Title: The Last Kingdom
Author: Bernard Cornwell
Year: 2004
Pages: 327
Series: The Last Kingdom/ The Saxon Stories #1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Reading Time: 3 - 6 June
Binding: Kindle
Goodreads
Stars:
★★★★★
Blurb:
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.
Review:
So I've just finished watching the series so far, which has only recently seen the release of season four on Netflix. I tried a few times in the past year to get in to this series not to get any further than episode four, history has never been a big interest of mine. This time I made it all the way through, with the 20 hours of seasons 3 and four being consumed in one tense weekend. Then I thought to myself, what am I going to do whilst I wait for the next series? Wait, what? There are books?
I hesitated on looking in to the books, historical fiction is not a genre I've really entered before. Libraries are shut during the pandemic and I simply don't have room for 13 books that aren't signed or special editions. Imagine my surprise when I browse the kindle store only to find that I purchased the book in 2016 whilst it was free on kindle. Perfect!
For me, this was really easy reading. The writing isn't complex and the story moves along easily. Reading this on kindle, I think this is my most highlighted and bookmarked book so far. I wasn't expecting it to be funny but there are little sentences and interactions all over the place that made me smile or chuckle.
Our story is all told from Uhtred's point of view and there is a long range of his early years in this story. I think we see around a decade with him from the age of nine. There's no shying away from the fact that monstrosities happened to children at this time. So much more happens at a younger age to Uhtred than we realise from the series and I think that's fantastic for shaping him for a character we'll see through a long series. He can be brave, irrational, arrogant, distraught and we really do see it all.
Brida is a great character as this series begins and you can tell from some of the early pages with her that she's going to cause trouble. She's intelligent and fierce, a fantastic female companion for Uhtred.
Alfred, I must say I have greater interest in now than when I was watching the series. It's the same for a great many of the characters and so I decided to start watching the series again in order to see how well lifted from the books this series is. The answer is really well. Little interactions that I found funny in the series have come out of the books, the material is there. They're have been elements moved around but it is generally very true to the book and that's why it's so fantastic.
The pacing moves well for me, there is plenty of action in this book and it's told in an evolving way as Uhtred ages and has move involvement, just as he's shaping his mind to that of a warrior. He's brash in the beginning but is learning the intelligence of those around him and he's got a good bit of luck on his side. His priorities are set and he often has to complete tasks he doesn't want to but it's all in order to reach his final goal of going home. He's outmatched several times and seeing how Uhtred then conquers or faces the consequences of this is a source of wonder and tension.
I can't talk about historical accuracy because I frankly haven't got a clue. There's a historical note and I believe Cornwell has done his research.
As I'm writing this I've just finished the second book, The Pale Horseman, the previous evening. I have books I want to read, but this series is taking priority right now. I'm obsessed!
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