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Date first published	26 Sep. 2013
ISBN Number	978 0 00 733190 1
Page Count	303 h/b
h/b= hardback : p/b= paperback

Storyline

The years after King Alfred's death are peaceful, the Danes rule in northern Britain, the Saxons hol the south. But for a warrior, a time of restless peace is the hardest challenge. Too often it allows the cautious and the timid to dominate.

Uhtred, a celebrated warrior of the late king, is out of favour with the new regime, and in one ill-considerde moment of rage he is thrown off his land and banished. He becomes an outcast, spurned by Christians and Pagans alike. Supported by a handful of loyal men, Uhtred goes north in a daring attempt to recapture Bebbanburg, his ancestral home and the greatest fortress of Britain.

But elsewhere the uneasy peace is breaking. Cnut Longsword, most feared and savage of all the Danish Lords, rises in fury a the capture ofhis wife and heir. All of the kingdoms are dragged into a bloody war which will decide whether there will be and England or a Daneland. It is Uhtred, lord of outcasts, whose fate it is to decide when and where that battle will be fought.

Review

It has been a couple of years since the last instalment of this series, and whilst I enjoyed the book overall, it is not Cornwell at his best. I certainly found the first part of the story dragged somewhat, and this was because it is set in a period of peace, and Uhtred, and peace don't mix.

Part of the problem I think is that in the earlier novels the quiet periods could be filled in with a bit of background, heritage, or local lore, but now being well into the series much of it would just be repetition, so it doesn't appear. Instead almost staged events have to be created to give Uhtred something to do, and this ends with a death of a Bishop!

The latter part of the book warms up with the confrontation with Cnut, and the eventual battle, but it doesn't quite lift the whole book. The aerly part of the book, and certainly the attack on Bebbanburg, isn't written with the usual authority, and the death of his uncle is an anticlimax, and it seems to me to be a wasted culmination for the series. It is unclear whether Uhtred will return to the ancestral home.

The other thing that grated somewhat is the constant referral to the Christian God as the 'Nailed God' quite why his annoyed me I'm not sure. Regular readers of the series will be aware of Uhtreds antipathy towards Christian religion, but I do get the feeling of it being rammed home. It is only a minor niggle, but one that slightly reduces the enjoyment of the story.

Much of the book follows the usual mix, with Uhtreds anger (at his son becoming a priest) getting the better of him, of course in due course he comes to the aid of a fledgling nation that is on the verge of destruction with the death of Alfred, and the appointment of what appears to be a weak King.

A good story, but not a brilliant one, and it starting to look as if Uhtred is nearing the end of his game. There will be more, and I hope that Cornwell is able to lift his game for the next one.

Not a book to start out on, you really need to start at the beginning of this series.

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