The whimpering man at my feet tried to crawl away, but Finan stabbed his sword into his thigh, then stabbed again. It was exciting, it was brilliantly atmospheric and the stench and sounds and hardness of the 9th Century were, as far as i can imagine, powerfully captured. I was driving on a number of occasions when Uhtred or some other bloodthirsty warrior opted for the swift end to a fight with a groin lunge and i can tell you it is really difficult to drive with your legs crossed in sympathy.

They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. I feel like in this novel Uhtred is starting to enter a new phase of his life; he is beginning to age. I hated his religion and its cold disapproving gaze, its malevolence that cloaked itself in pretended kindness, and its allegiance to a god who would drain the joy from the world by naming it sin, but Alfred’s religion had made him a good man and a good king. Alfred was dying and his death would surely bring the pagan swords and hearth fire to Mercia and Wessex. Uhtred is eager to conquer enemies before they get too strong and wangles a way to reveal their intentions.Fate, choices, faith, loyalties, and legacies remained the main themes of this particular installment; I really enjoyed reading this book. Lots of little armies move about a well-described Medieval English countryside, angling for position and on the verge of attack during a trying time for the country. Oliver Cromwell, who died a disillusioned man in 1658, had failed to create a working Parliament and his incompetent son and heir, Richard, was forced to resign.

Alfred wants his son, Edward, to succeed him but there are other Saxon claimants to the throne as well as ambitious pagan Vikings to the north. He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. Uhtred arrives at Lundene expecting to move quickly, but Edward has been convinced by his advisors to wait, in part to await Sigelf and his 700 Kentish warriors. His pacing is perfect, his protagonists are full of charisma and inspiration, and what makes it EVEN cooler is that it is all based on real events.

To be clear, the seven books here are: The Last Kingdom; The Lords of the North; Sword Song; The Burning Land; Death of Kings; The Pagan Lord; and Sword of Kings. Uhtred then goes to Sigurd’s Winter Quarters at Snotengaham and burns their fleet of ships, taking one and sailing for Lundene. Seven years of fighting between Charles’ supporters and Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians claimed the lives of thousands, and ultimately, of the King himself.

Finally, I don’t want to leave the impression that the present novel is all about politics and palace intrigue. Cornwell is arguably the best author for military historical fiction so if this period is of any interest to you he's the one to read. Charles spent the day burning papers, praying and saying sad farewells to his two youngest children, Henry Duke of Gloucester, aged 9 and Princess Elizabeth, who was 11.There are long, polysyndetic sentences when things are exciting: "And there was blood in the leaf-mould and a choking sound and a body shaking beneath me and a dying man's sword arm going limp as the spearman kicked his horse back towards me. Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! Uhtred retreats to a rotten fort at Cracgelad only to be surrounded by the Danish Invasion force led by Hæsten. If you have been on this adventure with Uhtred as I have, you would all know that he has known many wonderful and loyal friends of both sexes.