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THE LAST KINGDOM
by Bernard Cornwell
HarperCollins, October 2004
400 pages
17.99GBP
ISBN: 0007149905


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Not content with the Grail Quest, Warlord, and Sharpe series, Bernard Cornwell has started a new series featuring Alfred the Great, the King of Wessex. Caught up in the struggle between the English and the Danes is Uhtred an orphan who has been adopted and brought up by Vikings. His life is surrounded by the conflict and his loyalty is being tested. It is a massacre that takes place during one winter that forces him to choose and he soon finds himself on the side of the English.

It is as Uhtred grows into manhood that the Danes commence their most brutal assault on Wessex. THE LAST KINGDOM is a book about loyalty and heroism and is the first in the series, which will not only deal with the life of the King of Wessex but will also look at his descendants and the Viking enemies that they fought.

Cornwell is undisputedly one of the best historical writers around now. He is prolific and like most of his previous books, THE LAST KINGDOM has its grounding in true history. We are confronted with bloody battles and courageous actions. His characters are always passionate in what they are doing and readers are left in no doubt about how much Cornwell loves history; especially English history.

This new series is no different. Cornwell has certainly set himself an ambitious task but that is not to say that he is not up to it. He draws the reader in and leads them on an intense and harrowing journey. However, I struggled to finish reading THE LAST KINGDOM. I felt that it dragged and that it was too heavy and in some parts lifeless. The story took sometime to sink in and took a lot of perseverance on my part.

THE LAST KINGDOM is a hefty tome that will certainly satisfy readers who have enjoyed his earlier works and will no doubt also bring Cornwell a new set of readers as well. It will also certainly bring Cornwell more acclaim as he continues the series. As much as I enjoy reading historical crime fiction, I had a lot of difficulty with THE LAST KINGDOM, as it did not fully engage my attention. This book is for fans of Bernard Cornwell or for those who like their history with a lot of intensity.

Reviewed by Ayo Onatade, November 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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