Enter a world where bloody battles and heroic deeds combine in the historic struggle to unite Britain in the face of a common enemy. The third instalment in Bernard Cornwell's King Alfred series, follows on from the outstanding previous novels 'The Last Kingdom' and 'The Pale Horseman'. The year is 878 and Wessex is free from the Vikings. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, helped Alfred win that victory, but now he is disgusted by Alfred's lack of generosity and repelled by the king's ...
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Enter a world where bloody battles and heroic deeds combine in the historic struggle to unite Britain in the face of a common enemy. The third instalment in Bernard Cornwell's King Alfred series, follows on from the outstanding previous novels 'The Last Kingdom' and 'The Pale Horseman'. The year is 878 and Wessex is free from the Vikings. Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, helped Alfred win that victory, but now he is disgusted by Alfred's lack of generosity and repelled by the king's insistent piety. He flees Wessex, going back north to seek revenge for the killing of his foster father and to rescue his stepsister, captured in the same raid. He needs to find his old enemy, Kjartan, a renegade Danish lord who lurks in the formidable stronghold of Dunholm. Uhtred arrives in the north to discover rebellion, chaos and fear. His only ally is Hild, a West Saxon nun fleeing her calling, and his best hope is his sword, with which he has made a formidable reputation as a warrior. He will need the assistance of other warriors if he is to attack Dunholm and he finds Guthred, a slave who believes he is a king. He takes him across the Pennines to where a desperate alliance of fanatical Christians and beleaguered Danes form a new army to confront the terrible Viking lords who rule Northumbria. 'The Lords of the North' is a powerful story of betrayal, romance and struggle, set in an England of turmoil, upheaval and glory. Uhtred, a Northumbrian raised as a Viking, a man without lands, a warrior without a country, has become a splendid heroic figure.
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Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles are outstanding! I can't believe I haven't heard of him until recently. Don't start this series unless you are willing to enter into a love affair with 9th Century England...his books are an education unto themselves! While the main character is from his bountiful imagination, the rest squares with the little known from this period. Do yourself a favor and order ALL of them from Alibris at once; you won't have to wait by the mailbox. Great prompt service even books from the UK come as quick or quicker than US suppliers. Keep up the good work!
Franko
Apr 28, 2007
I've read a lot of Bernard Cornwell and always enjoy the way he mixes history, his characters, and the grungy feel of the period he's writting about. Lords of the North favorably compares with his other work and brings in a little known period of British History. I enjoyed it and went right through it. I'd thought it was the final book in a trilogy, but at the end he concludes in much the same way he used to end his Sharpe's series (Sharpe will march again) saying that Uhtred's sword would have more work to do or something like that. So I liked it and look forward to the next book. I recommend it to any Cornwell fans, but if you want to read this series you should start with The Last Kingdom.
