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The Final Reckoning
Despite Alfred's great victory at Edington, Wessex is far from secure. With the threat of an imminent attack from a large force of Vikings who have camped on the banks of the Thames at London, Matthew is sent to fortify the settlement at Leatherhead and, whilst there, train the local fyrd. Hopelessly outnumbered, he faces his sternest test as he and a small band of untrained warriors strive to hold off the attack long enough for help to arrive—or die trying. In a time ravaged by political uncertainty, Matthew is placed in intense personal danger as he's also ordered to investigate the tyranny of Ealdorman's son and dispense justice as he sees fit—a responsibility which rests heavy on his young shoulders. Given that he still carries the wound to his chest, what is asked of him seems more than most men could endure as he faces—The Final Reckoning.
Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 25, 2023
‘𝙔𝙚𝙨. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤-𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣. 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙦𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣.’
💔The book - 3rd in The Shadow of the Raven series - set in 9th century Anglo-Saxon England, tell the story of Matthew, one of the warriors of King Alfred the Great.
After the great victory in the battle of Edington, the Wessex had pushed back the great heathen army to the north, in London where they encamped on the banks of the Thames, awaiting for the right opportunity to attack again. To thwart this threat of imminent Viking attack King Alfred of Wessex send the renowned warrior with pierced heart, Matthew to Leatherhead in order to fortify the settlement and train the local fyrd as well as to investigate the tyranny of Ealdorman’s son and dispense justice as he sees fit. With a wound to his chest, Matthew'll find himself against a hopelessly outnumbered Viking army and faces his final reckoning at Leatherhead.
💔Chris' writing is crisp and smooth. He had beautifully woven this fictional story out of solid historical facts and brought back this dark age of Anglo-Saxon alive through his vivid description. His hard research is palpable on every page of this book. His spacing never slows down, his narrative simply swept me away, and twists and turns in the plot gripped me on the edge of the seat.
💔Matthew's character is well crafted. I liked his overall development when he started his journey as a novice monk in Book 1, and now by the end of this book, he is a renowned warrior whom others are willing to follow in battle. The portrayal of Aelred and Oeric was perfect, I quickly connect with them. However, other characters - King Alfred, the Celtic healer Ingar, Jarl Hakon, etc. - appear only for a few pages and leave without making any impression.
💔Although I felt the last 20% of the book is rushed, there is a surprise in the climax that I must say I didn't see it coming. This ties up the loose ends from the previous books and leaves me daze, thinking about how's the series going to continue now.
Overall, The Final Reckoning was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next book. If you like historical fiction and fan of Bernard Cornwell's writing then this book is for you.
𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐✨(3.5/5)
💔The book - 3rd in The Shadow of the Raven series - set in 9th century Anglo-Saxon England, tell the story of Matthew, one of the warriors of King Alfred the Great.
After the great victory in the battle of Edington, the Wessex had pushed back the great heathen army to the north, in London where they encamped on the banks of the Thames, awaiting for the right opportunity to attack again. To thwart this threat of imminent Viking attack King Alfred of Wessex send the renowned warrior with pierced heart, Matthew to Leatherhead in order to fortify the settlement and train the local fyrd as well as to investigate the tyranny of Ealdorman’s son and dispense justice as he sees fit. With a wound to his chest, Matthew'll find himself against a hopelessly outnumbered Viking army and faces his final reckoning at Leatherhead.
💔Chris' writing is crisp and smooth. He had beautifully woven this fictional story out of solid historical facts and brought back this dark age of Anglo-Saxon alive through his vivid description. His hard research is palpable on every page of this book. His spacing never slows down, his narrative simply swept me away, and twists and turns in the plot gripped me on the edge of the seat.
💔Matthew's character is well crafted. I liked his overall development when he started his journey as a novice monk in Book 1, and now by the end of this book, he is a renowned warrior whom others are willing to follow in battle. The portrayal of Aelred and Oeric was perfect, I quickly connect with them. However, other characters - King Alfred, the Celtic healer Ingar, Jarl Hakon, etc. - appear only for a few pages and leave without making any impression.
💔Although I felt the last 20% of the book is rushed, there is a surprise in the climax that I must say I didn't see it coming. This ties up the loose ends from the previous books and leaves me daze, thinking about how's the series going to continue now.
Overall, The Final Reckoning was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to the next book. If you like historical fiction and fan of Bernard Cornwell's writing then this book is for you.
𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: ⭐⭐⭐✨(3.5/5)
August 24, 2019
"You once told me you had no plans to invade Wessex, yet here you are..."
Alfred defeated Guthrum at Edington, and a treaty of peace was signed, but such a treaty did not neutralise the threat of another Danish invasion. This was not the time for complacently. The Vikings would try their luck again, Alfred is sure of it.
Alfred sends Matthew, The Warrior With The Pierced Heart, to Leatherhead to fortify the ford against invasion. What Matthew finds is an Earldorman who is controlled by his vile, treacherous and exploitative step-son, Oeric. Matthew must use all his wit, knowledge and skill to make Leatherhead ready despite Oeric. But as the Viking army marches ever closer, Matthew realises that they are hopelessly outnumbered.
Can The Warrior With A Pierced Heart, the man who it is said came back from the dead, win the day, or will the prophecy once told by a Celtic healer come to pass?
Vicious. Violent. Vivid. Victorious. The Final Reckoning: Book #3 in The Shadow of the Raven series by Chris Bishop is the hotly anticipated final chapter of the story of Matthew, the third born son of Lord Edwulf. Not only is this series shamelessly captivating, but the climax of this story was both spectacular and surprising — I should have seen it coming, but I didn't! The ending certainly caught me unawares.
As with the other two books, The Final Reckoning is told in the first person and by Matthew's perspective. The effect of this was, as a reader, we have an intimate knowledge of not only Matthew's thoughts but an understanding of his hopes and dreams, his loyalties and commitments, and his desperate struggle with who he is, what he has seen, and what he has done. He has made mistakes — trusted where he should not — and he is a wiser person because of it. Matthew is undoubtedly more careful in this book with regards to who he trusts and, more importantly, who he doesn't. He understands very well the treachery within other men's hearts, as well as their hopes and dreams. Matthew is a character that started out in this series as a very naive young novice monk, but by the end of this book, he is a man who others will follow willingly into battle.
There are some wonderful and not so wonderful supporting characters in The Final Reckoning, in particular, Matthew's dear friend, Aelred. I adored Aelred. He says it as it is and he isn't cowed by those of a higher position than himself. He is undoubtedly the kind of man you would want by your side in a fight! In comparison to Aelred is Oeric who is as much of a villain in this tale as Lord Hakon. Bishop is very good at creating larger than life characters, and the narrative simply swept me away. This is a book that you can certainly lose yourself in. If you love Michael Hirst's fabulous Vikings, then I think you will find something very appealing about Bishop's Shadow of the Raven series.
I have to commend Bishop's fascinating interpretation of historical events. Researching the Dark Ages is notoriously tricky, due to an unfortunate lack of primary sources, but Bishop does not let this thwart him. Bishop has obviously spent many hours researching to the best of any historian's abilities the reign of Alfred the Great and indeed Guthrum. The instability, the constant threat, the raids, the slavers, the harshness of this foreign land as well as its beauty has been vividly brought back to life. I loved it!
The Shadow of the Raven series reads like a great Dark Age saga. It is absolutely brilliant. Everything about this book, and this series, is exquisite — a reader's dream come true.
Each book in The Shadow of the Raven series stands alone, yet they also transition nicely — picking up where the last book left off. The Shadow of the Raven is a series a reader can most certainly get excited about reading.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
Alfred defeated Guthrum at Edington, and a treaty of peace was signed, but such a treaty did not neutralise the threat of another Danish invasion. This was not the time for complacently. The Vikings would try their luck again, Alfred is sure of it.
Alfred sends Matthew, The Warrior With The Pierced Heart, to Leatherhead to fortify the ford against invasion. What Matthew finds is an Earldorman who is controlled by his vile, treacherous and exploitative step-son, Oeric. Matthew must use all his wit, knowledge and skill to make Leatherhead ready despite Oeric. But as the Viking army marches ever closer, Matthew realises that they are hopelessly outnumbered.
Can The Warrior With A Pierced Heart, the man who it is said came back from the dead, win the day, or will the prophecy once told by a Celtic healer come to pass?
Vicious. Violent. Vivid. Victorious. The Final Reckoning: Book #3 in The Shadow of the Raven series by Chris Bishop is the hotly anticipated final chapter of the story of Matthew, the third born son of Lord Edwulf. Not only is this series shamelessly captivating, but the climax of this story was both spectacular and surprising — I should have seen it coming, but I didn't! The ending certainly caught me unawares.
