Book Review: Clash of Kings by MJ Porter

We are so pleased to be welcoming MJ Porter back to Novel Kicks with the blog tour to their novel, Clash of Kings.

The next bloody and thrilling instalment in MJ Porter’s The Brunanburh Series.

Can the Norse and the Scots exact their revenge over the mighty King Athelstan of the English?

AD937

After the slaughter field of Brunanburh, a defeated Olaf Gothfrithson of the Dublin Norse and Constantin of the Scots narrowly escaped with their lives. In their kingdoms, failure has left them demoralised and weak.

Olaf licks his wounds in Dublin, whilst Constantin and the Welsh kingdoms who defied King Athelstan, are once more forced to bend the knee. As Athelstan’s reputation grows stronger day by day, their need to exact revenge on the overmighty and triumphant Athelstan has never been greater.

Olaf sets his sights on reclaiming the lost kingdom of Jorvik only for tragedy to strike at the heart of England and a reluctant new King, Edmund steps in the fray.

While England mourns the death of their warrior King, her enemies gather on her borders and England stands alone against the might of the Norse, Welsh and Scots.

Can the new King be victorious and banish her enemies once and for all or will England, and its king lose all that’s been gained and succumb to a new pretender? 

An epic tale of kinsmanship, greed and power, perfect for the fans of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom series.

*****

After the battle of Brunanburh there exists an uneasy period of in-activity – not peace as such, but a time for repairs to be made and wounds to heal.

King Athelstan presides over England until his sudden death, bringing Edmund reluctantly to power.

Emboldened by the sudden death, old enemies strike out of the heart of winter and will test Edmund’s skills and alliances.

It did not take me long to get pulled into this novel. The overall history intrigued me greatly. It is quite hard to tell you much about it without spoilers.

The author does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life, creating bonds with the reader and drawing you in.

Told from the point of view of various characters, the novel is very well paced and draws you through as the perspective shifts from chapter to chapter. The reader knows exactly where and when they are.

On a personal note, I grew up in one of the areas mentioned in the book and it was great to discover some of its history.

I have not yet read the first two books but I felt that this didn’t hinder my enjoyment of this novel, the third in Brunanburh Series. The first two books are definitely on my reading list though.

I hope that this author continues to write historical fiction as they are very skilful in this genre. It’s obvious that a lot of time is dedicated to research. The settings and descriptions are so vivid, I felt I had a really good sense of the places which made the story really immersive.

A great novel by MJ Porter. I am intrigued to see what comes next.

About MJ Porter –

MJ Porter is the author of many historical novels set predominantly in Seventh to Eleventh-Century England, and in Viking Age Denmark.

They were raised in the shadow of a building that they believed housed the bones of long-dead Kings of Mercia – so their writing destiny was set.

The first novel in their new Anglo-Saxon series for Boldwood Son of Mercia was published in February 2022.

Say hello on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bookbub. Click here to sign up to their newsletter. 

Clash of Kings is book three in The Brunanburh series and was released on 13th January 2024. Click to buy on Amazon UK, Amazon US and Waterstones. 

by

Chris Parish