This is the fourth book in the Saxon Series. I recommend that you read them, they are very good. The earlier books are : The Last Kingdom, The Pale Horseman and The Lords of The North. Also The Warrior Chronicles trilogy of his is excellent. (Consisting of The Winter King, Enemy of God and Excalibur)
This book starts with a bang. Uhtred captures a pirate ship of Danes that came in and plundered a village, taking all women and children. He kills all the Danes save one, who has his sword arm cut off and set free to tell the tale of the other pirates to the Danish rulers so that they will fear to send galleys to plunder southwards to Lundene again.
Aethelwold, the drinking, inept nephew of Arthur (who is a true heir and considers Arthur an usurper) tells a prophecy that says that Uhtred will become king of Mercia. Alfred wants Uhtred to liberate Lundene from the Danes and then present it to his enemy and cousin\! Being under oath to Alfred, Uhtred cannot refuse!
In the meanwhile, a dead man speaks and prophesizes that Uhtred will be King of Mercia. Uhtred is very tempted. He goes to meet Siegfried and Erik and discovers a few prisoners readied to be sacrificed. He tells Siegfried to battle with one priest for jest and gives the priest his Serpentbreath, knowing that the priest is well skilled in battle and is really Prylig, his old battle comrade. Uhtred learns that the dead man was a pretender and a fake.
When they come back, Uhtred is asked to get Lundene back to his enemy and cousin by Alfred. He is distrusted by Alfred, who sends Steapa to fight with him so that he can kill Uhtred at the first sign of treachery. The battle to take Lundene is told brilliantly, as is Siegfried and Erik’s final meeting with Uhtred where they realize that he knows he has been tricked by the corpse speaking and also realize that he in turn tricked them knowing that Pyrlig, the captive priest, was a warrior at heart.
His cousin Aethelred tries to corner all the glory for himself, as well as being very jealous that his wife, Alfred’s daughter, loves Uhtred.
Alfred seems to be constantly against Uhtred, even though the latter is the one that is saving his kingdom in almost all major events. (The fact that Uhtred himself is a fictitious character does not seem to take anything away from the narration of the story.)
Alfred finally appoints him military commander of Lundene but puts an obnoxious priest Eekenwald as the Bishop and in charge of civil administration, , in parallel to him. He rids the river of pirates, even though he was given only two ships (his cousin took the rest, blessed by Alfred, who did not even seem to mind the abuse of his own daughter in his hands)
When Aethelflad, the daughter, requests Uhtred and wife Gisela to rescue her from being sacrificed at midnight, they go incognito.
Then Aethred, the cousin wins a “fantastic defeat” in his quest against Guthrum and also manages to lose his wife as a captive to the Danes.
When Uhtred goes to negotiate a price for the ransom of the princess, there is a great description of the battle between two giants, Welland from Siegfried’s side and Steapa from Uhtred’s.
He also discovers that Aethelflaed has fallen in love with Erik, the brother of Siegfried. He agrees to help them elope and goes secretly to enable them to flee Siegfried but unexpectedly things go wrong. The end is exhilerating. When he goes to help Erik escape he meets treachery, burning buildings and a whole new plot from a whole new direction due to the ambition of an evil man whose life Uhtred had saved in the past
Very well written. 8/10
– – Krishna
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