As with the other two books, The Final Reckoning is told in the first person and by Matthew's perspective. The effect of this was, as a reader, we have an intimate knowledge of not only Matthew's thoughts but an understanding of his hopes and dreams, his loyalties and commitments, and his desperate struggle with who he is, what he has seen, and what he has done. He has made mistakes — trusted where he should not — and he is a wiser person because of it. Matthew is undoubtedly more careful in this book with regards to who he trusts and, more importantly, who he doesn't. He understands very well the treachery within other men's hearts, as well as their hopes and dreams. Matthew is a character that started out in this series as a very naive young novice monk, but by the end of this book, he is a man who others will follow willingly into battle.
There are some wonderful and not so wonderful supporting characters in The Final Reckoning, in particular, Matthew's dear friend, Aelred. I adored Aelred. He says it as it is and he isn't cowed by those of a higher position than himself. He is undoubtedly the kind of man you would want by your side in a fight! In comparison to Aelred is Oeric who is as much of a villain in this tale as Lord Hakon. Bishop is very good at creating larger than life characters, and the narrative simply swept me away. This is a book that you can certainly lose yourself in. If you love Michael Hirst's fabulous Vikings, then I think you will find something very appealing about Bishop's Shadow of the Raven series.
I have to commend Bishop's fascinating interpretation of historical events. Researching the Dark Ages is notoriously tricky, due to an unfortunate lack of primary sources, but Bishop does not let this thwart him. Bishop has obviously spent many hours researching to the best of any historian's abilities the reign of Alfred the Great and indeed Guthrum. The instability, the constant threat, the raids, the slavers, the harshness of this foreign land as well as its beauty has been vividly brought back to life. I loved it!
The Shadow of the Raven series reads like a great Dark Age saga. It is absolutely brilliant. Everything about this book, and this series, is exquisite — a reader's dream come true.
Each book in The Shadow of the Raven series stands alone, yet they also transition nicely — picking up where the last book left off. The Shadow of the Raven is a series a reader can most certainly get excited about reading.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
December 27, 2019
The Final Reckoning is the third and final book in Chris Bishops Shadow of the Raven series. I've absolutely loved following Matthew's journey and despite it being the last book and the ending to the story, it really was an interesting conclusion and overall fantastic series to follow.
Matthew has been sent by Lord Alfred to Leatherhead to train the locals and defend the ford from a dangerous attack by the Viking warriors camped nearby. Severely outnumbered and lacking skill, this doesn't look good. If this wasn't difficult enough, Matthew has also been tasked with investigating the tyranny of the Ealdorman's step son who has been accused of setting up raids for self gain.
Bishop has clearly done his research for this book which shines brightly throughout the story. It must be really hard to write a book that covers one of the most important times in English history, but bishop imprints his knowledge and creativity into his work to create a Fantastic combination of history and fiction. The level of detail is truly incredible. Bishop gives a great account of how tough it must have been back in the Anglo-Saxon era making everything feel so real. I think this is why I loved this series so much and why I believe Chris Bishop is up there with the likes of Bernard Cornwell.
The characters in the series was another standout point from book one to three. We've watched Matthew grow from a timid novice monk to the infamous warrior with the pierced heart, it's hard not to appreciate bishops work in creating such an impressive character. I thought Aelred also complemented the MC very well. He's a loyal companion, trusted counsellor and deadly warrior all wrapped into one. I found Aelred to be a bit hot-headed and unpredictable in the second book because in this third book, he's very much chilled and steered Matthew away from violence. I would love to see a spin-off of Aelred's life before he met Matthew!
Overall, I have loved Chris Bishops Shadow of the Raven series. It sits highly on my list when it comes to recommending historical fiction books. I would like to thank Netgalley and the guys at RedDoor Press for providing me with a copy to read and review!
5/5 Stars
Matthew has been sent by Lord Alfred to Leatherhead to train the locals and defend the ford from a dangerous attack by the Viking warriors camped nearby. Severely outnumbered and lacking skill, this doesn't look good. If this wasn't difficult enough, Matthew has also been tasked with investigating the tyranny of the Ealdorman's step son who has been accused of setting up raids for self gain.
