The Pale Horseman

Title: The Pale Horseman

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publisher: HarperCollins
Year: 2005
Pages: 415
Series: The Last Kingdom/ The Saxon Stories #2
Genre: Historical Fiction

Reading Time: 6 - 11 June

Binding: Kindle
Goodreads

Stars:
★★★★★

Blurb:

 When peace is torn apart by bloody Danish steel, Uhtred must fight to serve a king who distrusts him.

 Skeptical of a treat between the Vikings and Wessex, Uhtred takes his talent for mayhem to Cornwall, gaining treasure and a mysterious woman on the way. But when he is accused of massacring Christians, he finds lies can be as deadly as steel.

 Still, when pious King Alfred flees to a watery refuge, it is the pagan warrior he relies on. Now Uhtred must fight a battle which will shape history - and confront the Viking with the banner of the white horse ...

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

Review:

 I'm here because of the tv series, so let me note that there are increased difference from the first book in this one. Things were adapted to be a little more interesting and needing less explanation on screen but regardless, this was a great sequel to the first book!

 We're looking at a shorter timespan than The Last Kingdom, perhaps only two years rather than ten! We start off recovering from the action of the last chapters in The Last Kingdom and it's not pretty. Uhtred is all rage and justice in these chapters. He's angry with the church, the king, the opposing ealdormen and himself. He's just won a great victory and his thanks is very little. This opens to a particular funny line as we are being told the story retrospectively by an older Uhtred and he will openly criticise his own and other's actions.

 Uhtred's relationships with some of the most important people in his life become more strained in the beginning of this book as his frustrations show. He's young and prone to violence but he's just won a greater battle than any of them could have anticipated. So there's respect for him but it can't be shown too greatly, he still has a lot to prove.

 This book comes in two halves, the first of Uhtred's anger. He's practically exiled to his lands and takes his good friend Leofric on a little adventure to lift his spirits. It's not what I would have expected to happen and the whole experience of finding Iseult would not have been something I anticipated either. Iseult is a real turning point for Uhtred, I think she calms him.

 The second half begins on another spring of action just as Alfred has once again turned his back on Uhtred. The pace here slows a little as Wessex is reduced to the marshes. I say the pacing slows, a lot happens, lots involving some of those opposing ealdormen and lots of trust building until religion comes back in to it. There's action but I feel the focus is taken to Wessex relationships rather than the Danes and Saxons. Iseult and Uhtred are pagans surrounded by Christians that scorn them for their beliefs. I think this shows more of Uhtred's courage as we see Iseult succumb to some of the pressure of this. This also made me realise why I find so many points in these books funny, it's the utter devotion to religion. I'm not religious and to see everyone so devout just seems obsessive to the point I find it hilarious.

 There's another final battle to this one, it takes longer than previous battles and I think back to the first battle with Uhtred as a child wishing the soldiers would move faster. In the retrospective narrative Uhtred speaks of how this was the wish of a child not understanding battle and we're being taught this as we live through the shield wall experience again and again with Uhtred in increasingly sized battles. There's a rather impulsive and exciting ending to this battle and I like it in the books and how it's done very differently in the series. In the series these use a small battle reference from The Last Kingdom and use it here. I think I'm glad to see that on the screen than the complexity of this battle and it's ending.

 There's another note on the historical accuracy from Cornwell in this book and he acknowledged some of his movements. It's an excellent note for those ignorant of the history (like me) to know what events are inspired by the truth of how this country was built.

 The next book is Lords of the North, expect to read about it soon!