Pagan King

Of Gods and Kings #2

by M.J. Porter

The year is 641 and the great Oswald of Northumbria, bretwalda (wide-ruler) over England, must battle against an alliance of the old Britons and the Saxons led by Penda of the Hwicce, the victor of Hæ∂feld nine years before, the only Saxon leader seemingly immune to his beguiling talk of the new Christianity spreading through England from both the north and the south.

Alliances will be made and broken, and the victory will go to the man most skilled in warcraft and statecraft.

The ebb and flow of battle will once more redraw the lines of the petty kingdoms stretching across the British Isles.

There will be another victor and another bloody loser.

Genres: Historical Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

I'm an author of historical fiction (Early English (before 1066)/Viking) and now five 20th-century mysteries..

The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles (featuring a young Icel from The Last King series) is now available from Boldwood Books. As is the complete Brunanburh Series and the first two books in the Dark Age Chronicles, my foray to before Saxon England was Saxon England. Enjoy.

The Ninth Century Series (The Last King), are stories of ninth-century England, but not as it's been written before, (featuring an older Icel and some other familiar faces too).

The Erdington Mysteries now has a third book in the series—The Secret Sauce. (Did you know Erdington would have been in Mercia back in the Saxon period? I know, you can't get me away from the place.) The Barrage Body is coming soon.

The Royal Women Who Made England, my first non-fiction book about the royal women of the tenth century, is available now.

I like to write. You've been warned.

Find me at
www.mjporterauthor.com or at www.mjporterauthor.blog where I blog about books and films and sometimes, writing!
https://linktr.ee/MJPorterauthor
https://mjporterauthor.sumupstore.com

You can join my monthly subscriber newsletters and gain access to the restricted page on my blog at the same time.
https://BookHip.com/MGWHLDC (Saxon stories)
https://BookHip.com/THPKCKP (mysteries only)


(I have odd reading tastes - there's no need to notice though!!) I'm also exceedingly anti-social - that you may notice but must accept!

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the audio very much once I got used to the different perspectives. There’s so much heart in this book. All the characters believe they should be the rightful king of Mercia and Northumbria. So much intrigue, betrayal, and ambition is displayed by these men. The descriptions of the battle scenes are poignant and gritty. Also the slow spreading of Christianity is addressed by some whilst others still follow the old gods like Woden. Excellent narration.

[Terry Rudge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid book.
I love that this story is told in a really unique way. The same single story told from multiple POVs, before finally coming to an end in a dramatic and exciting climax

I do love Porter's action scenes with descriptions of battles and tactics and you get a bit more of that in the authors other series. What you get in this series though, is enriched characters and inner dialogue. It's almost the opposite way of writing for the author but also equally exceptionally delivered.

I did listen to this on audible and Matt Coles is bloody fantastic

[Paul Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pagan King
(Of Gods and Kings #2)
by M.J. Porter

BLURB
The year is 641 and the great Oswald of Northumbria, bretwalda (wide-ruler) over England, must battle against an alliance of the old Britons and the Saxons led by Penda of the Hwicce, the victor of Hæ∂feld nine years before, the only Saxon leader seemingly immune to his beguiling talk of the new Christianity spreading through England from both the north and the south.
Alliances will be made and broken, and the victory will go to the man most skilled in war craft and statecraft.
The ebb and flow of battle will once more redraw the lines of the petty kingdoms stretching across the British Isles.
There will be another victor and another bloody loser.
REVIEW
When I read Pagan Warrior, the first book in the series, I was convinced that I would certainly read the rest. What I'm most disappointed in is that it took me so long to read Pagan King. Regardless of the reasons for the delay, it took only a page for me to rekindle my liking of that irascible, ambition driven, Woden in the flesh, Penda. As befits the tenor of that age, this is a complex story and is told in first person chapters which highlights all that emotion, all of those ambitions, all of that religious fervor... Indeed it allows the reader to walk alongside of Penda, Eowa, and Oswald as they turn things over in their minds. It is a complex story, a lot of treachery, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of pragmatic decisions. The buildup to the climatic battle is page turning at its finest, there be some excellent storytelling in these pages.

[ukkindlecustomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark Ages Battles

Brilliant speculative study of British and Saxon cross (seemingly all of them) in fictional account of actual battle for kingdoms and religion. Excellent characters and realistic battle scenes.

[Ron Matsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much personal monologue - tiresome reflections but still a worthwhile read

The thoughts and actions of the principal players are exposed in tiresome detail. The story is more about the inner conflicts and relationships of the kings. Since these are all fictional or hypothetical the narrative becomes tedious. I would have preferred more insight into the military strategies employed - the movement of fighters, the logistics of supporting the armies and a clearer vision of the battlefields.

[Meredith Brum-hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riveting

I could hardly put this book down! The dynamic between brothers adds great drama to the already brutal battles. This was really a great read.

[Pat O'Halloran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book but let down by typos and errors - one of the worst being ‘geezer’ instead of ‘geyser’

[Linda Susan Garman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle Glory

OKAY so this is the second book in this series it is quite enjoyable if lacking something that his other books enjoy, I still am looking forward to the third book in this series and intend to read it.

[Sally Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read if you enjoy historical fiction and books set in the beginnings of England.

[M.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maserfeld, the sequel to Hæ∂feld, is set nine years after events that befell the many kings in Britain during the great, and ground moving events of the battle in the late autumn of 632.
Penda, king of the Hwicce still has much to prove, as does his brother, Eowa, king of the Mercians, and as with all things, nothing ever stays static for long. New men have risen in the place of those killed at Hæ∂feld, and Penda and Eowa must orientate themselves to these new events, and act as they feel they must.
A story of brotherly love, far reaching ambition and the meddling of the twin religions of Christianity and paganism, all combine for a story of intrigue, blood shed and the unexpected.
If you think you know the story of Maserfeld from the dry old history books of Bede, the Anglo Saxon Chronicle or the Welsh Annals, think again.