Bishop has clearly done his research for this book which shines brightly throughout the story. It must be really hard to write a book that covers one of the most important times in English history, but bishop imprints his knowledge and creativity into his work to create a Fantastic combination of history and fiction. The level of detail is truly incredible. Bishop gives a great account of how tough it must have been back in the Anglo-Saxon era making everything feel so real. I think this is why I loved this series so much and why I believe Chris Bishop is up there with the likes of Bernard Cornwell.
The characters in the series was another standout point from book one to three. We've watched Matthew grow from a timid novice monk to the infamous warrior with the pierced heart, it's hard not to appreciate bishops work in creating such an impressive character. I thought Aelred also complemented the MC very well. He's a loyal companion, trusted counsellor and deadly warrior all wrapped into one. I found Aelred to be a bit hot-headed and unpredictable in the second book because in this third book, he's very much chilled and steered Matthew away from violence. I would love to see a spin-off of Aelred's life before he met Matthew!
Overall, I have loved Chris Bishops Shadow of the Raven series. It sits highly on my list when it comes to recommending historical fiction books. I would like to thank Netgalley and the guys at RedDoor Press for providing me with a copy to read and review!
5/5 Stars
October 20, 2019
I have loved the previous two books of the Shadow of the Raven series so I was really looking forward to this final chapter, albeit that would mean closing the book on Matthew's life. What an eventful life he has had thanks to Chris Bishop's descriptive writing painting this Anglo Saxon history in such vivid colour.
It's troubled times in Wessex with Vikings camped on the banks of the Thames in Mercia, it's only a matter of time before they head south into Wessex. King Alfred (the Great) of Wessex tasks Matthew, a former novice monk who was once known as Edward, to defend the ford at Leatherhead. Accompanied only by his trusty companion, Aelred, he must turn the villagers into warriors if they are to survive the inevitable Viking attack.
You could of course read The Final Reckoning as a standalone book but to fully appreciate Matthew's story, it's best to read the series in order. If you have read the earlier books, you will definitely remember the unforgettable opening passage of the first book, Blood and Destiny, so it was with a heavy heart (and one or two goosebumps) that I read the final chapter that brought us full circle to the start of the first book.
What an outstanding historical trilogy! Chris Bishop has written such a riveting edge of your seat account of such a turbulent time in England's history. I absolutely love the character of Edward/Matthew; he has such an eye for the ladies that he was never going to be able to live his life as a monk! I am definitely going to read these books again to bring Matthew to live once more. As the warrior with the pierced heart, he is reputedly immortal and he has indeed been given immortality in literature.
As an historical fiction lover, I think it is unusual to find such a colourful account of the Anglo-Saxon period. In my opinion, Chris Bishop rivals Bernard Cornwell as my favoured author of the period; if you like Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, you will LOVE Chris Bishop's The Shadow of the Raven series. Don't just read The Final Reckoning, read all three books in this very highly recommended series.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
It's troubled times in Wessex with Vikings camped on the banks of the Thames in Mercia, it's only a matter of time before they head south into Wessex. King Alfred (the Great) of Wessex tasks Matthew, a former novice monk who was once known as Edward, to defend the ford at Leatherhead. Accompanied only by his trusty companion, Aelred, he must turn the villagers into warriors if they are to survive the inevitable Viking attack.
You could of course read The Final Reckoning as a standalone book but to fully appreciate Matthew's story, it's best to read the series in order. If you have read the earlier books, you will definitely remember the unforgettable opening passage of the first book, Blood and Destiny, so it was with a heavy heart (and one or two goosebumps) that I read the final chapter that brought us full circle to the start of the first book.
What an outstanding historical trilogy! Chris Bishop has written such a riveting edge of your seat account of such a turbulent time in England's history. I absolutely love the character of Edward/Matthew; he has such an eye for the ladies that he was never going to be able to live his life as a monk! I am definitely going to read these books again to bring Matthew to live once more. As the warrior with the pierced heart, he is reputedly immortal and he has indeed been given immortality in literature.
As an historical fiction lover, I think it is unusual to find such a colourful account of the Anglo-Saxon period. In my opinion, Chris Bishop rivals Bernard Cornwell as my favoured author of the period; if you like Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories, you will LOVE Chris Bishop's The Shadow of the Raven series. Don't just read The Final Reckoning, read all three books in this very highly recommended series.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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