M.J. Porter Books in Order

Leofwine returns wounded from a diplomatic mission to find his influence at court slipping away. Facing renewed Viking attacks and self-serving rivals, he must defend his position while adapting to changed responsibilities and lasting injuries.

Fostered with Eadric at the king’s command, Northman is caught between his father’s loyalties and his guardian’s ambitions. Renewed Viking attacks force him and Leofwine to navigate dangerous court politics while trying to preserve their family.

Swein’s sudden death destroys a brief hope of peace and reopens the struggle for England’s throne. Bound by conflicting promises, Leofwine and his sons must protect their family while competing rulers plunge the kingdom back into war.

Leofwine’s military success wins royal confidence but also the hostility of Denmark’s king Swein. As raids increase and attacks threaten the royal family, he must protect England while surviving enemies at his own king’s court.

Warrior Penda seeks to claim his father’s Mercian kingdom before Northumbria absorbs it. An alliance with British rulers offers a chance of victory, but uncertain loyalties within his own family complicate the coming battle.

Before confronting Leofwine, Swein must wrest Denmark from his father and establish himself as a warrior king. His ambitions draw him into raids on England, shifting alliances, and a dangerous rivalry with Olaf of Norway.

Grieving and disillusioned, Leofwine withdraws from court after Cnut’s conquest. The new king needs his support to legitimize Danish rule, while Leofwine’s family must decide how to preserve its position under a ruler they distrust.

Wulfstan, trusted adviser to Ealdorman Leofwine, reveals his own history during the early reign of Æthelred. As the young king struggles with noble feuds, Wulfstan’s experiences illuminate the loyalties and dangers surrounding the English court.

In 641, Penda leads an alliance of British and Saxon forces against Oswald of Northumbria. As religious allegiance and royal ambition divide the kingdoms, shifting loyalties threaten to determine the outcome before the armies meet.

The long-delayed sunrise returns to frozen Unison, drawing Sereh, Erann and Greeneyes toward forgotten secrets beneath its surface. Erann discovers that he may hold the key to the enigmas shaping their world as they explore its lost past.

Leofric expects to inherit his father’s title but instead receives responsibilities without the earldom he seeks. As Cnut’s ambitions expand abroad, he navigates royal family tensions and Godwine’s rivalry to secure his own future.

In 945, King Edmund seeks to strengthen England by retaking Viking York and extending his power into neighboring kingdoms. Rival rulers resist his ambitions as he struggles to make his brother Athelstan's achievement of unity endure.

In 655, Penda of Mercia commands a network of allies across Britain, but Oswiu of Bernicia resists his dominance. Their preparations for a final confrontation test shifting loyalties and the political skill needed to survive the coming battle.

After Swein’s death, England rejects his son Cnut and welcomes Æthelred back from exile. Determined to win the kingdom he believes should be his, Cnut enters a struggle against established loyalties and rival royal heirs.

Following her dying husband’s wishes, Elfrida approaches King Edgar but refuses to become his concubine. Their growing attraction draws her into a court where marriage, succession, and the ambitions of powerful families are inseparable.

Elfrida has become Edgar’s queen, but marriage offers little protection from political intrigue. Viking threats, court factions, and uncertainty over the succession put her influence at risk as she struggles to safeguard her family’s future.

After her mother's death in 918, Ælfwynn inherits authority over Mercia and faces Viking pressure from the north. Her uncle Edward of Wessex also covets the kingdom, forcing her to defend her position against enemies within her own family.

In 957, discontented northern nobles abandon King Eadwig and support his brother Edgar. Their decision divides the emerging English kingdom, leaving rival rulers to confront external enemies while struggling to preserve authority over their own territories.

Harald holds England’s throne, but Leofric’s kindness toward the exiled queen dowager weakens his standing at court. Godwine exploits the division while threats from neighboring kingdoms put the security of Leofric’s family under further pressure.

Cnut’s death leaves rival sons and the queen dowager competing to control England. Earl Leofric must weigh old obligations against Mercia’s interests while foreign threats and personal grievances make every choice of allegiance dangerous.

Established as England’s first crowned queen, Elfrida enjoys Edgar’s confidence and watches their son grow. Beneath the apparent peace, the security of her family remains vulnerable, and another trial threatens everything she has worked to secure.

Widowed Elfrida secures the crown for her young son, but suspicion over his predecessor’s murder threatens her influence. As Viking attacks and rival noblemen endanger the kingdom, even her son begins resisting her authority.

Married as a teenager to the aging Edward of Wessex, Eadgifu enters a royal family already crowded with heirs. As warfare reshapes the emerging English kingdom, she seeks influence through marriage, motherhood, and alliances across successive reigns.

Restored to court, Elfrida is entrusted with raising her grandchildren while Æthelred attempts to govern without old restraints. Renewed raiding and threats to the dynasty force her to defend a future she can no longer shape openly.

Four granddaughters of Alfred the Great marry into the ruling families of continental Europe, each seeking influence over her adopted kingdom. Rivalries between East and West Frankia place the sisters on opposing sides, with their brother Athelstan left to mediate.

