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The Last Kingdom The Saxon Chronicles Series #1 Bernard Cornwell Books

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The Last Kingdom The Saxon Chronicles Series #1 Bernard Cornwell Books

I'm still in the glow of living vicariously in Uhtred's world. I can't begin to tell exactly why this story affected me so deeply, except to say that the author did everything right. He lost no time making me care about the main character, just a child at the beginning of the story. Within the first dozen pages, I was hooked, invested in the story--wanting to know more, and needing to know young Uhtred's fate.

The narration is first person, and occasionally, throughout the story, the narrator intrudes, addressing the reader directly. While in some books, this doesn't work, in The Last Kingdom, it worked so well, I anticipated when it would happen, and I looked forward to it. Each time, it upped the tension just a knot. Another thing that worked incredibly well was that this entire book is told by Uhtred as an old man, sharing the tale of his life, looking back on events--

An incredibly entertaining stroll through 9th century, English history mingled with a few fictional characters. Outstanding read.


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The Last Kingdom The Saxon Chronicles Series #1 Bernard Cornwell Books Reviews

I loved this story and it is typical of the fine work one can expect from the pen of Bernard Cornwell. I have enjoyed many of his novels and this one fulfilled my expectations. I particularly noticed how it was written in first person. When one character is telling the tale, they observe what happens as they perceive it. I often wonder when reading a novel in this format, at what the other characters are feeling and thinking. To me it is very tricky to write this way and produces one view of the story. This is the first time I have not felt that I wanted to know more about the other characters thoughts. Cornwell has a way of showing the others reactions to what the protagonist says and does. The author is so skilled at assembling all the players on his stage he creates a novel that lingers in the mind long after the end. It's one of those books that is so rich with content that it begs some time to digest it. Reminds me of savoring fine wine.
“The Last Kingdom” is fun and easy-to-read, well-written and brings to life King Alfred’s battles with the Vikings. Much of this book parallels the TV series "The Vikings." I would recommend this book for the young adult crowd who has enjoyed the “Harry Potter” series. For serious readers of historical fiction, however, I would suggest they look elsewhere. The language, style and subject matter are designed for a sixteen year-old male readership; there are no feminine voices in the novel; and the treatment of history is superficial.
I love reading epic fantasy, most especially when the story is somewhat based on history. My inclination to read this book is due to the TV series. My interest is piqued to find out more about the life of the male protagonist, Uthred, since the TV adaptation covers only the best highlights of the story. This book entails the life of Uthred at age 10 to 20 during the war of Danes and England around 866 to 877 A.D. The POV is from Uthred himself. The story has developed and progressed the way I have expected it to be...in chronological order since it is based on history. The names of places and characters are a bit hard for me to pronounce or even remember, and so I have jotted them down (like Alfred who is constantly writing, LOL) for reference in my future reading. I have enjoyed reading this book. I am excited to read the next installment and find out more of Uthred's destiny.
Great story of Vikings invading what will be a future England. It was such a pleasure to read a book with pieces of real history, real people and real places, in it. I loved the fact that author did not try to make a fictional main character, Uthred, a contemporary humanitarian but gave him a perky, mischievous and often cruel personality fitting the Viking image. I also loved the sense of humor, although, most of the time it was a black humor. But I could not help laughing while reading about, otherwise tragic, end of Prince Edmund. There is a lot of carnage in this book (after all it is a book about a war) but only some of the gruesome details are described, so reader is not swamped with too many horror images.
The reasons for 4 stars instead of 5 are 1) Too many battles. It may be a plus for other readers but once I read about fighting in “shield wall” I did not need to read about it again and again. 2) I had problem placing many people with similar-sounding names starting with “ash” and figuring out how they are related.
There is actually a map at the beginning at the book and list of places and names but I missed it since my kindle opened on first chapter and I just started reading. So my advise to readers is; do not miss map and list, they are very helpful.
I liked very much author’s web page that, by itself, is a great story told with a great humor.
I think I will try next a book from different series by this author (hoping for fewer battles).
I'm still in the glow of living vicariously in Uhtred's world. I can't begin to tell exactly why this story affected me so deeply, except to say that the author did everything right. He lost no time making me care about the main character, just a child at the beginning of the story. Within the first dozen pages, I was hooked, invested in the story--wanting to know more, and needing to know young Uhtred's fate.

The narration is first person, and occasionally, throughout the story, the narrator intrudes, addressing the reader directly. While in some books, this doesn't work, in The Last Kingdom, it worked so well, I anticipated when it would happen, and I looked forward to it. Each time, it upped the tension just a knot. Another thing that worked incredibly well was that this entire book is told by Uhtred as an old man, sharing the tale of his life, looking back on events--

An incredibly entertaining stroll through 9th century, English history mingled with a few fictional characters. Outstanding read.