LoveReading Says
The fourth in the Alfred series and as they progress they just seem to get better. Our hero, Uhtred encounters more battles, politics and mayhem as he continues to struggle with his Saxon birthright and his Viking upbringing. This series is easily as enthralling as Sharpe, the period beautifully realised, the battles as bloody and the adventure as thrilling. I love them.
Sarah Broadhurst
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Sword Song Synopsis
*A brand new companion to the Last Kingdom series, Uhtred's Feast, is available to pre-order now*
The fourth book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions.
A hero will be forged from this broken land.
As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.
To serve a king or become one? Uhtred - warrior, pagan, scourge of the Vikings - faces a hard choice.
Despite being offered a crown of his own, Uhtred is a man of his word. And he gave it to King Alfred of Wessex, who dreams of an England free from Vikings. So when the king orders him to take London from the Danes and hand it to his foolish son-in-law Aethelred, Uhtred agrees despite his concerns.
For Aethelred's wife is the king's spirited daughter Aethelflaed and her fate is entwined with Uhtred's. And fate will not be denied …
Uhtred of Bebbanburg's mind is as sharp as his sword. A thorn in the side of the priests and nobles who shape his fate, this Saxon raised by Vikings is torn between the life he loves and those he has sworn to serve.
About This Edition
Bernard Cornwell Press Reviews
‘The characterisation, as ever, is excellent…And one can only admire the little touches that bring the period to life: the bitter weather; the swollen rivers; the soliders gossiping about ale and women…he can also claim to be a true poet of both the horror and the glory of war, showing a feeling for the ways of fighting men which is too often lacking in the politicians who send them into battle.’ Sunday Telegraph
This is typical Cornwell, meticulously researched, massive in scope, brilliant in execution’. News of the World
About Bernard Cornwell
Born in Essex in 1944 Bernard Cornwell was adopted at the age of six weeks by two members of a strict fundamentalist sect called the Peculiar People. He grew up in a household that forbade alcohol, cigarettes, dances, television, conventional medicine and toy guns. Not surprisingly, he developed a fascination for military adventure. As a teenager he devoured CS Forester’s Hornblower novels and tried to enlist three times. Poor eyesight put paid to his dream, instead he went to university to read theology. On graduating, he became a teacher, then joined BBC’s Nationwide, working his way up the ladder to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland, then editor of Thames News. In 1979, his life changed when he fell in love with an American.
"Judy couldn’t live here, so I gave up my job and moved to the US. I couldn’t get a green card, and for 18 months the only thing I could do was write novels." The result was his first book about 19th century hero, Richard Sharpe, Sharpe’s Eagle.
In addition to the hugely successful Sharpe novels, Bernard Cornwell is the author of the Starbuck Chronicles, the Warlord trilogy, the Grail Quest series, the Alfred series and standalone battle books Azincourt and The Fort.
Bernard Cornwell owns houses in Cape Cod and Florida and two boats. Every year he takes two months off from his writing and spends most of his time on his 24 foot Cornish crabber, Royalist.
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