Book info

• Title The Last Kingdom
• Author Bernard Cornwell
• Year 2004
• Genre Historical

A hero will be forged from this broken land. In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one. Alfred – Saxon, king, man of god – fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners. Uhtred and Alfred’s fates are tangled, soaked in blood and blackened by the flames of war. Together they will change history.

Thoughts

I sort of thought this book was not going to be for me, a period of history I don’t know very much about and can be kinda dull in places. It just brings images of swords and mud and women being ill-used, so yea. But of course I forgot how engaging Bernard Cornwell’s writing can be. Even though this is a distant age, with incomprehensible place names and hints of language we don’t really use anymore, it’s completely accessible and an interesting story. Now I’m going to have to read more in this series!

Rating: 4 / 5