Six years away from court have stripped Elfrida of the influence she once wielded. Hoping to regain her place beside her son, she risks an alliance with England’s Viking enemy that could instead bring permanent exile.

Harthacnut returns to England determined to punish those who accepted his half-brother’s rule. Harsh taxes and royal hostility place Leofric in a difficult position, forcing him to defend Mercia while weighing information that could change everything.

In 918, Ælfwynn's succession to Mercia angers her uncle Edward of Wessex, who wants the kingdom for himself. As he finds an unexpected accomplice, she must confront a threat more treacherous than the enemies she has already faced.

Widowed after a brief marriage in Kiev, Estrid returns to a family whose power stretches across northern Europe. As her father plans her future, she strives to protect Denmark and assert influence beyond her value as a bride.

Newly crowned Coelwulf must leave the ceremonies of kingship behind as Viking raiders threaten Mercia from the east. With Wessex an unreliable ally and trusted companions already lost, he returns to the roads to defend his fragile kingdom.

With Mercia's alliance with Wessex shattered, warrior Coelwulf hears rumors that his kingdom has been betrayed. Surviving an attempt on his life, he journeys from the west into Mercia's heart to uncover the truth and confront Viking enemies.

Coelwulf leads a small force against vastly stronger Viking raiders while Mercia's alliance with Wessex lies in ruins. Hunting enemies beyond the kingdom's heartland, he must decide how far his warriors can stretch to preserve their threatened homeland.

These prequel stories follow Coelwulf and the companions who later defend Mercia in The Last King. Episodes from before his kingship explore the earlier lives of warriors including Icel, Edmund, Pybba, and Rudolf in ninth-century England.

An unidentified body discovered in a bizarre position sends Mason and O’Rourke to a wartime aerodrome. As questions of espionage arise, a separate counterfeiting investigation competes for their attention and the dead man’s identity remains elusive.

In wartime Birmingham, a newly discovered victim recalls a drowning that Chief Inspector Mason failed to solve twenty years earlier. With O’Rourke’s help, he revisits the old evidence while war continues to disrupt ordinary life.

Edward returns from years in Normandy to claim England after the death of Cnut’s last son. Leofric and Ælfgar must help secure his rule while rival interests threaten to undo the return of an English dynasty.

Summoned to Worcester, Coelwulf discovers that an old enemy now needs his help. Dividing his warriors to secure an alliance leaves Mercia vulnerable, while winter storms and unexpected raiders threaten his kingdom and its defenders.

Winter gives Coelwulf little protection as defeated Viking jarls shelter behind their settlement's walls. With King Alfred's intentions uncertain and threats pressing from north and south, Mercia's king pursues a deeply personal conflict with Halfdan.

Recently cleared of her husband’s murder, Lady Merryweather visits friends at Cragside hoping for peace. A guest’s death makes her a suspect again, forcing her to investigate connections between the new killing and her husband’s fate.

When a Mercian lord is captured by Vikings in enemy-held territory, Icel promises to rescue him. The mission sends him and his companions through hostile Wessex, where rival forces threaten them before they can reach the prisoner.

After its king's death, Mercia is weakened by internal rivalries and vulnerable to invasion from Wessex. Newly crowned Wiglaf must unite the kingdom's divided forces, while those serving Mercia face a struggle to preserve its independence.

Archbishop Wulfhere seeks Coelwulf's help against Halfdan in Northumbria while London's bishop urges an alliance with Alfred of Wessex. Sending a small force against a much larger enemy, Mercia's king must navigate competing demands for loyalty.

With Wessex temporarily defeated, Icel joins Mercia's warriors in confronting a new threat from Viking raiders. His mission takes him into the kingdom of the East Angles, where former enemies must cooperate to protect their borders.

During the fight to recover Londonia, Icel becomes trapped inside a Wessex stronghold. Disguising himself as an enemy warrior, he must balance survival, shifting loyalties, and a plan to secure victory for Mercia's king.

After inheriting the English crown, Athelstan seeks an alliance that will protect Britain from Viking attack. His growing authority instead provokes rival kings and a discontented brother, setting the kingdoms on a path toward war.

Scottish and Norse rulers challenge Athelstan’s expanding power, each driven by grievances and ambitions of his own. As an alliance forms against the English king, competing visions of Britain bring its kingdoms closer to a decisive battle.

A deathbed confession leaves Icel guarding two noble children while questioning his own past. When they are abducted, he pursues their captors into the north, where royal conspiracies put both his oath and his life at risk.

Edward’s marriage strengthens the House of Godwine while leaving Leofric’s family unrewarded. Foreign threats and Sweyn Godwineson’s reckless conduct create new dangers, forcing Leofric and Ælfgar to defend their standing against increasingly powerful rivals.

Defeated at Brunanburh, Athelstan’s enemies wait for another chance to reclaim lost power. When England gains a reluctant new king, Edmund must defend his inheritance against Norse ambitions and renewed pressure from neighboring kingdoms.

King Wiglaf sends Icel to discover who arranged the kidnapping of two children. His search takes him deep into Wessex, where uncovering a conspiracy against Mercia's throne requires protecting his companions from enemies determined to remain hidden.

