Death of Kings
.jpg) First edition cover | |
| Author | Bernard Cornwell |
|---|---|
| Original title | Death of Kings |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Saxon Stories |
| Genre | Historical Novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 335 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-733179-6 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | The Burning Land |
| Followed by | The Pagan Lord |
Death of Kings, published in 2011, is the sixth novel of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Tales series. It continues the story of Saxon warlord Uhtred of Bebbanburg who keeps fighting against a new Danish invasion of Wessex and Mercia.
Style and format
The novel is written as a first person narrative told by Uhtred as a reflection. The novel was also published with a family tree of Alfred the Great, a historical note, a list of Anglo-Saxon placenames and their modern day equivalent and a map depicting Anglo-Saxon Britain and the Southern coast of the English Channel and North Sea.
Plot summary
Alfred the Great is said to be dying. Rivals for his succession are poised to tear the kingdom apart. The country that Alfred has worked for thirty years to build is likely to disintegrate. Uhtred, a Saxon born warrior, who has been raised by the Danes, wants more than anything else to go and fight to reclaim his stolen Northumbrian inheritance. But he knows that if he deserts the King's cause, Alfred's dream - and the very future of the English nation - would vanish immediately.
The beginning of the book finds Father Willibald visiting Uhtred on his small estate at Buckingham, loaned by Aethelflaed. A gang of outlaws has been paid to kill Uhtred, but they are no match for the shepherd and his dogs. Willibald tells Uhtred that King Alfred of Wessex has requested that he broker a deal between Eohric, King of East Anglia and Alfred. Uhtred reluctantly agrees but is wary, with good reason. Sigurd, one of the Danish lords with an eye to the throne of Wessex, has set a trap for Uhtred.
Critical reception
A reviewer for National Public Radio said, "His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as the swords, and the action is non-stop."[1] In the New York Times, a reviewer wrote that Cornwell "writes morally complicated and intricate stories, and he’s won a following not just among readers but also among fellow writers."[2] A reviewer for The Guardian wrote, "There are moments of terror, including one particularly striking episode when Uhtred goes to visit a witch and is drugged, bound and gagged while the naked, shrivelled crone cackles madness. Cornwell's plot is enlivened by passages of clear beauty as he describes the natural world in which such horrors take place". [3]
References
- ^ Penman, Sharon (December 16, 2011). "A Passion For The Past: 2011's Best Historical Fiction". National Public Radio. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ Cowles, Gregory (February 3, 2012). "Inside the List: Writers' Writer". New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ Womack, Philip (May 19, 2012). "Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell – review: The sixth of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon series taps into a particular kind of male fantasy". The Guardian. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
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