Oh Bernard, how do you do what you do? If I could write like this man, well, I'd be one very happy chick. And I do not want to write like this to make money, or make fans, or make myself famous, I just want to have this skill for myself, to know that I can do it, to know that I can create magic on paper, although, Bernard Cornwell, in this series at least, is more than merely skilled, he is an absolute master. Would it be presumptuous of me to say that I think that he is a writer's writer? or more precisely, a fantasy writer's writer? I can understand that some people may not appreciate this character and these Saxon books, but I just GET IT. I just totally get it.To me there is no flaw in Cornwell's writing or storytelling in this series. His dialogue is pitch perfect, his story flow and description is natural and not in the slightest bit contrived. And as I said, I just totally get it.Cornwell is a little heavy on the anti-Christian vibe and this may turn people off a bit, but I get that too, because they were heavy on God back then. Do you really think they would burn pagans and heretics alive etc etc.. if the Church wasn't rife with screwy, religious zealots? Christianity dominated society and thought. Built civilisations and brought them down. People feared the Church and the Churchmen. They did not gain this reputation throughout history by being patient and loving of all men and women.To me, early Christianity in England wasn't about love and tolerance and goodness and peace and forgiveness, it was about greed and power and survival. About jostling for King's favour and for wealth and fame. The description of Christianity in this book might be off putting for some, but I think it is an accurate portrayal of those times. But, please forgive me fellow reviewers, perhaps I am just a cynic.I am a woman, and I can see how these books may be too brutal and bloody for my fellow sex, or those of either sex who are oblivious to the subtle bluntness of Cornwell's storytelling and Cornwell's arrogant, uncomplicated male characters. I imagine quite a lot does go over people's heads. I also imagine that when some women read about "guts spooling about his feet" they cringe and run away. But, while I am all feminine woman, I also have a very definite female side and very definite masculine side, and this character and Cornwell's style very much appeals to the latter, my masculine side.My masculine side wants to don a helmet and mail and fight beside Uhtred in the shield wall, while my female side wants to (editing out x-rated thoughts here...ahem....)and also hold his horse and his hoard while he draws Wasp-Sting and locks his shield in the fighting line.Of course, being his female companion or his male companion could get me a sword to the head or a spear to the gut, but hey, wouldn't I get to go to Valhalla and party in the feast hall? As a man, yep, as a woman?? Nah, but I'd die with a smile on my face. Uhtred makes me laugh. I like him and I get him. Maybe that is all I should have written in this review, it may have been, in it's simplicity, ample comment as I move onto the review of the next book in the series...Lords of the North.
Yet again, Cornwell has cracked it! This is exactly as historical fiction should be: bring that history to life.One cannot help but be swept along as Uhtred recalls his adventures in Wessex and the south west of England. He questions King Alfred and the Christian ideology of the early Saxons, when one could only find favour with the King through demonstrating complete commitment to God. Consequently, his greatest enemies are the priests of Alfred's court. His enemies in battle, no matter what their reputation, hardly seem to bother him at all.Uhtred is a great character, made even better by his flaws. I kept wanting to yell, "No! You idiot! They've set you up! Go the other way!" But the added danger caused by his naivety and occasional stupidity, just adds more spicy action to his tale.As his career progresses from an early incarnation of First Sea Lord, to roaming general, his loyalties are always divided between his spiritual home with the Vikings, and his physical home as an Englishman. His upbringing amongst Vikings definitely saves his skin on several occasions.As with The Last Kingdom, there is plenty of blood and gore, some very graphic descriptions of battle and single combat, and a smattering of sex, but not too much, or enough, of the latter, depending on your point of view.This is a fast-pace, action-packed book, and it is highly entertaining. There are many amusing scenes in the book , the best of which, by far, is Cornwell's, Uhtred's, take on the famous King Alfred's burnt cakes episode. It is just wonderful! If he hadn't been so wrapped up in telling Uhtred about his strategy to regain Wessex from the Danes, King Alfred the Great would never have suffered the indignity! What did the woman do to him? Well, whatever she did, it made me roar with laughter!Enough said. Read it!
What do You think about The Pale Horseman (2006)?
