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The Eagle Will Rise is the latest novel from author MJ Porter. It is the first book in The Sundred Kingdom series.
The king is dead; for Mercia to survive, another must take his place.
Coelwulf, Mercia’s last king, is dead. His legacy and right to rule Western Mercia have been claimed by Alfred of Wessex, but all know Alfred was never to have Mercia. Neither were the Viking raiders, who now command the eastern-most parts of Mercia and the former kingdom of the East Angles.
Icel, the bastion of Mercia’s wars against Wessex and the Viking raiders, lies dying, but he refuses to abandon his beloved kingdom to her long-standing enemies.
Rudolf, the once-young ally of King Coelwulf the second, is summoned by Icel to attend upon him. Grudgingly, he arrives at Budworth, the task laid before him, audacious to say the least; rescue Coelwulf’s acknowledged heir, Æthelred, from Wessex, where he’s held prisoner by King Alfred. To do so, Rudolf must prevail upon the dispersed oath-sworn warrior band of King Coelwulf, and all of them, aside from him, have ignored Icel’s increasingly furious demands to attend upon him. If they won’t obey Icel, then why should they listen to Rudolf?
The fate of Mercia’s survival rests in the hands of a man who should long have been in his grave, and Rudolf, a boy who’s become a man in the most trying of circumstances. They must forge Æthelred into the emblem of Mercian survival. Or die trying. But first, they must rescue Æthelred from someone who’s always pretended to be Mercia’s ally, and is anything but.
The Eagle Will Rise is a fantastic start to a new series from MJ Porter. It’s nice to see characters from the authors other series feature in this one. It’s exciting and feels like catching up with old acquaintances.
There is a lot of focus on getting to know the characters and world-building, which I feel works really well, as it’s a slow-burning plot that is clearly going to play out over the course of the series.
This a book that keeps you gripped from the first page as you get to know the characters and all the scrapes and battles they get in to. It’s extremely well crafted, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.
If you enjoy well-researched historical fiction that takes you right to the heart of the Viking era, then this, like all of MJ Porter’s books, is well worth a read!
You can get a copy of The Eagle Will Rise here!
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