The Last Kingdom (Saxon Stories, 1) - Softcover

Cornwell, Bernard

4.27

100,366 ratings by Goodreads

9780060759339: The Last Kingdom (Saxon Stories, 1)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 006075933X ISBN 13: 9780060759339

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2005

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Captured and raised by Danes in the ninth century, dispossessed nobleman Uhtred witnesses the unexpected defeat of his adoptive Viking clan by Alfred of Wessex and longs to recover his father's land. By the author of The Archer's Tale. (Historical Fiction)

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Review:

Does the fact that the The Last Kingdom inaugurates yet another series from Bernard Cornwell fill you with anticipation--or trepidation? His immensely popular Sharpe novels are, of course, the bedrock of the author’s popularity. But when readers learned that he was to abandon the redoubtable Sharpe for a Grail Quest series, there were those who invoked the ‘if isn’t broke, why fix it?’ rule. However, when Cornwell proved himself equally adept at conjuring a world of knights and savage combat, his Grail Quest series (the first book of which was Harlequin) soon established itself as another Cornwell winner.

And here’s yet another series from the protean writer. Do we really need it? Yes, we do--it’s a safe bet that The Last Kingdom will prove that the author is seemingly capable of beginning an endless run of new novel sequences. As well as the impeccably plotted narrative, Cornwell has other fish to fry here: nothing less than a totally fresh look at a historical figure we think we know: Alfred the Great. Cornwell’s protagonist is Uhtred, caught in the conflict between the Danes and the English in the ninth century. He is born into the English aristocracy, but loses his parents at the age of ten and is raised in Viking fashion by a Dane. When massacres reign down on both sides, Uhtred is torn between his loyalties--and when his family disappears, a reckoning with a Viking chieftain is in the offing.

Behind all this is the King, Alfred: complex, conflicted, and by no means the figure that the conventional history books render him. All of the customary Cornwell virtues are fully on display here.--Barry Forshaw

Review:

Praise for Bernard Cornwell:

‘Like Game of Thrones, but real’ OBSERVER

'Blood, divided loyalties and thundering battles' THE TIMES

'Strong narrative, vigourous action and striking characterisation, Cornwell remains king of the territory he has staked out as his own' SUNDAY TIMES

'A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined' WASHINGTON POST

‘The best battle scenes of any writer I’ve ever read, past or present. Cornwell really makes history come alive’ George R.R. Martin

‘Cornwell draws a fascinating picture of England as it might have been before anything like England existed’ THE TIMES

‘He’s called a master storyteller. Really he’s cleverer than that’ TELEGRAPH

‘A reminder of just how good a writer he is’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘Nobody in the world does this better than Cornwell’ Lee Child

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