunt again. Duty and honor demand it of him.

“A Time for Swords” is the second stand alone novel and was released in the year 2020. AD 793 in Lindisfarne. A novice monk’s life is going to be changed forever when the Vikings attack.

There had been portents: serpents seen flying through the air, famine, lightning from clear skies, and whirlwinds. However nobody was ready when the raiders come. They came down from the North, with their dragon-prowed longships which glided out of the dawn mist while they descended on the most sacred site of the entire kingdom.

The date is 8th June AD 793, and as the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne concludes, the Viking Age has commenced. As his fellow monks flee before the Norse begins their onslaught, a young novice stands his ground. He has been taught to just turn the other cheek, however when faced with the slaughter of his brothers and the pagan desecration of his own church, such forgiveness is impossible. Hunlaf learns quickly that there is a time for prayer and faith, and a time for swords.

6 Responses to “Matthew Harffy”

1. Rumbidzai Nyandoro: 4 months ago

   I am so shocked to realize that there are still edge of the seat writers in this 21 th century …the historical fiction is gripping and so believable you think of nothing else until you finish through…5 star rating to Kin of Cain…By the way I love the hint at early Christianity influence way back in the 630 AD.

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2. Skibby: 2 years ago

   Wolf of Wessex was the best book I have read in a long time! Loved the interplay between Dunston and Aedwen, maybe a follow up with Aedwen in a Shield Wall! 🙂

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3. Sam: 2 years ago

   I too loved the Night of Flames. I am really looking forward to seeing the foreshadowing of Hunlaf’s alluded to adventures from “Ubenford to Byzantium”…Thanks for your work and explanations, and my wife appreciates the two of us listening awhile before bed. We are actually leaving the UK tomorrow. Spent time in the south, Arundel Castle being our favorite. What I would truly love though, is a physical map of the places and a general glossary of terms with definitions. Not sure where many places are as I listen and the many tools and weapons—in all seriousness thank you for bringing entertainment and catalyzing a thirst for knowledge.

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4. E Ward: 2 years ago

   I so enjoy your writing style. Poor eyesight prevents me from reading, but I do listen.This forces me in my 70’s to purchase. Where must I go to find audio editions, please?

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5. Dave murray: 2 years ago

   Any follow up to A Night of Flames? Loved the 2 book series

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   • Graeme: 2 years ago

     Hi Dave – not at the moment.

     Reply