The title, Storm of Steel, led me to assume that the theme of the sixth instalment in Harffy’s Bernicia Chronicles series would include some sort of sea-faring adventure. However, this book delivers a gripping narrative that captivated me from the very first page. This time, Beobrand’s adventure takes him across the channel, to Rodomo.
Contents
Storyline
I haven’t fully recovered from everything that occurred in Warrior of Woden, but I feel the need to go on with Storm of Steel. As I mentioned, the title of this book may suggest that there will be ship-related adventures, and I remember how Beobrand hates to go on a sail.
It’s been one year since the Battle of Maserfelth. It is 643 AD now; Beobrand and his gesith were on board a ship called Háligsteorra on their way to Cantware. Their quest to Cantware was to pick up Eanflaed who’s going to marry Oswiu. My emotion is still numb from Warrior of Woden, and the second chapter already depicts the murder of Dalton, one of the monks on board with Beobrand.
The following may contain spoilers, but the conclusion of Warrior of Woden showed how Oswiu had strategically taken Octa, Beobrand’s son, under his tutelage. I can see through Oswiu; I know that Octa is a hostage, an insurance so he can bend Beobrand onto his will and does his biddings.
Fate is good for She does not let Oswiu ascend the throne immediately after Oswald’s death. Here’s the deal: Oswald brought Deira and Bernicia together as Northumbria. But with his demise, the two kingdoms became separate entities with their respective kings. The Witena Gemot decided that Oswine, son of Osric, was to be king of Deira. This decision slapped Oswiu in the face because he failed to continue ruling over the unionised Northumbria.
Strategising how to get the two kingdoms back together, Oswiu thought about marrying Eanflaed, the daughter of King Edwin, who is now in exile with her mother in Cantware. This is why Oswiu is sending Beobrand and his gesith to escort Eanflaed back to Bernicia.
The journey towards Cantware stumbled upon several minor incidents. The real problems began when they arrived.
PROBLEM #1
Beobrand had a girlfriend before he went to Northumbria in 633. Her name is Udela. When Beobrand left, Udela ended up marrying Scrydan, one of Beobrand’s friends in his hometown. Upon his return to Cantware, Beobrand discovered that Ardith, Udela’s daughter, was actually his daughter. But Scrydan, being greedy, had sold Ardith for a couple of silver coins to some slavetrader harbouring in the port. Obviously, the biggest mission is to retrieve Ardith and bring her back to Ubbanford.
PROBLEM #2
Eanflaed and Beobrand had crossed paths before in The Serpent Sword (Book 1). At that time, Eanflaed was a little girl who caught Beobrand crying in the dark. Now Eanflaed is a grown woman, a princess, and is to be wedded to Oswiu. Judging by the physical gestures depicted in the chapters of Storm of Steel, I think there were chemistry sparkling between Beobrand and Eanflaed. The princess seemed to openly flirt with Beobrand in front of their entourage. Do you see the problem here?
Characters
After killing off several characters in the previous book, Matthew Harffy introduced new ones. The surprise is, of course, about Ardith. I know it’s a spoiler, but I don’t care. You’re going to find that out sooner or later. The next new character who’s seemingly going to stay is Udela, Beobrand’s ex-girlfriend. Along the way, emerged Brinin, Ardith’s boyfriend, who’s not less determined to retrieve his soulmate back from the slavetraders.
The main villain in Storm of Steel was Lord Vulmar of Neustria. He reigns from his stronghold in the city of Rodomo, where he holds the beautiful and courageous Ardith captive within his harem. You can only imagine what Beobrand wants to do with him.
Sailing the Storm of Steel
The first problem fuelled how the rest of Beobrand’s journey in Storm of Steel. After gathering information of where Ardith may had been taken, Beobrand was ready to set sail towards Rodomo, present day Rouen. I love a little change of scenery which I think is overdue. Storm of Steel introduced me to early Mediaeval Rouen with all its dynamics.
Following the signature style of Matthew Harffy, Beobrand caused some shenanigans in Rodomo in pursuit to retrieve Ardith. This slice of story highlighted the issue of human trafficking, which is surprisingly still rampant today.
There's definitely,
definitely, definitely no logic
To human behaviour
Björk - Human Behaviour
Matthew Harffy mentioned in his HISTORICAL NOTE how he couldn’t solve the early Mediaeval name of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, and I went on a rabbit hole journey reading a number of accompanying articles, looking for that name.
But no luck; although the remains of a palaeo-Christian building were found, there is no recorded mention of the name of this structure prior to the building of a basilica mentioned in the sermon of Bishop Victrice in 395-396 AD.
Verdict
For the first time in the Bernicia Chronicles series, I found myself smiling as I reached the end of the book. Without giving away any spoilers, I can assure you that all loose ends have been neatly tied up. I eagerly await the dynamics that will unfold as the new characters integrate with the existing ones.
Wrap-up
The adventures in Rodomo didn’t even last for two days. A bit unusual, but this time, Beobrand’s saga has a somewhat happy ending. The very short excursion in Rodomo gained Beobrand four more passengers to return to Albion: Halinard, his wife, his daughter, and Gadd, some guy they met in Rodomo.
The cultural difference between Albion and Neustria was rather starkly pictured. I think I could imagine how colourful Rodomo was compared to the cold and damp Bernicia. Being on the continent obviously exposed Rodomo to various people and cultures from all over Europe.
For the first time in the Bernicia Chronicles series, I found myself smiling as I reached the end of the book. Without giving away any spoilers, I can assure you that all loose ends have been neatly tied up. It seems Beobrand may enjoy a few months of respite from his usual troubles. In fact, I had almost forgotten about the original quest to fetch Eanflaed for Oswiu.
With a sense of anticipation, I eagerly await the dynamics that will unfold as the new characters integrate with the existing ones. Will there be clashes or will they find common ground? The possibilities are intriguing.
Now I can’t wait to start Fortress of Fury, Book 7.
- Gauthier, Nancy. 1980. “De Ratumagus à Rouen.” In: Cahier des Annales de Normandie n°12-A. Histoire et numismatique en Haute-Normandie. pp. 5-16. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/annor.1980.3843
- Lajoye, Patrice. 2007. “L’évolution du nom de Rouen dans l’Antiquité et au Haut Moyen Âge en domaines celtique, latin et germanique.” In: Annales de Normandie, 57ᵉ année, n°3-4. pp. 223-229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/annor.2007.1618
- Salet, Francis. 1991. “Cathédrales paléochrétiennes en Normandie.” In: Bulletin Monumental, tome 149, n°2. pp. 236-237. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/bulmo.1991.3254