Set ten years after the events of The Death of Kings, Bernard Cornwell's The Pagan Lord forcefully drops us into the tumultuous realm of tenth century England. With Alfred the Great gone and the Danes in the north eager for conquest, the best hope for victory, or even survival, is Uhtred, a fierce pagan warrior with little but contempt for the Christians he is saving. With its intense battle scenes and stormy backstage intrigues, this Saxon Tales installment thrust the series to a new level. Easy to recommend.
01/06/2014
In Cornwell's (1356) latest, 10th century Britain is a splintered land, populated by pagans and Christians and divided between Saxons and Danes. The pagan Uhtred, once favored by Alfred the Great, finds himself distrusted by Alfred's successor, Edward, and at odds with the Christians. Made an outlaw by an ill-considered violent act, he heads north to recapture his old home, the fortress of Bebbanburg; though his grand scheme is less bold than foolhardy. It sets Uhtred on the path to play a crucial role in the coming war between Cnut's Danes and Edward's Saxons. For Uhtred the stakes are personal glory and vengeance against those who wronged him, but the fate of Britain itself hangs on the unforeseeable consequences of his actions. Cornwell successfully brings an unjustly obscure era in British history to life, showing how grand events can be shaped by what are essentially petty motivations. Cornwell skillfully illuminates the competing cultures of the 10th Century; the conflict between Dane and Saxon is examined with sympathy and insight—without projecting 21st century values onto cultures now alien to us. In the course of this, he shows how historical novels should be written. (Jan.)
A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined.” — Washington Post
“Cornwell successfully brings an unjustly obscure era in British history to life….The conflict between Dane and Saxon is examined with sympathy and insight-without projecting 21st century values onto cultures now alien to us. In the course of this, he shows how historical novels should be written.” — Publishers Weekly
“Cornwell, a master of historical fiction, has written another energetic and involving mix of history and storytelling that will please his many fans….A sweeping story.” — Library Journal
“Cornwell does a masterful job of showing not only how Uhtred fights, but also in how he uses his wits to backstab, threaten, bluff, and maneuver his way into a position where he’s able to fight with the best possible odds.” — Bookreporter.com
“Plunges the reader into the world of the past, with all of its cruelties, nonexistent plumbing and deplorable personal grooming....Cornwell is a master at writing these historical novels, and The Pagan Lord as usual, is no exception.” — The Oklahoman
“Uhtred of Bebbanburg rides into battle once again in the seventh installment of Cornwell’s stellar Saxon Tales series….Cornwell excels at depicting gloriously gory battle scenes as well as the inherent religious, political, and martial conflicts upon which a great nation was born.” — Booklist
Plunges the reader into the world of the past, with all of its cruelties, nonexistent plumbing and deplorable personal grooming....Cornwell is a master at writing these historical novels, and The Pagan Lord as usual, is no exception.
A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined.
Cornwell does a masterful job of showing not only how Uhtred fights, but also in how he uses his wits to backstab, threaten, bluff, and maneuver his way into a position where he’s able to fight with the best possible odds.
Uhtred of Bebbanburg rides into battle once again in the seventh installment of Cornwell’s stellar Saxon Tales series….Cornwell excels at depicting gloriously gory battle scenes as well as the inherent religious, political, and martial conflicts upon which a great nation was born.
A violent, absorbing historical saga, deeply researched and thoroughly imagined.
Uhtred of Bebbanburg rides into battle once again in the seventh installment of Cornwell’s stellar Saxon Tales series….Cornwell excels at depicting gloriously gory battle scenes as well as the inherent religious, political, and martial conflicts upon which a great nation was born.
2013-12-22
The death of Alfred the Great leaves what we know as England up for grabs, and Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Death of Kings, 2012, etc.) is caught in the middle of it all. Connoisseurs of conflict can start with the hero's name, which he's done his best to pass on. When the son he's named Uhtred converts to Christianity and becomes a priest, Uhtred dubs him Father Judas and declares that his youngest son, Osbert, is Uhtred instead. Nor is Uhtred widely considered to be lord of Bebbanburg, a northern stronghold his uncle Uhtred (hmm) has seized and plans to pass on to his own Uhtred. Unable to stomach King Alfred's successor, Æthelred of Mercia, whose estranged wife he's in love with, cursed by Bishop Wulfheard after he accidentally kills old Abbot Wihtred, and burned out of his holdings outside Cirrenceastre in modern Gloucestershire by the warlord Cnut Ranulfson, Uhtred would seem to have no direction if Cnut, upon returning Sigunn, the woman of Uhtred's he'd carried off, had not asked him to find Cnut's own abducted wife and son. Instead of searching for them, Uhtred, who's never happy unless he's fighting or scheming, sails off to Bebbanburg with the remainder of his followers in a bold gamble to surprise his usurping uncle and seize his castle. When his plan doesn't go quite as he'd intended, Uhtred is left to journey west to Ceaster, where he'll find Cnut's missing wife and child and prepare to come face to face with the fearsome warlord one last time. As in a summer movie, the big set pieces are more impressive than the realistically meandering odyssey that threads them together. The most consistent motif is Uhtred's undying and principled hostility to "the nailed god" of Christianity and the threat he represents to the warrior code Uhtred so perfectly embodies.
