Swordland, paperback/edward ruadh butler

A tale of war, death, lust, and scheming, set in the starkly beautiful landscapes of medieval Ireland and Wales.

Robert FitzStephen is a warrior down on his luck.

Arrogant, cold, but a brilliant soldier, FitzStephen commands a castle - yet although his mother was a princess his father was a lowly steward.

When a Welsh rebellion brings defeat and a crippling siege, his highborn comrades scorn him, betraying him to the enemy.

A hostage of his cousin, Prince Rhys, FitzStephen is disgraced, seemingly doomed to a life of obscurity and shame.

Then King Diarmait arrives .

Diarmait is the ambitious overlord of an Irish kingdom.

Forced to flee by the High King of Ireland, he seeks to reclaim his lands by any means possible - and that includes inviting the Normans in.

  With nothing left to lose - and perhaps a great deal to gain - FitzStephen agrees to lead the Irishmans armies, and to drive Diarmaits enemies from his kingdom.

His price? Acceptance, perhaps .

 or perhaps a kingdom of his own? Butlers debut novel, Swordland is a powerful, impeccably researched story of medieval Celtic life, of the loves, losses, and hatreds of some of the most important figures in Irish and British history.