Customer Reviews
Cornwell does it again - By: chuckles, 22 Oct 2008 
If you read my other reviews you will know I am a huge Cornwell fan, especially Sharpe. Having nearly finished all the Sharpe novels & the Grail Quest trilogy it was time to give these a try. I was wondering if I would start to get bored with his style as Grail Quest was Sharpein the middle ages, however this was sufficiently different to keep me interested. This book as per usual is historically acurate, good entertainment, & writtenin such a narrative way as to think you are reading the diary of Uhtred & that it is real. This gives it a different feel to the others, but still retaining all the things that make his books so gripping. Just started the next book, & have a feeling that these will stop me reading my last 3 Sharpe novels for a while, which is some feat!
Cornwell just gets better and better - By: C. Bowden, 16 Aug 2008 Excellent. Bernard Cornwell at his very best. Discussing the formation of the first Kingdom of England by the future King Alfred the Great, Cornwell adds glamour to an already tumultuous past, showing life from Danish eyes & from Saxon views. Eternally anti-Christian, the book is more enjoyable than his previous warlord series.
Pure Gold! - By: Iphidaimos, 10 Aug 2008 Over the years I've read several of Bernard Cornwell's novels and, by & large, have enjoyed them. "The Last Kingdom," however, isin a different league, combining a sound grasp of history with a storyline that is simply superb. The book tells the story of Uhtred, Ealdorman of Northumbria, dispossed by his uncle & brought up by Danes, who, more by way of fate than choice, becomes a warrior for Alfred of Wessex.
The strength of the novel, for me, liesin the way Cornwell conjures up the flavour of the period & gives the protagonists a human face. Uhtred is no cardboard cut-out, no Dark Age equivalent of a superhero, but a very believable human being struggling to understand himself & make his wayin an uncertain world. Bernard Cornwell's wry look at the religious questions of the day - Paganism versus Christianity - is handled with great understanding & more than a touch of humour as Uhtred looks askance at those who accept Christianity with unthinking certainty & this adds great value to the book from an historical perspective.
Extremely well written & a joy to read.
The Horrible, the Boneless and the Fearless - By: cluricaune, 25 Jun 2008 
"The Last Kingdom" is setin ninth century England & sees a Northumbrian nobleman called Uhtred look back to the early part of his life. Uhtred's father, also called Uhtred, was the Ealdorman of a region between the Trent & the Tyne. The family home is called Bebbanburg, a practically impregnable fortress. Although the family are good Christians, the Wolf Banner flies from the fortress - claiming the family's descent from Woden, the Saxon God of War. Since England was made up of several kingdoms at the time, Uhtred was subject to the King of Northumbria - Wessex, East Anglia & Mercia also had their own Kings. Uhtred's story beginsin 866, when he was nine years old, on a trip along the coast with his father, his elder brother & Aelfric, an uncle. In a time when priests are praying that God will "spare us from the fury of the Northmen", the three Danish ships they spotted sailing up the coast were obviously a cause for concern. Uhtred's elder brother is sent with a dozen men, scouting after them. However, Uhtred the Elder only wants to know where they land & gives strict instructions to return before nightfall. Unfortunately, his son is snared & one of the Viking warriors kindly delivers his severed head the next day.
When the raiders take the city of Eoferwic a week later, Bebbanburg's army joins a combined Northumbrian force. Unfortunately, it gets suckered at the city, Uhtred the Elder gets killed - along with Northumbria's King & Ealdorman Aella. Uhtred the Younger, our narrator, is taken by the same Viking -Ragnar the Fearless - who killed his brother. The Vikings install Ealdorman Egbert as Northumbria's King - he is, however, only there to do as the Danes tell him.
Uhtred is raised by Ragnar as a son, & he doesn't take too longin adapting to the Viking way of life. He embraces the Viking religion, doesn't miss his father & plainly likes the man who killed his father & his brother. Ragnar already has three children - his eldest of which is already a warrior who is fightingin Ireland. Rorik, his second son, is only a year younger than Uhtred & the pair become good friends.
The Danish expedition is one of conquest, & is being led by two brothers - Ubba & Ivar. Ubba is a fearsome warrior, though superstitious - he will only fight when the signs are right. Ivar, on the other hand, has a little more sense than his brother. As a result, things become complicated for Uhtred. Being raised as a Dane inevitably leads to him fighting against his own countrymen. Northumbria is only the beginning - as time passes, more Danes arrive & the invasions move to Mercia, East Anglia & Wessex. The information they have on Wessex leads them to believe there won't be much resistance. The region has a weak new King, while the King's brother - Alfred - is only concerned with chasing women.
Things are complicated further on the Danish side by Kjarten & his bad-tempered son, Sven. Kjarten commanded one of Ragnar's ships until Sven took a grave liberty with Thyra, Ragnar's daughter. Luckily, Uhtred manages to save her - though Sven isn't let off lightly when Ragnar hears of it. Nevertheless, the father & son pairing will remain enemies for life. Aelfric, Uhtred's uncle, also proves a threat. Since he now smells an opportunity to become Ealdorman himself, he's now quite like to see Uhtred absence from Bebbanburg become a lot more permanent. From earlyin the book, however, it's clear he plans to win back his rightful home - & also that he owes a great debt to Alfred, his king.
An easily read & a very well-researched book overall, although - naturally - there has been the odd tweak here & there. There only slight weakness was Uhtred's tendency to obsess on certain things - especially shadow-walkers & shield-wall. Life was very different then - for example, priests & bishops didn't remain celibate & your average daughter didn't get too far into her teens without being married off. Sex was obviously a big recreational hobby, though since nothing rude (!!) is ever describedin detail those with an innocent mind will make it through unscathed. (Uhtred, amusingly, did once ask a bishop if there were womenin Heaven he could hump). A likeable, easily read book.
FANTASTIC, AMAZING, YOU MUST READ IT!!!!!!!!!!! - By: Mr England, 01 Apr 2008 In a clash of heroes, a kingdom is born, & that kingdom is England. This story is based on real events & exellent research. Setin the 9th century this tells the story of Englandin the making when the 4 Christian Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England were struggling for survival against the Pagan Vikings. This tells the story of Uhtred,a 10yr old english kid who is destined to be King Alfred's greatest warrior. At the age of 10 Uhtred's family is slaughtered by Vikings & he is raised as a Pagan & trained as a warrior. But Uhtred is torn between his fellow Saxons & the Danes that raised him, but destiny is everything. And he soon finds himself fighting the greatest of the Vikings for a King that doesnt like him or trust him.(I dont want to say too much as this book is full of twists & suprises). This is the best book iv ever read & im looking forward to reading the entire series. It is so brilliantly written that i quickly got engrossed into the story & the characters are amazing, the author makes you care about them, its very violent, anti-christian, pro pagan, pro viking, pro english & it really brings the anglo-saxon period ALIVE & makes you feel you are really there. I cant recommend this book enough, it is fantastic.
