Today is my turn on the blog tour for Shield of Mercia by MJ Porter!
Here’s the blurb.
Mercia is triumphant. Her king is safe. But Wessex was never Mercia’s only enemy.
Tamworth, AD836Following a brutally cold winter, King Wiglaf of Mercia is in the ascendancy. Even Wessex’s Archbishop of Canterbury extraordinarily ventures to Mercia to broker a religious accord. But, can the hard-won peace prevail?
Viking raiders threaten Wessex. These blood-thirsty warriors are fast, skilful and have no reticence about killing those who stand in their way. Their aim isn’t to rule but to overwhelm, slaughter and take ill-gotten wealth.
King Wiglaf is no fool. As the Vikings push to overwhelm Wessex, Mercia’s lands look insecure. King Wiglaf needs the shields of Mercia’s warriors to prevent the overwhelming advancement of their deadliest enemy yet.
To save Mercia, Icel must first prevail over the two men who mean to end his life; King Ecgberht of Wessex and his son, Æthelwulf of Kent and only then the marauding Viking army for whom boundaries have no meaning.
An action packed, thrilling historical adventure perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell and Matthew Harffy.
Review
We are back with Icel for the latest instalment in the The Eagle of Mercia Chronicles series!
Boy it’s been some journey.. but Icel cant rest yet. There’s still a lot of bad blood and political tension following invents of the last book.. is that threat gone forever… hmmmm.
There’ still the shadow hanging over him.. the truth of who he really is and what that could mean for Mercia… but Icel just wants to be a warrior…
There’s not much time to contemplate this though as a Viking army needs to be contended with. The country may be divided but can the King’s put differences aside to battle their common foe? .
Icel has barely had time to recover too, he’s been through so much already, but there’s little time to heal, both mentally and physically as it’s time for Icel to serve his King once again, to stop the advancing threat.
What I really enjoyed was the balance, the build up of political tension..showing sometimes battles are done with words, subtle movements putting the pieces om the boardgame for the perfect setup…only to have the reader then smashed from their feet with the battle and gore.. I mean sometimes the only answer is a bloody sword!
Development wise I loved that we had the addition of new characters such as Aldhelm, but also revisit some firm favourites in Cuthred and Wynflaed..
The first chapter for me was a beautiful piece of writing, not only did it set the scene.. set the tension and fear for the remainder of the novel it also reminded followers of the series of previous events.. even the mention of the name Wine takes me back to the first novel and the death of Icel’s uncle…that’s the power the authors words hold..the reader really is mesmerised and transported to another life.
Wynflaed is older now and for me the fear I have for her was mirrored in the fear of the Viking threat, the tension she builds so eloquently with her words mirrored the tension between the Kings of the land..
The tension just builds and the pace is superb.. as the battles and blood flow the pace increases and you find yourself hungry for more and more.. I devoured those last few chapters as you are just left with no choice but to keep reading! Wowza.
MJ Porter shows us why they are one of the best in the genre! Shield of Mercia is rich in detail, rich in development and rich in gore… what more could you want from an MJ Porter novel?
I’m always amazed looking back to how much happens in each novel.. and Shield of Mercia doesn’t disappoint. I never feel safe… who will survive.. where will the next battle come from.. who can be trusted… you are kept on the edge of your seat!
You could jump into the series now if you wanted as the author provides enough detail for new readers to understand the flow and motivations but for me it’s a series to enjoy from the beginning to really feel that development… it’s just that good you need to read it from yourself!
Easy 5*
My thanks go to the author, publisher and Rachel’s Random Resources for having me on the tour!
Why not check out the rest of the stops on the tour?
Tempted yet?
Purchase Link –
https://mybook.to/ShieldofMercia
Author Bio –
MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark. Raised in the shadow of a building that was believed to house the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia, meant that the author’s writing destiny was set.
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