The Burning Land. Bernard Cornwell

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Alfred of Wessex has won many victories but now, in the last years of the 9th century, he is in failing health. These are dangerous times: Alfred's likely successor is an untested youth, and the Vikings who have failed so many times to conquer Wessex seize the opportunity to attack. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Alfred's unwilling warlord, leads the enemy into a trap at Farnham, and inflicts one of the greatest defeats the Vikings have ever suffered. Uhtred is caught in the conflict caused by his oath to the Christian King Alfred, which he feels obliged to honour, and his own pagan beliefs. However, after the victory at Farnham, Uhtred is tested both through personal tragedy and an attack by some of Alfred's henchmen who are jealous of his standing and offended by his foreignness. This causes Uhtred to break with Alfred and to travel north where he hopes to recover his ancestral home, Bebbanburg, from his uncle. The fates intervene, as they so often do, and Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed is able to induce Uhtred to return south to take control of the Mercian army for another desperate battle with the Vikings. This is the fifth book in the Saxon Tales. While Uhtred is the central character, Mr Cornwell has peopled this novel with characters that bring the conflicts of the times to life. The series depicts both the conflicts between the Saxons and the Vikings and the conflicts between Christians and pagans. The tale may be Uhtred's, but the story is of England in the making. I am looking forward to the sixth novel: I'm hoping that at some stage Uhtred will recover Bebbanburg. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

It's the 9th Century and you are a king of one of the lands that will one day make up England. You are a devout Christian, surrounded by priests, many of whom are contemptibly corrupt, and are under constant attack by the bands of Danes (Vikings). What to do, what to do? Why entrust your kingdom's defense to Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a man of Saxon birth who was taken by the Danes and raised as one of them and is now a pagan. Uhtred - pardon the expression - has an axe or two of his to grind, namely someday getting back north and retaking his ancestral castle Bebbanburg from his nasty uncle. But right now he is under oath to King Alfred who will someday be dubbed Alfred the Great, the only English ever so honored. And Uhtred fights Alfred's battles against Alfred's enemies, though Alfred shows precious little appreciation. For a moment it looks like Uhtred has turned his back on his oath to Alfred and is about to be one of the leaders in a Viking attack against Wessex, Alfred's Kingdom of Wessex. But then love rears it head . . . and the rest is history, More or less. Maybe. Bernard Cornwell specializes in historical fiction. This is the fifth novel of Saxon England featuring Uhtred and, if you're a historical novel buff with a hankering for 9th Century England, this is it. Cornwell puts a lot of history into his books. Place names. Battles. Prominent landmarks. Kings, queens, princes and princesses who mattered and, overall, a picture of the ugliness of life in that epoch. Life was cheap in that era. Freedom essentially unknown to the English with each man and woman owing loyalty to someone higher on the food chain. Death could occur at any time. From disease, accident, whim of your master, at the hands of an invader or outlaw or from the singing swords of a barbarian like Uhtred of Bebbanburg. Make no mistake about it: Uhtred is a barbarian. He does not give violent death a second thought and when he goes to war - which is often - he is death's errand boy. He doesn't murder indiscriminately, but he takes pride in his murderous skills deployed in service to his king or simply when he needs to kill to save himself. Cornwell captures the ugliness of the era. The oppression visited on ordinary people by kings, priests, aristocracy of any kind, invaders, defenders, Danes, Vikings, anyone stronger or with the appropriate right. The poverty of life for most is well described by Cornwell, as is the privilege of the few. Uhtred is a vehicle. By defending Alfred, Cornwell can tell the story of Alfred and the consolidation of the feuding fiefdoms that eventually became the greatest power on Earth for a few centuries. Most of the novel is about 9th Century combat: preparing for combat, being engaged in combat and the aftermath of combat. Intermixed is the story of Alfred, the politics of his kingship and kingdom, the nature of the Viking wars and all the other pieces of the involving story. If you like historical fiction involving 9th C

Though Uhtred has endured a harsh and trying life (all told in the Saxon Chronicles - The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman, Lords of the North, Sword Song - all of which I highly recommend you read before entering The Burning Land, not because you must to understand the story but because the series is exceptional) in the previous offerings in this series by the great Bernard Cornwell, he continues his raging life which is entangled in the life of King Alfred, later to be known as Alfred the Great. Here we find Uhtred finally freeing himself of the burden of the oath he held to Alfred only to find that he is held under oath to Alfred's daughter. And so, Uhtred rages on against the Danes, the Vikings, the men of the North. And along with the rage comes the expected gory battles described in miserable beauty by Cornwell. The savagery is brought to life in such vivid telling that you'll swear you are there amongst the blood-shed. This book, like its predecessors, spends a lot of time on the history of Alfred and his fight to build England, then just a dream of the King of Wessex. I cannot more highly recommend a book or a series of books. You must read the entire series; I've read the whole series twice now and will go back again, it is that captivating. Start at the beginning (again, you don't need to, per se, but why skip the previous 4 books when they are so wonderful, the story so big and amazing) and read the entire series; you'll be waiting for the next and the wait is torturous but worth it. Not much more to say; buy the whole series and dig in for a mind-blowing adventure which is fairly accurate in its retelling. Cornwell is today's greatest writer of historical fiction. Enjoy!

"Instead I burned the wooden god and his wooden cross and mixed their ashes with crushed apples, that I fed to my two sows. I worship Thor." Uhtred, son of Uhtred and the Uhtred who came before returns in Book 5 of the Saxon Chronicles (#1 Last Kingdom; #2 Pale Horseman; #3 Lords of the North; #4 Sword Song). If you haven't read the previous books, Cornwell always offers short recaps but I suggest you start at the beginning, because this is easily the best series on Alfred and the 10th century West Saxons. Cornwell crafts exceptional characters in both the men who defend the Kingdom of Wessex, and the Danish Viking villains who seek to destroy the fledgling christian nation. The story begins around 894 with the Battle of Fearnhamme (Farnham), where Uhtred leads Alfred's forces against Harald Bloodhair, who I believe is a fictional character but is certainly a great villain. Haesten returns to make trouble, and Uhtred heads north. An interesting point brought up in the Historical Note, suggests Torneie Island (Thorney), where the Danes sought refuge after Farnham, is now buried under the development surrounding Heathrow. I love the main character Uhtred of Bebbanburg. He is a peerless pagan warrior bound by oath to King Alfred who is a christian obsessed with converting the world. This is a constant source of conflict for Uhtred, who must serve the very thing he despises, and his hatred is more evident in The Burning Land than any of the prior books. "The way to wealth is to become a christian bishop or a monastery's abbot and thus be imbued with heaven's permission to lie, cheat, and steal your way to luxury." Uhtred has had a hard life filled with misfortune and violence. He is both cantankerous and noble at the same time. When the bishop Asser demands a woman be struck for insulting the King, Uhtred mocks him for bringing violence upon a women. Throughout the series, this is one of Uhtred's great qualities: his respect and generally good treatment of women, who during this age could hardly come to expect such from men. I highly recommend this book. If you enjoyed the previous books in the series, The Burning Land will not disappoint. At the very end Cornwell lets us know that Uhtred shall return for Book 6, I can't wait!