The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell
I ran across this series many years ago when I worked at the bookstore. It was an advanced reader's copy of the first of the series called The Last Kingdom. I was hooked. I think I liked it so much because I was taking a linguistics course at the time, and Cornwell seemed to write the way the Saxons would have spoken (I've since learned that's kind of just his style, but by now I just don't care; I'll read whatever he writes).
The series starts, like I said, with The Last Kingdom, where we meet the hero of the series, Uhtred of Bebbanberg. When the Danes invade his home, he is taken as a slave and raised as a Dane. He accepts their religion and lifestyle, barely holding on to his Saxon roots. Throughout the series he increases his reputation as a warrior until eventually he is driving the Danes from Wessex and Mercia for King Alfred and his successors. The battle scenes are amazing. The writing is thrilling and engrossing. Every time I read a Cornwell book, I can be assured I will never get bored or tired. In fact, every day life is more of an intrusion than usual when I read his work. If you like the History Channel series Vikings or Game of Thrones, you might want to try this. Here's the titles in the series up to now:
The Last Kingdom
The Pale Horseman
Lords of the North
Sword Song
The Burning Land
Death of Kings
The Pagan Lord
The Empty Throne
I would suggest reading them in order because you really get to see Uhtred grow up. Plus the BBC is filming The Last Kingdom now, so you can be in the lead when it's released. If you find Cornwell as engrossing as I do, you'll also be delighted to know that he has multiple other series that are just as good.
The series starts, like I said, with The Last Kingdom, where we meet the hero of the series, Uhtred of Bebbanberg. When the Danes invade his home, he is taken as a slave and raised as a Dane. He accepts their religion and lifestyle, barely holding on to his Saxon roots. Throughout the series he increases his reputation as a warrior until eventually he is driving the Danes from Wessex and Mercia for King Alfred and his successors. The battle scenes are amazing. The writing is thrilling and engrossing. Every time I read a Cornwell book, I can be assured I will never get bored or tired. In fact, every day life is more of an intrusion than usual when I read his work. If you like the History Channel series Vikings or Game of Thrones, you might want to try this. Here's the titles in the series up to now:
The Last Kingdom
The Pale Horseman
Lords of the North
Sword Song
The Burning Land
Death of Kings
The Pagan Lord
The Empty Throne
I would suggest reading them in order because you really get to see Uhtred grow up. Plus the BBC is filming The Last Kingdom now, so you can be in the lead when it's released. If you find Cornwell as engrossing as I do, you'll also be delighted to know that he has multiple other series that are just as good.
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