Another rollicking Saxon tale.... No lit-fic pretensions here: historical fiction rendered, with little expansion, via battles and royal intrigue and portraits of day-to-day life circa 1000 B.C.E.” — Kirkus
“Vivid, fast-paced.... Treachery and trickery mark the tenth volume in Cornwell’s always exciting Saxon Tales.” — Library Journal
“Rousing...will not disappoint.” — Margaret Flanagan, Booklist
“The final battle is one for the ages, bursting with gory detail and flush with savage death as the wolves of the shield wall smite his enemies.” — Lee Scott, Florida Times-Union
“As with all his previous books Cornwell grabs your attention right off the bat. His masterful style pulls you right in.” — New York Journal of Books
“Fascinating.... Blends historic fact with fiction seamlessly.” — Glen Seeber, The Oklahoman
“The battle description might well be Cornwell’s best yet, which is saying something. Fans do not want to miss this episode.” — Bookloons.com
“Bernard Cornwell ranks as the current alpha male of testosterone-enriched historical fiction…. Cornwell offers dramatic battle scenes with big swinging swords. There is also treachery, male bonding, plenty of historical nuggets and a skillful examination of the powerful role played by religion in the Dark Ages.” — USA Today
“The most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today.... Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back. . . . Much has changed since the ninth century, but some things, and some feelings, are timeless.” — Wall Street Journal
“Our hero is Uhtred, a good-hearted lout with a pleasantly sour disposition; he’s like a 9th century Han Solo.” — Time
The final battle is one for the ages, bursting with gory detail and flush with savage death as the wolves of the shield wall smite his enemies.
The most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today.... Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back. . . . Much has changed since the ninth century, but some things, and some feelings, are timeless.
Our hero is Uhtred, a good-hearted lout with a pleasantly sour disposition; he’s like a 9th century Han Solo.
The most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today.... Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back. . . . Much has changed since the ninth century, but some things, and some feelings, are timeless.
Bernard Cornwell ranks as the current alpha male of testosterone-enriched historical fiction…. Cornwell offers dramatic battle scenes with big swinging swords. There is also treachery, male bonding, plenty of historical nuggets and a skillful examination of the powerful role played by religion in the Dark Ages.
The battle description might well be Cornwell’s best yet, which is saying something. Fans do not want to miss this episode.
Fascinating.... Blends historic fact with fiction seamlessly.
As with all his previous books Cornwell grabs your attention right off the bat. His masterful style pulls you right in.
New York Journal of Books
Rousing...will not disappoint.
Bernard Cornwell ranks as the current alpha male of testosterone-enriched historical fiction…. Cornwell offers dramatic battle scenes with big swinging swords. There is also treachery, male bonding, plenty of historical nuggets and a skillful examination of the powerful role played by religion in the Dark Ages.
Our hero is Uhtred, a good-hearted lout with a pleasantly sour disposition; he’s like a 9th century Han Solo.
09/15/2016 Treachery and trickery mark the tenth volume in Cornwell's always exciting "Saxon Tales," set in tenth-century England. Uhtred Uhtredson has his sights set on his ancestral castle of Bebbanburg, now in the hands of his cousin. But who are those mysterious horsemen observing him watching? Why does his son-in-law, King Sigtryggr of Eoferwic (York), then demand his immediate return? Changing alliances among the Danes, Saxons, Scots, and others, and a mad self-ordained bishop, crisscross the story. Meanwhile, Uhtred marches to and sails fro in order to protect his liege lady, support his royal relative, and regain his home. While the various "Aethelsomebodies" may confuse readers unfamiliar with early Anglo-Saxon history, Uhtred successfully engages a combination of rough humor, occasional introspection, and gut instinct. The book's final battle reveals the thin line between success and failure in war. VERDICT Historical and military fiction aficionados will enjoy Cornwell's vivid, fast-paced novel, as he mixes historical figures and tactical movements with an assortment of lifelike fictional characters. [See Prepub Alert, 5/2/16.]—W. Keith McCoy, Somerset Cty. Lib. Syst., Bridgewater, NJ
Sept. 7, 2016 Cornwell (Warriors of the Storm, 2016, etc.) draws another rollicking Saxon tale from the period when “the scepter’d isle,” soon to be “Englaland,” was plagued by Norse and Dane raiders.Supported by the coffers of father-in-law Lord Æthelhelm, Saxon King Edward rules Wessex and East Anglia. Edward’s sister, though ill, controls Mercia. Half-Dane, half-Saxon, a worshipper of the old gods, Lord Uthred has allied with, and resisted, both. Now Uthred turns to his own interests: Northumbria and his fortress, Bebbanburg, stolen long ago by his uncle. Wryly told, the novel unfolds from Uthred’s point of view, with back story filled in as he plots to seize Bebbanburg. He also must outwit Constantin, king of the Scots, scheming behind Hadrian’s Wall, and Norseman Einar the White, blockading from the sea. In this volume, Uthred, called the Wicked by his foes, proves the most nuanced character, sometimes doubt-ridden and ruthless, always loyal and fierce. As Uthred slips north toward Bebbanburg’s Sea Gate and unleashes his warrior “wolf pack,” blood and gore drip from the pages. Familiar characters—Uthred’s loyal lieutenant, the Irish warlord Finan, or his one-eyed son-in-law, Sigtryggr—play minor roles. The duplicitous cousin holding Bebbanburg is seen from afar, as is King Edward waiting to pluck Bebbanburg and Northumbria from the chaos, but mad Bishop Ieremias joins the fun. As always, Cornwell reinforces credibility with ancient place names—modern York was then Eoferwic—and the blow-by-blow details of shield warfare in a period when “armies” numbered a mere 50 to 500 warriors. No lit-fic pretensions here: historical fiction rendered, with little expansion, via battles and royal intrigue and portraits of day-to-day life circa 1000 B.C.E.