A Time for Swords cover art

A Time for Swords

A Time for Swords, Book 1

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

A Time for Swords

By: Matthew Harffy
Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

When the Vikings attack, a novice monk's life is changed forever in Matthew Harffy's new historical adventure.

Lindisfarne, AD 793. There had been portents - famine, whirlwinds, lightning from clear skies, serpents seen flying through the air. But when the raiders came, no one was prepared. They came from the North, their dragon-prowed longships gliding out of the dawn mist as they descended on the kingdom's most sacred site. It is 8th June AD 793, and with the pillage of the monastery on Lindisfarne, the Viking Age has begun. While his fellow monks flee before the Norse onslaught, one young novice stands his ground. He has been taught to turn the other cheek, but faced with the slaughter of his brothers and the pagan desecration of his church, forgiveness is impossible.

©2020 Matthew Harffy (P)2021 W F Howes Fiction Historical Fiction Medieval Middle Ages Viking Royalty

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Serpent Sword cover art
Wolf of Wessex cover art
Kin of Cain cover art
Viking Slave cover art
The Ill-Made Knight cover art
Viking Blood and Blade cover art
Sword for Hire cover art
Warrior and Protector cover art
Oath Bound cover art
Blood on the Crown cover art
Odin's Game cover art
Lionheart cover art
Crécy: The Age of the Archer cover art
Blood on the Blade cover art
Lord Edward's Archer cover art
English Knight cover art

Critic reviews

"Harffy's writing just gets better and better.... He is really proving himself the rightful heir to Gemmell's crown." (Jemahl Evans)
All stars
Most relevant  
Well written and beautifully crafted story, narrator made it all the more interesting enjoyed the listen

Good listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Decent storyline, enjoyed the history, but a bit too bloodthirsty for my taste. I found the names of the characters tricky to remember because they were such unfamiliar sounds, so it took me a few chapters to remember who was who.

Liked the historical aspect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this book is worth a listen, it has plenty of action although the story line is fairly weak, but surprisingly enjoyable.

a good tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I love this series, so glad I stumbled upon it by accident! It's set in an interesting time period and the characters are well developed and engaging, as is the story. A solid recommendation for anyone who likes history and adventure.

Unputdownable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
have listened to 3 of harffy,s books now and this is the best so far .narrator is excellent.A sort of magnificent 7 in viking times,can't wait for the sequel

Best yet

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Having Finished a number of books in similar series to this by other authors, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this particular book. However, it turned out to be a fantastic lesson well narrated and I thoroughly recommend it to people who enjoy the genre.

Recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant book fantastic story from start to finish, the narrator is absolutely awesome, one of Matthews best

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have listened to the series of books that are linked to this, avidly. I was expecting the same ‘jump in and go’ from this book. Not so, for me. This was due to the narration. I found the voice over acted and annoying to the point that I wanted to return the book. I couldn’t, do I thought I may as well carry on. At some point, the narration and story clicked and it was super. I’m searching now for more in this series!

Is immersive after a very shaky start

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good story well told.. the historical aspect at the end ties things together a bit.. but it was a bit predictable to do this more humour is needed I think the main character is a bit of a Tortured soul that gets a bit monotonous for me..
but I’m not a writer! Well narrated and I would get the next book if there was one

Enjoyed the listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, a real page tuner, but the audio version. Well narrated. Now, straight on to the next…. Skål!

Awesome

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews