The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)
by Bernard Cornwell
List Price:
Our Price: $3.91
You Save: $11.08 (74%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.83 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Bernard CornwellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-01-03
ISBN: 0060887184
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Reviews of The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)
Book Review: Bloody good adventure, as expected from Bernard Cornwell
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit I do enjoy a good Cornwell adventure. I read for pleasure, and Cornwell delivers every time. Just when I think "he can't surprise me anymore" -- because I've read all his books -- well, he does anyway. Okay, most of his novels are rip-roaring grand adventures, but they're more than that. They're imaginative. They tear chunks out of fascinating (mostly British) history and I feel like I'm there. It's an illusion of course. All historical fiction is fantasy at some level, no matter how true to the facts -- as we know them (after all, as the cliche goes, history is written by the victors) -- but writers (myself included) have to remain comfortable to the modern-day reader. So, dialogue is necessarily 20th century in most historicals. Anachronisms are the norm, not the exception. But, we love it that way. We have to relate to the story, first and foremost.
And Cornwell does that. At least, and I'm guessing here, he relates to the male readers. Strong male leads, heroic and sometimes bloody-minded, who grow by the end of their books in ways adventure heroes rarely do. But here, in this book, the first of the Saxon Chronicles (my favorite, to date from Cornwell, with the possible exception of the Arthurian trilogy) -- here the women are stronger, deeper, richer and maybe as true to the dark ages as we can be while not alienating modern readers. There's rape (nuns and such), there's blood, betrayal, slavery, oath-breaking, Northmen (not Vikings Cornwell's quick to point out, that means "pillagers and raiders" not Northmen) -- I'm truly surprised movies aren't made of each and every one of Cornwell's epics. They're so movie-perfect.
But Cornwell, high adventurist or not, does bring us deep into character here. Perhaps it's the first person perspective. As with the Arthur trilogy, it brings the reader deep into the "mind" of a hero from the dark ages. I think Cornwell is the master of the first person adventure novel. It's so rarely done. Most thriller writers (self included) want the freedom to jump over to a new point of view. But here, Cornwell maintains suspense, even in the first person, and allows us to know Uhtred, his hero, a Saxon who is raised by Northmen. All the way through, Uhtred struggles with his loyalties. He fights for Saxon's against the Northmen -- but it's the Northmen he loves. It adds a rich dimension to this imaginative adventure that otherwise is missing in many historical epics.
It's the story of Uhtred, but ultimately the history of Alfred the Great, a compelling character in history who Cornwell does NOT glamorize. If anything, it's the bloody Northmen who are glamorized, and the pagans at the expense of rising Christianity. It's such a compelling point of view, jumping into a pagan character's point of view and making Christianity seem superstitious. The irony is magnificent. And real. Because I'm so very sure this is the sort of thing that went through the heads of people of the day.
You'll tear through this book in a day. I'm so glad I picked mine up at a time when books 2 and 3 were already on the shelves. I would have had a difficult time waiting for them to come out a year later. Read them all. They're entertaining, in some ways thought-provoking (bear in mind, they're mostly adventure historical fiction), and as true to the dark ages as you can be without turning away the reader.
Summary of The Last Kingdom (The Saxon Chronicles Series #1)
In the middle years of the ninth-century, the fierce Danes stormed onto British soil, hungry for spoils and conquest. Kingdom after kingdom fell to the ruthless invaders until but one realm remained. And suddenly the fate of all England?and the course of history?depended upon one man, one king.
From New York Times bestselling storyteller Bernard Cornwell comes a rousing epic adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love, and battle as seen through the eyes of a young warrior who straddled two worlds.
Military Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Military Books
Washington's Crossing (Pivotal Moments in American History)by David Hackett Fischer
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2004-02-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.89
Price in other shops:
Infamy: Pearl Harbor and Its Aftermath (Penguin Classic Military History)by John Toland
Penguin Books Ltd; Published: 2001-05-31; Paperback; Book
The Mask of Commandby John Keegan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1988-10-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
The Face of Battle: A Study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Sommeby John Keegan
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1983-01-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Brotherhood of Warriors: Behind Enemy Lines with a Commando in One of the World's Most Elite Counterterrorism Unitsby Aaron Cohen, Douglas Century
Ecco; Published: 2008-04-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops:
Little House by Boston Bayby Melissa Wiley
Harper Collins Publishers; HarperCollins; Published: 2007-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.69
Price in other shops:
Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forgeby Thomas Fleming
Smithsonian; Published: 2005-10-25; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.48
Price in other shops:
Bodyguard of Liesby Anthony Cave Brown
Harpercollins; Published: 1975-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $70.00
General Patton: A Soldier's Lifeby Stanley Hirshson
Harper; Published: 2002-08-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.96
Price in other shops:
The Complete Idiot's Guide(R) to the Crusadesby Paul Williams, Paul L. Williams
Alpha; Published: 2001-10-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.17
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
Agincourt: A Novelby Bernard Cornwell
Harper; Harper Perennial; Published: 2009-12-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.50
Price in other shops:
Sword Song (The Saxon Chronicles, Book 4)by Bernard Cornwell
Harper; Published: 2008-01-22; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.17
Price in other shops:
The Archer's Tale (The Grail Quest, Book 1)by Bernard Cornwell
HarperCollins; Published: 2005-11-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.29
Price in other shops:
The Burning Land: A Novel (Saxon Tales)by Bernard Cornwell
Harper Perennial; Published: 2010-09-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Sword Song: The Battle for Londonby Bernard Cornwell
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
Lords of the North: A Novel (Saxon Chronicles #3)by Bernard Cornwell
Harper Perennial; Published: 2008-01-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.17
Price in other shops:
The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2)by Bernard Cornwell
HarperCollins; Published: 2006-12-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.01
Price in other shops:
The Winter King (The Arthur Books #1)by Bernard Cornwell
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 1997-04-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.92
Price in other shops:
The Burning Land (The Saxon Chronicles, Book 5)by Bernard Cornwell
Harper; Published: 2010-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.95
Price in other shops:
Death of Kings: A Novel (Saxon Tales)by Bernard Cornwell
Harper; Published: 2012-01-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.44
Price in other shops: