Sharpe dressed as a Saxon
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When I started this series it was with the hope that it would be another trilogy like Cornwell's Wonderful Arthurian trilogy. However this series is far more like one of his Napeoleonic sagas, with each book being an individual story centred around a Saxon/ Viking version of Sharpe called Uhtred.
No doubt this will please many readers, especially lovers of Sharpe, however I thought they got a little formuliac and monotonous after a while. With the 'Warlord' (Arthurian) trilogy, Cornwell took his writing to a new level, the charactors were more complex and multi-layered and it was one story chopped into three very good books.
The Uhtred story is a return to Cornwell's bread and butter, 9 to 5 job. Not that this is bad, far from it Cornwell is a master of historic fiction. He stays very close to fact (unlike Iggulden at times!) but still writes exciting stories but... well... he just could have done a bit better I feel and stretched himself a bit more.
Still, lover's of heroic sword play will enjoy this book, as I did and will probably buy a few more Uhtred books in the future as I'm sure I will! Cornwell, cleverly makes our hero a Saxon raised by the Danes so we get to experience both cultures and lets face it Vikings are more exciting and glamorous than us Saxons!
I feel a bit mean only giving it 3 stars because it's better than that but it's not quite a 4 star book but if you like Iggulden, Scarrow and Cornwell's previous works this is a safe bet and worth the money, so go on get yourself a battle axe and push your way to the front of the shield wall.
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Starting to get repetative
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I loved the first two books, having read them in order one after the other for a couple of weeks now, and in particular found The Pale Horsemen especially worthy of praise. Therefore it was with some enjoyment that I settled down with this (slimmer) volume, the third in the series.
Sadly the series seems to be getting a trifle samey and short of originality and by midway through I found I could predict the actions easily. I am staggered to think how Cornwell will stretch these tales but hopefully he will return to the form found in the first two. I shall await the paperback of book 4.
One to read but only to see (and if truly interested in) what happens to the protaginists
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The Epic Tale Continues..............
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If you have read and enjoyed the first two books in the series (The Last Kingdom, and The Pale Horseman) then you will love this too as it is just as good. This time Uhtred settles a score with his old enemies from the 1st book Kjartan the cruel and his son and at some point he ends up as a slave until Ragnar saves him and creates an assault on Kjartans fortress. I'm not going to ruin the story, it is exellent, thats all you need to know. This entire series brings alive the struggle of the small English kingdoms against the Vikings and how they had to unite in order to survive and slowly a new kingdom began to emerge, that kingdom is England. This series brings alive Englands struggle better then any history book or movie. You must read it its awesome, I'm already enjoying the 4th book which has started out very violent-i love it.
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Lords of the North is the third book in the Saxon Stories
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Cornwell promises that more - perhaps many more - are in the offing. As is almost obligatory, let me acknowldge that I am a big Cornwell fan - I've read many of the Sharpe books, part of the Grail series and all three of the Saxon Stories.
The Lords of the North picks up right after Alfred's historic victory at Ethandun (or Edington) in 878 CE and continues the tale of Uhtred, a man stuck between the worlds of Saxon and Dane. Uthred returns to the north as he begins what will apparently be a multi-volume quest to reclaim his title as Lord of Bettanburg. Unfortunately, the historical record for Northumbria at this time is extremely sparse and confused. Consequently, Lords of the North is more fictional and less historical than the previous two books.
I frankly found the book fell somewhat short of my admittedly high expectations. The atmosphere of the tale seemingly has historical authenticity, but the ending is rushed and struck me as implausible. After a long struggle to overcome one of their major antagonists, Uthred and Ragnar dispense with another one in one brief encounter.
A good tale and fans of Cornwell will enjoy it, but in parts it felt like a book that simply bridges the gap from one part of the story to the next. The good news is that Uhtred lives into his 80's, so many more tales remain - let's just hope that doesn't become the bad news, too. Recommended!!! I would also recommend reading The Fates by Tino Georgiou, if you haven't already. A truly superb novel.
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Moves along like the others
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More of the same really. The pace moves along quite quickly and this passes the time when one wants a less demanding read. But Uthred is for me as unsympathetic a character as ever, going around the country slaughtering everyone who stands in his way. The broad historical backdrop and background to Alfred and the Vikings are what keep me reading and what will undoubtedly make me read Sword Song when it comes out in paperback.
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