Sworn Sword
A Novel
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3.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Enter into a ruthless, formidable world, where violent warriors seek honor in holy places and holy men seek glory in dark deeds. As the two opposing forces battle for conquest, the fate of England hangs in the balance
January, 1069: Less than three years after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the death of the usurper, Harold Godwineson, two thousand Normans march in the depths of winter to subdue the troublesome province of Northumbria. Tancred a Dinant,a loyal and ambitious knight, is among them, hungry for battle, honor, silver, and land.
But at Durham, the Normans are ambushed in the streets by English rebels, and Tancred’s revered lord Robert de Commines is slain. Badly wounded, Tancred barely escapes with his own life. Bitterly determined to seek vengeance for his lord’s murder, the dauntless knight quickly becomes entrenched in secret dealings between a powerful Norman magnate and a shadow from the past. As the Norman and English armies prepare to clash, Tancred uncovers a cunning plot that harks back to the day of Hastings itself. If successful, it threatens to destroy the entire conquest—and change the course of history.
The Conquest Series:
Sworn Sword (Book 1)
The Splintered Kingdom (Book 2)
Knights of the Hawk (Book 3)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The theme of this first book in a projected historical fiction series is the Norman conquest of England after the Battle of Hastings. Aitchenson brings excitement and intrigue to a bloody period of medieval history one that is underrepresented in the genre. Set in 1069, three years after Hastings, the book follows a Norman knight, Tancred a Dinant, who is part of the army sent to subdue revolt in Northumbria. However, only Tancred and a few others survive a massacre at the hands of English rebels. Afterward, Tancred falls in with a Norman lord, Vicomte Malet, who sends him and several handpicked knights to deliver a secret message, accompanied by Malet's chaplain, Aelfwold. While Malet struggles to defend his besieged stronghold in Northumbria, Tancred and his men must fight off a rebel fleet and assassins. At the same time, the knight becomes suspicious of Aelfwold and of Lord Malet himself. Savage hand-to-hand battles with swords, axes, and spears rage between the Normans and the English, and only Tancred's loyalty, sense of honor, and strong sword arm may yet see him through the slaughter. Aitcheson, though not yet in the same high strata as Simon Scarrow or Angus Donald, shows great promise as an adventure novelist in this colorful debut.
