James Aitcheson's debut novel, Sworn Sword, is set during the sociopolitical fallout following William the Conqueror's invasion of England. The year is 1069: Tancred a Dinant, a loyal knight of Norman noble Robert de Commines, finds himself lordless and severely wounded after an army of English rebels massacre Robert's forces in Northumbria. He and a handful of surviving comrades escape south to Eoferwic (York) and into the service of Vicomte (viscount) Guillaume Malet. Tancred is charged with escorting the vicomte's daughter and wife to Lundene (London)--and taking his secretive English chaplain, Ælfwold, to an abbey even farther south.
Sworn Sword is an addictive, bloody adventure across a fantastically realized historical setting. Aitcheson's scholarly interest in the period, along with the use of 11th-century place names and a smattering of Old English dialogue, lends the novel an engrossing air of credibility. Tancred and his cohort partake in frequent battles, both large-scale and brutally intimate. Though Aitcheson's prose can become repetitive at times, the action is almost always thrilling. Tancred's first-person narration works effectively, with just a few hiccups, such as the occasional flat metaphor and some questionable decisions on Tancred's part. Overall, Sworn Sword is thoroughly enjoyable--and its sequel, The Splintered Kingdom, has already been released in the United Kingdom. --Tobias Mutter, freelance reviewer