31 Mar Book Review Sword Brethren Jon Byrne #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalAdventure #medieval #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @cathiedunn
FEATURED AUTHOR: JON BYRNE
I’m delighted to welcome Jon Byrne as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour, being held between March 11th – April 1st, 2025. Jon Byrne is the author of the Historical Fiction (Action/Adventure), Sword Brethren (The Northern Crusader Chronicles), published by The Book Guild on 28th November 2024 (416 pages).
Below are highlights of Sword Brethen, Jon Byrne’s author bio, and my 5-star review of his gripping, coming-of-age adventure set in 13th century Crusades in the Eastern Baltic.
Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/01/blog-tour-sword-brethren-by-jon-byrne.html
HIGHLIGHTS: SWORD BRETHREN
Sword Brethren
(The Northern Crusader Chronicles, Book 1)
by Jon Byrne
Blurb:
1242 After being wounded in the Battle on the Ice, Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Alexander, intrigued by his captive’s story, instructs his scholar to assist Richard in writing about his life.
Richard’s chronicle begins in 1203, when his training to be a knight is disrupted by treachery. He is forced to flee England for Lübeck, where he begins work for a greedy salt merchant. After an illicit love affair, his new life is thrown into turmoil, and he joins the Livonian Brothers of the Sword as they embark on imposing the will of God on the pagans of the eastern Baltic. Here, he must reconcile with his new life of prayer, danger and duty – despite his own religious doubts, with as many enemies within the fortified commandery as the wilderness outside. However, when their small outpost in Riga is threatened by a large pagan army, Richard is compelled to make a crucial decision and fight like never before.
Triggers: There are several mild profanities, a non-graphic rape scene and several descriptions of battle and death.
Buy Links:
Universal Ebook Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/boVKlV
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sword-brethren-jon-byrne/1146519606?ean=2940184429601
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/sword-brethren/jon-byrne/9781835740798
AUTHOR BIO: JON BYRNE
Jon Byrne, originally from London, now lives with his German family by a lake in Bavaria with stunning views of the Alps. As well as writing, he works as a translator for a local IT company and occasionally as a lumberjack.
He has always been fascinated by history and has studied the Medieval world for over twenty years, building up a comprehensive library of books. In his research, he has travelled to all of the locations mentioned in the book (East Anglia, Bremen, Lübeck, Latvia, etc).
Sword Brethren (formerly Brothers of the Sword) made it to the shortlist of the Yeovil Literary Prize 2022 and the longlist of the prestigious Grindstone International Novel Prize 2022. It is the first book in The Northern Crusader Chronicles.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.jonbyrnewriter.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JonByrneAuthor
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Jon-Byrne/author/B0DJC6PL8D
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/52458339.Jon_Byrne
BOOK REVIEW: SWORD BRETHREN
Sword Brethren by Jon Byrne is a gripping, coming-of-age medieval tale told from the perspective of a middle-aged Crusader that begins the story when he is a fourteen-year-old boy living in his father’s castle in England. Training to be a knight, Richard is charged with secretly depositing the deeds and titles of his father’s properties at a distant monastery for safekeeping. Upon his return, Richard discovers his uncle has murdered his father and taken the castle and surrounding lands as his own. To escape death, Richard flees with his father’s German steward, first to London and then to Lübeck. He must learn German and adapt to the rigors of working for a treacherous merchant to survive. His life is again threatened when the ramifications of his illicit affair with the merchant’s daughter comes to light. He must make a difficult decision to join the Livonian Brothers of the Sword just as they embark on a crusade to convert the pagans of the eastern Baltic to Christianity.
Sword Brethren is a page-turning adventure of an impetuous and brash young man who has lost everything but has the wit and courage to survive. Author Jon Byne has masterfully crafted an engaging epic tale told in the first person viewpoint of a middle-age knight with insight on how his youthful decisions impacted his life. It is a rare that a historical adventure has both action-packed scenes yet captures the essence of its characters. The prologue immediately drew me into the story and kept me turning the pages to discover why a noble born in England would fight in a Catholic-sanctioned military order, primarily composed of men from northern Germany. Under what circumstance would Richard, a warrior monk, sire a son?
After a brief background in the beginning chapters, the plot propels into fast-paced action full of tension at every turn. There are cinematic scenes in which Richard barely escapes with his life only to be pulled into another dire situation. The action keeps the readers’ hearts in their throats. Richard often react impulsively with deadly purpose in his youth, but his heart is in the right place. It is a captivating story of a young man determined to survive and to find meaning in his life after great loss. In his quest to avenge his father and to regain his heritage, he also finds love and deep friendships.
Sword Brethren is a promising start to The Northern Crusader Chronicles for which I’ll keep my eye on future books by John Byrne. I highly recommend this compelling medieval action/adventure for its heartfelt epic tale of a young English noble catapulted as a Teutonic Knight into the lesser-known Crusades in the Baltic regions
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Jon Byrne
Posted at 07:48h, 01 AprilHi Linnea. Thanks for the great review of my book – I’m glad you enjoyed it. Take care. Jon
Linnea Tanner
Posted at 21:34h, 01 AprilHi Jon–It was my pleasure to read and review your book. The story had the rare combination of action and character development. I found Richard to be an engaging character. Best wishes on this book. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Cathie Dunn
Posted at 09:24h, 01 AprilThank you so much for hosting Jon Byrne today, and for your wonderful review of his thrilling medieval adventure, Sword Brethren.
Take care,
Cathie xo
The Coffee Pot Book Club
Linnea Tanner
Posted at 09:29h, 01 AprilHi Cathie—It was a pleasure to host John Byrne and to review his book. It is set in a period of history which I’m familiar, but it was an engaging story that immediately drew me in.