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| Date first published | 4 October 2004 |  |
| ISBN Number | 0 00714 990 5 | |
| Page Count | 400 h/b | |
| h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback | ||
The Last Kingdom
Storyline
Uhtred is a nine year old boy, second in line to his fathers Lands and wealth. Until that is the Viking raiders come, and in a battle kill both his older brother and his father. Uhtred himself is captured whilst trying to make a futile attack on one of the Viking leaders.
Uhtred grows up among and as one of the Viking settlers, occasionally coming across the English who he partly dislikes and despises. For England at this time is in religious turmoil, as the old ways give way to Christianity. Uhtred dislikes the priests and enjoys the old pagan ways, which is perhaps why he enjoys the Vikings life.
Unfortunately Uhtred earns the enemity of a rival, and Ragner who had taken Uhtred under his wing forcing Uhtred back into the English way of life, and is forced to fight the people who had been his friends.
So the scene is set for more bloodshed...
Review
The book has been written in the same vein as that of the Warlord Chronicles, with the author sitting back reflecting on his life. It worked well for the Warlord Chronicles and on the basis of this story works well here.
To earn a maximum five out of five takes a lot of doing, but this book really does deserve the accolade. Reading the early parts of the book you get a real feeling for 9 Century Northumbria. The spelling of the original place names in Old English takes some getting used to, but helps transport you back to what was a very different Briton. A land divided into kingdoms, all of which are disappearing under the Viking onslaught.
The characters have a life and depth about them, from the fiercely proud Ragner, who likes nothing but good wine, women and battle, to the deeply pious and ill King Alfred. Frankly it is not difficult to understand why Uhtred enjoyed life with the Vikings. They led a wild exciting life, whilst life in the Royal court of Alfred was all about piety, learning and prayer. Not a pleasant way of life for a nine year old boy.
Through the pages and descriptions you can feel and almost smell the smoke, the blood and the misty mornings. Perhaps it evokes in me a yearning for the simpler way of life that has long gone which is why the book is most appealing.
A good Cornwell novel will always have a its share of bloddy battles, and this book is no exception, except the battles are currently in the background as we get to know Uhtred and the major players. The main characters come and go, as most by the end of the book have died in battle, but this a fact of the age. Life was short!
If you want a read about Britons misty past then this has got to be a good starting point, to my mind the book is better than the Sharpe novels (thats not saying that Sharpe is a bad read), but they have a depth that is perhaps missing. This may be because with less documentation to go on Bernard can let his imagination run riot. Sharpe on the other hand is slightly bound by the fact that it is relatively recent history and therefore well documented.
So an excellent book full of atmosphere and some really good characters, that you can feel for, unlike Thomas of Hookton (Grail Series) who I did not particuarly warm to even though he was the hero.
I look forward to the next installment when no doubt Bernard will send in more Vikings for dispatch!
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