Bretwalda

Kings of Northumbria #3

by H.A. Culley

REVIEWS OF THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES A good read for lovers of the Dark Ages period; well-paced, informative and placed in a time before the Vikings. The book is very well researched and I enjoyed it. Kept me turning the pages. I did not know anything about Oswald prior to reading this highly recommended book BOOK DESCRIPTION When his elder brother is killed Oswiu rides deep into enemy territory to recover King Oswald’s body. The Kingdom of Northumbria is split into two and Oswiu vows to reunite it. However, he is forced to concentrate on securing his northern border first. Once he becomes overlord of the North he fends off an invasion by Penda, the powerful pagan King of Mercia, before he resorts to underhand tactics to kill his cousin and unite Northumbria once more. He survives rebellion by the Picts and another invasion by the Mercians, only to be betrayed by his nephew who he raised up to be King of Deira. Matters come to a head at the Battle of the Winwaed where his army is heavily outnumbered. He knows that he must win or see Northumbria torn apart once more.

Genres: Historical Fiction

229 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 30, 2017

About the author

H.A. Culley served in the Army for twenty four years during which time he had a variety of unusual jobs. These included commanding an Arab unit in the desert for three years and a tour as the military attaché in Beirut in the late seventies.
After leaving the Army he became the business manager of a large independent school for twenty years before moving into marketing and fundraising. He has also been involved in two major historical projects and now works for an educational charity.
He has given talks on historical subjects for several years and the research involved provided his inspiration for writing historical fiction.
He has three adult children and lives near Holy Island in Northumberland with his wife and two Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Reviews

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read much on Oswiu of Northumbria and this novel has piqued my interest. I’ll certainly seek out more on him.
Weirdly I found that I love the sesquipedalianism this series has to offer 😊. My list is filling up fast!

[antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

He's done it again. I love this book and the series. Exciting and riveting storylines, great characters, heartstopping action. If only more books would grab you like this one does

[Reuben Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable tale by Mr Culley.
Set in (mostly) an area that is dear to my heart.
I'm Loojing forward to book 4.

[Rose Lambert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wars wars

So much killing. An surprised anyone lived beyond 25 but I suppose in those days in order to hold onto your land you had to fight.

[Steven Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with the previous books in the series, this book has a good pace, well-drawn characters and big landscape upon which the action takes place.