Lord Book Pusher made me do it....I can't even......----------------------------------------------------------------------- "And I looked," Pyrlig said to me, "and I saw a pale horse, and the rider's name was death,"Well damn, this book was amazing! I took so long reading it because I didn't want it to end. But then I remembered there are a few others out AND a new one to be released in AUGUST!!!!!! *Goes and cancels all important meetings/days/birthday so I can read ALL the Saxon Stories books*You like Viking? Then read this book.You like badasses like my boyfriends, Uhtred & Steapa?? Then read this book! (In all fairness, I can have as many book boyfriends I want...BOOYA!)You want a GOOD STORY????? THEN READ THIS DAMN BOOK!!!!!!Also, I think its safe to say that buying ALL THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES BEFORE FINISHING THE FIRST ONE was a wise choice...
—Athena
Snowed in (again) and still seeking free yet instant gratification from the library's e-reader app, I find the second book of The Saxon Stories - well, that worked out pretty good the last time so I went ahead and ran it again, which was a good decision. The Pale Horseman is not a complicated book, but it's a fun one.We return to 9th century England, where Uhtred the Northumbrian exile is in the orbit of Wessexian king Alfred, whom history tells us is the one who fights off the Danish and sets in motion the events that lead to a unified England. Uhtred is essentially our Forrest Gump here, though since he's narrating in the 9th-10th century he is probably not sitting at a bus stop. Uhtred is kind of an asshole, quite a bit actually, ruthless in a way that reminds me of Jorg Ancrath from Mark Lawrence's world; perhaps there was some inspiration there, or they took inspiration from the same place.In any case, Uhtred is a quasi-pagan surrounded by nominally-pious Christians who kind of hate him, so even as he struggles against the Danes he struggles against his allies in the Wessexian campaign. The Saxons are kind of getting their asses kicked and they need a dick like Uhtred, not that they always recognize it. Uhtred is still Danish by the way he was raised, so there is your conflict.One fun thing about this series is suddenly being aware of the origination of some names. For instance, when I was growing up my grandparents lived on a street named Sussex Road in a community where many of the roads were named after places in England, and here a place is Suth Saexon (or something like that) and a lightbulb went off in my head - South Saxon -> Sussex. Well, how about that!It's just campy enough that I would feel a little bit shamed to give it a five star rating. For the most part, four stars is where I cap it for that sort of thing. It's great for what it is, though, historical fiction of a brutal age in a place wracked with strife. There are skirmishes and all-out battles, Viking raids, treachery, duels, and a very powerful person getting slapped in the face with an eel. The recurring cast in this series is strong and memorable and Uhtred's narration does a good job of seeding future plot points without being too obnoxious about it. Wouldn't have been fun to be alive in this time and place, but thanks to Bernard Cornwell and Uhtred, I don't have to be. I can just read about it.
—Mark
Ploughing on with this series, to try and understand what so entranced my two teen sons. Our protagonist Uhtred still can't make up his mind whether he likes anybody but the rather homoerotic Ragnar Older/Younger duo and the objective of getting his real estate in Northumbria back by any means. On a day to day basis, he is still mostly interested in mindless slaughter, (what he calls the dance of war or joy of death or glee of slaughter or miracle of massacre or some variation thereof.) By my careless count, he has now killed hundreds of men in hand to hand combat and sustained—wait for it—a thigh wound that has scarred him for life!The women are a little more interesting in this one than the previous volume, (they now have two dimensions instead of one,) and as a writer, I'm fascinated by Cornwell's narrative tricks. One is to constantly foreshadow events, layering on a little artificial suspense, e.g. I hated this man but I would grow to love him, or I loved this woman but I would grow to hate her...and he has one helluva way with run-on sentences that literally don't let you up from the page until he's finished with you.I'm continuing this series because I do find the historical details satisfying and the overall portrait of a neglected century very interesting. It's fascinating that the author can't manage to portray a single man of the Church in a way that credits them for saving the tradition of literacy through a very dark time, but in fact, mocks them for it through the disdain of his hero, and the only priest Uhtred likes turns out to be, you guessed it, a fellow killer in spirit.
—Dinah Küng
