The Lords of the North

Title: The Lords of the North

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2006
Pages: 382
Series: The Last Kingdom/ The Saxon Stories #3
Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading Time: 12 - 13 June

Binding: Kindle
Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb:

 Uhtred wants revenge. He wants the land and castle that is his. He wants his treacherous uncle to pay for taking them.

 Heading north with his lover, former nun Hild, he finds chaos as the Vikings battle among themselves to consolidate their hold on the region. At the heart of it are men from Uhtred's past - Sven the One-Eyed and Kjartan the Cruel, men of vicious reputation. Still, he has matched such men before.

 Then Uhtred suffers a betrayal to rival the treachery that deprived him of his birthright. It will leave him trapped with no hope of escape ...

 Uhtred of Bebbanburg's mind is as sharp as his sword. A thorn in the side of priests and nobles who shape his fate, this Saxon raised by Vikings is torn between the life he loves and the cause he has sworn to serve.

Review:

 At last, we come out from the thumb of Alfred and Wessex, or so it appears for a time. We appear a month after the battle that ended The Pale Horseman and as we can expect Uhtred is not happy. He's lost everything all over again and it is time to journey for himself. To the blood feud and birthright that has haunted him since The Last Kingdom.

 Uhtred is 21 at the beginning of this book and I believe 23 by the end, so this is a relatively short time frame for so much to happen. Uhtred's plans to return home are constantly delayed by the will of others. Northumbria is chaos compared to what we've seen of Wessex so day in the series and that says a lot! Uhtred continues to show a keen mind for battle and deception. He's a real leader at such a young age but can still be ruled by his rage.

 Hild, sweet Hild. A good woman for Uhtred and one I think that is helping shape him more so than his previous lovers. I wish and hope we see a little more of her. 

 There's little to say without spoiling this one. But revenge is the name of the game for a great many of the players. The betrayal part way through this book is a real shock to the system. A grueling story that reveals a more redeeming quality than I've seen so far for Alfred. Uhtred has found new followers and I know they're here to stick around for a while. Bloodthirsty little buggers that they are.

 Another fantastic battle, another tense final chapter. A little more steering to where Uhtred is going as this book finishes than the previous book. Continued retrospective narrative that just becomes more dear to me as I keep reading, fantastic description that allows you to immerse in the history and yet another historical note to nod to Cornwell's thoughts on the history and how developed the story from it.

 Now I'll compare it the series a little as that's how I ended up reading the series. This is only the first few episodes of the second series. Things got ramped up a little and new things invented. I think Hild is more badass. Halig was a wonderful character just for the fact that his death scene is, for me, one of the most powerful scenes in the whole of the series so far. It wasn't in the book at all and I commend the show writers for finding a way to really make this situation felt for the watchers. Finding Guthred was also a bit more entertaining but only ramping up what was already present in the books. Good stuff. But where was the absolute beast that was Thyra in that battle? Or Gisela in her attempt to help? Dammit!

 Well, on to the next!