The Bloody Hand Saga Books

“William came over the sea, with bloody hand came he...” 1069 AD. Three years after the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy had yet to crush resistance in England. To the north, the people of the Danelaw refused to bow to the Norman yoke. In the east, the famous Hereward waged savage resistance in the fens of Lindsey. Meanwhile the sons of Harold Godwinnsson, backed by a Viking fleet, planned to return and avenge their father. The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell Skaldsson, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE NORTHMAN (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 1) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“They called their new land England...” 1076 AD. William the Conqueror reigns supreme in England. After many years of bitter warfare, all his enemies are dead or defeated. The Norman king has imposed an iron grip on the land. His dreaded castles, filled with brutal foreign soldiers, cover the kingdom from sea to sea. Yet some of the English refuse to accept defeat. A band of nobles decide to leave England forever and go into exile. These men collect a fleet of three hundred ships and take an army of picked men, to find a new homeland where they can live in freedom. An epic voyage lies ahead... The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell Skaldsson, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE OUTLAW (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 3) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

"The Northmen had very great honour who went into service there..." 1076 AD. After the slaughter of his comrades in Iberia, Thorkell leads the few survivors to Constantinople, the Great City, capital of the Roman Empire. He finds the empire in a state of bloody confusion. The emperor is under siege, attacked by a mighty rebel host, while his realm is torn apart by civil war. To gain the emperor's favour, Thorkell leads his English warriors in a desperate attempt to break the siege of Constantinople. At the same time a young and ambitious Roman general, Alexios, raises a new army in the east. The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell Skaldsson, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE OUTLAW (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 4) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

"He imitated the madness of Herod..." 1081 AD. The young Roman Emperor, Alexios, sits upon an unsteady throne. Threatened on all sides, the Empire is also bitterly divided between pretenders to the imperial throne. As Alexios staggers from one crisis to the next, the very survival of the ancient realm of the Caesars is in doubt. A new threat arises in the shape of Robert Guiscard, an all-conquering Norman warlord. As Guiscard's unstoppable armies smash their way into the empire, destroying cities and slaughtering entire armies, Alexios has only hope left. He turns to his feared English mercenaries, the Varangian Guard. The fate of the empire rests on their broad shoulders... The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell Skaldsson, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE CONQUEROR (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 5) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“Fight another day and conquer...” 1086 AD. The Roman Emperor, Alexios, has finally overcome the Normans. Yet the war has taken a heavy toll, and left much of his empire in ruins. Suddenly he is attacked by a host of enemies at once. In Thrace, the heretical sects of the Bogomils and Paulicians rise up against Alexios. Then the Pechenegs, a tribe of ferocious horse-warriors, storm across the Danube river. A vicious pirate, Çaka Bey, threatens the Roman navy. Trapped between so many fires, Alexios must fight for the empire's very existence. Once again he turns to his loyal Varangian Guard, now led by Thorkell Skaldsson. The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE VARANGIAN (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 6) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“The vultures will eat your corpses...” 1087 AD. After their victory in Thrace, the emperor Alexios and his trusted warlord, Thorkell Skaldsson, have returned to Constantinople. Their respite is only brief. Soon word reaches them of Chaka Bey, the feared Dragon Pirate, ravaging the coasts of Anatolia. At the same time the Turks are gathering in force to destroy the imperial garrisons in the east, weakened by decades of civil war. While Thorkell leads the Roman armies into Anatolia, Alexios sends fleet after fleet against Chaka Bey. Yet they are all destroyed. Then Chaka Bey forms an unholy alliance with a mighty host of invading Pechenegs. Constantinople itself, the Queen of Cities, is threatened by sea and land. At last the rival hosts face each other in the valley of Levounion. There, in a single battle, the fate of an entire generation will be decided. The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE VARANGIAN (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 6) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“Why are you mixing the cup of death?” 1096 AD. Despite his many victories, the Emperor Alexios is unable to stem the relentless advance of the Turks. Anatolia, the imperial heartlands in the East, are almost completely overrun. Alexios is forced to seek help from the West, and the armies of the First Crusade. Led by the most famous Christian warriors of the age, the crusaders storm into Anatolia and the Holy Land, throwing back the Turks and conquering city after city. They are shadowed by Alexios and the armies of Rome, hoping to use the crusade to reconquer imperial lands. The veteran warrior and poet, Thorkell Skaldsson, is once again summoned to war. He and his battle-scarred English Varangians are thrown into battle against crusaders and Turks alike. Before they can enjoy their new homeland, a savage conflict looms. The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE CRUSADE is the eighth chapter of THE BLOODY HAND SAGA from David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

“Let everything go to destruction...” 1116 AD. After the triumph of the First Crusade, the Romans have reconquered much of Anatolia. However, the Turks are recovering their strength under the leadership of the formidable sultan, Malik Shah. Suddenly they unleash a string of bloody raids on the imperial frontier. The existence of the fragile, war-torn Roman state hangs in the balance. Old and sick, the Emperor Alexios is forced to lead his forces to war one more time. He entrusts his army to Thorkell Skaldsson, now a veteran officer of the Varangian Guard. As the emperor's strength fades, Thorkell is plunged into battle. At the same time he must fight the enemy within, including his own family... The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English. The Northman has one last saga to tell... THE CAESAR is the ninth and final chapter of THE BLOODY HAND SAGA from David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.

The saga of the Bloody Hand continues… In Axe Lord , the latest gripping chapter of The Bloody Hand Saga , Waltheof Skaldsson must rise from his father’s shadow and forge his own legend in the war-torn Eastern Empire. After securing the throne for Emperor John the Good, Waltheof now faces a battle for the empire’s very survival. Enemies close in from every side: In the east, the Seljuk Turks gather, poised to tear through the empire’s fragile borders. To the west, the Kingdom of Hungary rises once more, seeking revenge and conquest. At sea, the Venetian fleet prowls, ready to strike at Roman weakness. But the greatest threat comes from the north. Backed by the Grand Prince of Kiev, a savage horde of Pechenegs and nomadic raiders surges across the Danube, leaving fire and ruin in their wake. With the empire on the brink of destruction, the young emperor turns to Waltheof to lead the fight. Outnumbered and outmatched, he must wield his axe and command the empire’s forces—or see it fall to ruin. AXE LORD (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 10) is a thrilling historical epic by David Pilling , acclaimed author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales , and many more gripping works of historical fiction and nonfiction.