Book #49: The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
From Amazon:
In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England—and the course of history—depended upon one man, one king.
Thoughts:
This is the first book in 'The Warrior Chronicles', Bernard Cornwell's series about Alfred the Great. Much like 'The Warlord Chronicles', his marvellous Arthurian trilogy, here he tells the story in first person, through the eyes of Uhtred, looking back at his life and the momentous events that surrounded him. It's possible that this could take a little tension out of proceedings, because you know Uhtred is going to live to tell his tale. Sometimes I find this a bit of a problem, particularly in thrillers, but here - as in the Arthur books, where Derfel told his story - it works brilliantly.
It starts with Uhtred, a young Saxon boy, at his home at the fortress of Bebbanburg, on the north east coast of England. When news comes that a Danish fleet has arrived and taken possession of Eoforwic (York - Cornwell uses Anglo-Saxon place names throughout the novel), Uhtred's father and his men march south to join with other Saxon forces and re-take the city. Uhtred himself is brought along to learn of battle. He is nine years old at this point.
This all happens in the prologue, which ends - for various reasons - with Uhtred being taken captive by the Danes. Cornwell rarely uses the term Viking, as he has stuck to its meaning as, essentially, what the Danes do when they raid coastal towns (i.e. 'to go on a viking').
The rest of the story covers roughly 10 to 12 years of Uhtred's life, and he has conflicting loyalties, as you can imagine. It's quite a handy tool, because it allows Cornwell to show both sides of the conflict. Cornwell's characterisation is fantastic, as usual. Along the way Uhtred meets Alfred (of course), but my favourite(s) were the Danes, especially Ragnar the Fearless and his son, Ragnar the Younger. The older Ragnar is larger than life, and I thought he leapt off the page.
I find Cornwell is such a natural storyteller, and this tale has a real ebb and flow to it, as if Uhtred was sitting in front of you telling you himself. I'd say this is a better book than any of those in his 'Grail Quest' trilogy, and just a smidgeon behind the Arthurian books. It's a brilliant novel that doesn't overstay its welcome - far from it! - and I can't wait to read more of Uhtred's adventures.
9/10