And if this is not enough to contend with, King Edward, the late King Alfred’s son and the now would be king of all England, is nearing his death. This situation has Edward’s family at each others throats and when the kingdom is indulging in a deal of blood letting who you gonna call? Uhtred of Bebbanburg of course. So the poor buggers got a lot on his plate. When tragedy strikes after Uhtred is lured away from Bebbanburg with a false summons, the stage is set for an epic journey of revenge. Thank you, lord,” he said, and I reflected that the valley of the three brothers had lost all three of them.

Cornwell has his protagonist observe: "The gods are not kind to us, any more than children are kind to their toys. We are here to amuse the gods, and at times it amuses them to be unkind....Perhaps my conviction that I was cursed was false, but there were not birds in the winter sky, and that omen told me I was the plaything of cruel gods." This was a pleasure to read but it presented a dilemma for me. Should I read it slowly and savor it or should I read it at the fast speed the writing demanded? Of course, I read it rapidly. I can't get enough. This can be read as a stand alone but why deprive yourself that way? You will miss so much if you don't start at the beginning and watch Uhtred evolve.

By Stephanie Kuehn

Uhtred, now older, wants nothing more than to enjoy retirement at Bebbanburg, but pressures on Northumbria from Edward to the south and the Scots to the North are stretching their small armies to the max and making for an uneasy peace. But Leofstan was a gentle and kind man. Lord Osferth is troubled. He doesn’t think God loves him, poor man.” Mus, I thought, was a gentle and kind woman. I gave her the last two of my gold coins. And paradoxically, of course, it’s not true --- it’s all fiction --- and it’s to Cornwell’s credit that readers believe Uhtred, at least while they are reading the book. Cornwell is universally regarded as the best current writer in English of battle scenes --- whether it’s Napoleonic-War rifle companies or Saxon shield-walls. Battle scenes are great things to have in novels because they have stakes --- there’s a winner and a loser, and you don’t need a crew of zebra-striped NFL referees huddled around a monitor to tell you which is which. There are real consequences to a battle won, and even more final consequences for a battle lost. Before the end there will be a lot of pain and suffering on both side in this war of greed and pride. Astonishing storytelling skills. Bernard Cornwell brought 9th and 10th century England alive for me.

Nevertheless, Uhtred is bound by his word, so once again, he must strap on Serpent’s Breath — his great killing sword — and fight England’s foes. For the Danes are threatening England again and they want Uhtred dead. It isn’t just Uhtred who finds himself in a tight spot. His son-in-law, Sigtryggr, is King of Northumbria. [For those not familiar with this Kingdom, it was one of the four eventually melded into England. At this time, it is the only remaining non-Christian kingdom of any significance on the Island that now contains England, Scotland and Wales.] “If I fight Thurferth and his followers,” Sigtryggr went on, “I’m fighting King Edward. And I’ll get no help from the west, will I?” He meant Cumbraland, which was supposedly a part of Northumbria. Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked as a teacher. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia. I have fought many battles. I have stood in shield walls and heard the sound of axes biting willow boards, I have heard men howling, heard them screaming, I have heard the butcher’s sound of blades cleaving flesh, the heart-wrenching sound of grown men weeping for heir mothers’ comfort. I have heard the grating breath of the dying and the lament of the living, and in all those fights I have fought for one thing above all others. To take and to keep Bebbanburg.” Generally speaking, one easy way to tell if your narrator is more-or-less reliable is if he or she puts himself or herself in the best possible light throughout. Uhtred, I think, has taken pains to point out his mistakes over time, and he does so here, so that’s a point in his favor. He goes out of his way to debunk the heroic tales that the bards sing about him, and that’s another reason to take him seriously. But I think the best reason to believe in Uhtred’s reliability is that the things he remembers, particularly the battles he fights, are just so vividly rendered that it is difficult to believe that what happens in the books is anything other than true.

To Master Alexander le Convers, for money paid by him to the carpenters making the engine called ‘War Wolf’, and other workers working (also on the engine), in May and June 1304, 10 shillings on 7 June 1304. His “enemies,” the Danes, are led by the fearsome Sköll, who numbers among his army the úlfhéðnar — the wolf warriors — ferocious killers with superior fighting skills who are seemingly impervious to pain.