The Pale Horseman

November 14, 2005
Outnumbered Saxon forces continue battling Danish invaders in this rousing sequel to the bestselling The Last Kingdom
. It's A.D. 877, and the dispossessed Northumbrian noble Uhtred has just routed the Danes in a battle at Cynuit in southern England. Logically, Uhtred should now ally himself with Alfred, whose Wessex kingdom alone has successfully resisted Danish control. But Uhtred sees a better chance of recovering his lost estate if he finds a way to join the Danes, who raised him and whose simple life of "ale, women, sword, and reputation" he finds more congenial than Alfred's Christian piety and military caution. But when the Danes invade Wessex, Uhtred's loyalties are further divided. His Celtic mistress foretells victory for Alfred, but Uhtred can scarcely believe that the bedraggled king, camped in isolated marshes with a handful of supporters, can repel the invaders and unite England. Yet pride grows in Uhtred: "I understood that among the Danes I was as important as my friends, and without friends I was just another landless, masterless warrior. But among the Saxons I was another Saxon, and among the Saxons I did not need another man's generosity." Uhtred demonstrates his newfound patriotism in the book's climactic battle at Edington. Filled with bawdy humor, bloodlust, treachery and valor, this stirring tale will leave readers eager for the next volume in this Alfred the Great series.

January 15, 2006
In this successful sequel to "The Last Kingdom", Uhtred -the dispossessed Northumbrian nobleman who had been raised by Danish captors -struggles with his choice to join the Saxons in their attempts to cast the savage Danish invaders out of England. On one hand, he admires the bloodthirstiness of the Danes and dislikes the sickly, priestlike King Alfred of Wessex, whose hold is tenuous at best. On the other, Uhtred is Saxon, and he and Alfred are the only forces protecting their culture. As the novel's end finds the Danes still in control of large stretches of England and a prophecy concerning the fate of Uhtred unfulfilled, Cornwell fans may reasonably expect a follow-up to this ripping good tale of a man fighting to overcome his past and establish himself as a trusted warrior and protector of his country and people. Highly recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/15/05.]" -Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2005
At the conclusion of Cornwell's best-selling " The Last Kingdom " (2005), Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a slain Saxon nobleman raised by Danish warriors, had reluctantly rejoined King Alfred's beleaguered forces in the rapidly dwindling kingdom of Wessex. Although the Danes had already conquered the kingdoms of East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, Alfred, with an able assist from Uhtred, had stalwartly fended off the Viking invasion. Uneasily allied to the cerebral Alfred, the more vigorous Uhtred is plagued by divided loyalties as the Saxons struggle to maintain a toehold against the mighty Viking war machine. Taking refuge in a boggy marshland, the ragtag remnants of the Saxon army desperately attempt to regroup. Two vastly different heroes--Alfred and Uhtred--stand between the Danes and total annihilation of the Saxon culture. Further complicating the matter is the fact that Uhtred faces a moral dilemma when he realizes he must choose between allegiance to the king he has grown to admire and loyalty to Ragnar, his much-loved foster brother. Cornwell, the author of the excellent Sharpe" " series" ," displays his usual flair for providing action-packed martial history populated by a diverse array of realistically drawn characters. A crackerjack adventure tale from a master of the craft. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)