Wolf of Wessex

Matthew Harffy worked as an English teacher and translator in Spain. After, he moved back to England to serve in the IT industry. According to his Amazon bio, he spent all day writing and editing, a passion that fueled his move to full-time novelist. He launched the Bernica Chronicles in 2015, which consists of 11 novels, set in AD 633. He also wrote a four-book series of Viking adventures titled Time for Swords and recently launched a new series with Steven A. McKay called Forest Lord. My first experience with Harffy is his stand-alone adventure novel, Wolf of Wessex.

The novel is set in AD 838 in Wessex. A fifty-year-old hermit named Dunston finds a mutilated corpse in the woods. Dunston, a former fierce warrior and “Wolf's Head”, recognizes the wounds as the “blood eagle”, a ritualistic, torturous Viking death. Soon, Dunston discovers a distraught woman searching for her father. Dunston explains to the woman, Aedwen, that her father has been killed. He agrees to travel to the nearest village with Aedwen and her father's body. They must report the murder to a local constable. However, the journey and reporting won't be easy.

Upon reaching the nearby village, Dunston learns that his old friend, the former constable, has died under suspicious circumstances. Now, the law and local government have been infiltrated by questionable people with questionable motives. They falsely accuse Dunston of murder and sentence him to imprisonment, awaiting trial. But Dunston escapes, gets Aedwen, and pursues justice and revenge on a long trek through the wilderness.

Harffy cleverly uses two familiar storytelling concepts. The first is the fugitive-on-the-run tale pitting the protagonist against the law and opposing forces in an effort to clear his name. This has been done to death in 20th-century pulps and crime-noir, but it's a fresh take set in this time period and location. The second concept uses the old western formula of the aged, retired gunfighter lured out of obscurity by a pressing matter. Dunston is the hero, a bitter, once-proud warrior who has accepted a peaceful life of solitude in the country. But he's forced back into the fight to help this young woman. Harffy also uses some political intrigue and a real historical confrontation to build the novel's whirlwind climax. 

Wolf of Wessex is simply sensational. It combines a heartfelt, emotional journey for both of these characters, a warm dog adventure (Dunston has a mutt named Odin), and the purposeful fighting sequences that the reader anticipates. These battle scenes, pitting Dunston's axe against swords, are worth the price of admission. There's a sense of realism, a good dose of deep-forest atmosphere, and characters that the reader really cares about. Overall, don't miss this one. Highly recommended.

Get Wolf of Wessex HERE.