Review by Booklist Review
Cornwell strikes gold again as he continues to chronicle the saga of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the Saxon-born, Viking-bred prince morally and emotionally conflicted between his loyalty to King Alfred, who dreams of a united Britain, and his visceral connection to the invading Danes who raised him. As a debilitated Alfred prepares for death, the future of Britain hangs in the balance and an ambivalent Uhtred must decide in whom to place his trust and where to deploy his considerable skills as a warrior. While he is understandably wary of Alfred's son Edward, he is fiercely devoted to and more than a little bit in love with the king's strong and passionately determined daughter, Aethelflaed. When Alfred dies and the succession is in doubt, Uhtredcasts his lot with the fledgling kingdom cobbled together by Alfred. Readers should prepare for pulse-pounding action and rousing battle scenes as the martially evocative Cornwell makes the swords sing and the flesh fly as he reimagines major military skirmishes. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The legion of readers who have faithfully followed the stirring exploits of Uhtred of Bebbanburg will not be disappointed as Cornwell pulls out all the stops in the sixth (but not final) installment of the Saxon Tales.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The sixth installment of Cornwell's Saxon series (after The Burning Land) returns to the days before there was an England-or an English sense of fair play-when Saxons, Danes, and Vikings, Christians and pagans alike, fought relentlessly and ruthlessly for control of Wessex. It's 898: ailing King Alfred, hoping to unify English-speaking Christians under one crown, asks loyal if stubbornly pagan Uhtred to make one last stab at peace. Armed with his trusty sword, Serpent-Breath, Uhtred bushwhacks, bedevils, and beats the living daylights out of scheming plotters, while Edward, "not quite the perfect heir," risks all for the love of a bishop's daughter. Ethelflaed, Edward's beloved sister and Uhtred's former lover, unwilling to be ruled by her husband, brother, or anyone, joins Uhtred in battle brought to bloody life by Cornwell, whose historian's understanding of military strategy blends well with a novelist's ability to envision weapons of the past and the ways in which they're wielded. Ninth-century combat lacks the grandeur of large armies, but Uhtred's cunning, courage, and a few acts of calculated cruelty make for a compelling read. Unfortunately for Edward, no skirmish proves decisive enough to unify England. Fortunately for Cornwell fans, that means more "tales of warriors and swords and shields and axes" to come. Agent: Toby Eady Associates. (Jan. 17) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Uhtred (The Burning Land) rides again, and fans of the irreverent but deadly ninth-century Saxon-born, Viking-raised warrior will be thrilled. A dying Alfred the Great wishes to cement the line of succession, thus guaranteeing his son, Edward, the throne. Human vultures, however, await the chance to tear England apart. Uhtred is an un-repentant pagan in a land of sometimes fanatic Christians who aggressively resent him. He is also not that fond of Alfred but has sworn an oath to him and Edward. When Alfred dies and war soon erupts, Uhtred again proves that he is brave, loyal, cunning, ruthless, and underestimated. -VERDICT Saxon England was a land of almost continuous violence and war, and, thanks to Cornwell's skill as a writer, we see the origins of modern England through the jaded eyes of Uhtred. We also see the often ridiculous superstitions, miracles, and relics that were considered sacred by both the pagans and the Christians. A master of historical fiction has produced another great read. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]-Robert Conroy, Warren, MI (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The Burning Land, 2010, etc.). " I hate peace,' " snarls old soldier Uhtred, who regards periods of relative tranquility--not that these abound in his embattled land--as opportunities for his enemies to mount conspiracies against him and, by extension, King Alfred of Wessex, to whom he has sworn allegiance. Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg: clever, resourceful, intemperate, charming, feared by most men and adored by too many women. In tribute to his generalship and the unparalleled success he's had in repelling invasions through the years, the ever-marauding Danes refer to him bleakly as the Sword of the Saxons. It's King Alfred's cherished dream to reshape an unruly collection of tribes into a thing called England. He wants it to be Christian and cohesive enough to drive the Danes back into the sea once and for all. The Christian part is what Uhtred is out of sympathy with. In his view the new religion replaces joy with hypocrisy, a bad bargain, he thinks. Uhtred prefers the old ways when the proper blood sacrifice could propitiate essentially undemanding gods and tip a teetering battle toward victory. But now Alfred's reign is in its final stages and no one, Uhtred included, can quite figure the geopolitical implications of the aftermath. All agree, however, that it will be unsettled. Worried about the succession, Alfred asks Uhtred to transfer his allegiance to his son Edward, and Uhtred agrees, albeit reluctantly--Edward is no Alfred. The great King dies, smoldering grudges ignite, alliances shift, armies clash and Uhtred is once again a happy warrior. The surprise is that Cornwell's love scenes are as deft as his action scenes, though far fewer, of course--all driven by a hard-shelled, sporadically soft-hearted, always charismatic protagonist: George Clooney alert.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