After conceding ground to the Norse, Edmund looks for a chance to restore his brother’s kingdom. Rivalries among England’s enemies offer an opening, but recovering York risks reviving the alliance that previously threatened English unity.

King Coelwulf must consider an uneasy alliance with Alfred of Wessex as Viking forces gather in the south. Protecting Mercia may depend on helping an old enemy survive, despite his doubts about Alfred's abilities as a warrior.

Bound by an uneasy alliance with Alfred, Coelwulf returns to fortify London while Viking ambitions threaten Canterbury. Deception within the West Saxon camp complicates his obligations, leaving Mercia vulnerable as he tries to honor promises beyond his own borders.

With Guthrum held prisoner after the fighting at Grantabridge, Coelwulf must help Mercia recover while other Viking leaders still threaten its survival. Grief-stricken warriors face fresh demands from their allies and must decide how to continue the struggle.

Drawing on contemporary evidence, Porter reconstructs the lives and influence of royal women in tenth-century England. Their marriages, landholdings, and political roles reveal how the emerging kingdom maintained continuity through disputed successions and vulnerable young kings.

A conspiracy trial implicates Mercia's queen, forcing King Wiglaf to balance justice with threats to his rule. As Wessex prepares to exploit the crisis, Icel and his companions face betrayal within the kingdom they serve.

In sixth-century Britain, seeress Meddi seeks to recover her ancestral home while a fugitive Saxon warrior flees his father’s vengeance. Their paths converge amid tribal rivalries, where iron weapons and old beliefs shape the struggle for survival.

A fragile peace leaves Mercia facing renewed Viking attacks and persistent enemies in Wessex. To defend the kingdom, Icel must survive the rulers plotting against him and help stop raiders whose ambitions cross every political boundary.

A man found dead in a sauce factory draws Mason and O’Rourke into another wartime investigation. Their search connects seemingly unrelated events and sends them seeking answers from military authorities as they uncover evidence of murder.

Meddi prepares her tribe for revenge from a displaced enemy, while escaped captive Wærmund seeks weapons and retribution of his own. An unexpected encounter draws his warriors toward a feud that threatens them both.

King Æthelbald’s long reign is nearing its end, with no legitimate heir to succeed him. Held hostage and grieving his parents, Offa becomes entangled in the rival ambitions that threaten to plunge Mercia into civil war.

Proclaimed king after two rulers fall, Offa must secure a throne surrounded by rivals. As enemies gather within Mercia and beyond its borders, personal attachments become vulnerabilities in his struggle to unite the fractured kingdom.

Newly freed Sereh saves a stranger in a frozen wilderness and becomes caught in a fate she cannot understand. Erann’s secrets and the awakening forces beneath their land make trust essential to survival, but increasingly dangerous.

Reunited Sereh and Erann face new danger when Emma vanishes into Biklander’s past. Her discoveries about the island’s first settlers and dragons may explain old prophecies, while threats in the present demand allies they can trust.

Meddi and Wærmund each seek to settle old grievances, unaware that a shared enemy has joined forces with the past Wærmund fled. Survival demands an alliance strong enough to overcome rival warriors and intertwined family feuds.

In 836, Icel hunts elusive Viking raiders along Mercia’s border with Wessex. Troubling news from home and a conspiracy against the kingship complicate his mission as violent seas threaten to keep him from returning.

Erann disappears from the ice fields, leaving Sereh to seek him along a dragonpath leading to an ancient sanctuary. As buried prophecies emerge, her memories of the man she is trying to rescue begin to fade.

After Coelwulf's death, Alfred claims western Mercia while Vikings hold the east. Dying warrior Icel summons Rudolf to rescue the imprisoned heir Æthelred, a mission requiring him to reunite scattered companions before the kingdom loses its future.

Dragons, destiny and enduring love return in the fourth Ice & Fire novel, continuing MJ Porter's historical fantasy romance series.

As Gemini approaches and the land of Unison shakes, Sereh's rescue brings little peace. Erann struggles with anger, Greeneyes faces divided loyalties, and their companions grapple with survival, old secrets, and an increasingly uncertain future.

An unexpected meeting breaks an ancient agreement, sending Emma into her past and leaving the Librarian in a trance. Erann and Sereh follow scattered clues, but helping them may require cooperation with the hated Rankil.

Erann and Sereh are together again, yet their reunion feels wrong. As Greeneyes faces an uncertain future with the Others and the Librarian nears freedom from prophecy, Aras becomes trapped during a deadly rainstorm.

When Erann disappears, Sereh and Greeneyes try to find him despite their difficulty communicating without him. Sereh’s failing memory makes the search harder, and help from Emma and a secretive Librarian may be their only chance of a rescue.

Erann's bond with Greeneyes has broken, and the Long Night returns to threaten Unison. Separated by a fissure and a resurgent shield, they face uncertainty while Ramon bears responsibility for keeping his people alive.

With Mercia weakened and its alliance with Wessex fractured, King Coelwulf keeps fighting to protect his kingdom. Danish raiders still threaten its borders, and he must defeat Guthrum after drawing his forces out of their stronghold.