Jon Byrne
Author
Coming Soon!
Soldiers of Christ
Book 2 in The Northern Crusader Chronicles
In a land torn by crusade and rebellion, honour is earned in blood.
1205. Richard Fitz Simon has fled England after his title was usurped, joining the Livonian Order of Swordbrothers – a German brotherhood of warrior-monks fighting to bring the word of God to the pagan frontier. After slaying the Lithuanian champion at the Battle of Rodenpois, Richard is celebrated by the Order and their Semigallian allies.
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Yet his position remains precarious. Jealous rivals question his right to stand among the brotherhood, and his master, Knight-brother Rudolf, is enraged by Richard’s disobedience. When dark secrets from Lübeck resurface, Richard also finds himself at odds with Bishop Albert, head of the Christian mission in Livonia. As he struggles to reconcile faith, duty and identity, he is drawn into a brutal world of suspicion, hardship and bloodshed.
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Sent on an expedition to build a castle deep in the wilderness, Richard soon sees tensions erupt – and the path he has chosen threatens to destroy everything he has fought to become.
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Sword Brethren
Book 1 in The Northern Crusader Chronicles
Bound by faith. Forged in battle. Haunted by doubt.
1242: Wounded at the Battle on the Ice, English knight Richard Fitz Simon becomes a prisoner of Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod. Intrigued by his captive, Alexander orders his scholar to record Richard’s life story.
Richard’s chronicle begins in 1203, when betrayal shatters his training for knighthood and forces him to flee England. In Lübeck, he finds work with a ruthless salt merchant and becomes entangled in an illicit affair – until scandal and violence drive him onward once more.
Seeking purpose, Richard joins the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, a militant order bent on bringing Christendom to the pagan Baltic. In the harsh outpost of Riga, he faces not only enemy tribes beyond the walls, but suspicion, ambition, and betrayal within – while grappling with doubts that threaten his faith.
When a vast pagan army threatens to overwhelm the commandery, Richard must choose what kind of man – and believer – he will become.​
Sword Brethren is Book One of The Northern Crusader Chronicles, a gritty, historically grounded series focused on realism, moral ambiguity, and the brutal realities of medieval warfare.
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Now available as an audiobook
"You have a good story here, well written."
Prof William Urban, Medieval historian at Monmouth College and preeminent English-speaking expert on the Northern Crusades
Comments & Reviews
"This is a very entertaining historical novel that tackles a period of history and subject that has not had much exposure when it comes to commercial fiction."
Scott Pack, former Head of Buying at Waterstones
"You are a demonstrably capable writer with an intriguing and exciting concept for a story dealing with the Northern Crusade in one or more volumes."
Ed Handysides, Myrmidon Books
The story continues...
Many books have been written about the crusades in the Holy Land, but the Northern Crusades have been largely forgotten, despite being just as fascinating and rich in drama and conflict. Sword Brethren is an epic adventure that culminates in the first of many battles against an elusive enemy in this undiscovered wilderness of forest and swamp.
