Reviews

Death of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

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bergsteiger's review against another edition

3.0

Felt like a placeholder. King is dead. New king is on the throne. Uthred fights for the new king who tends to trust his advisors over Uthred--much like his father. No major battles (which isn't a prerequisite for a good read but just adds to the placeholder feel), no major issues resolved, no new happenings in the plot. We do get introduced to some new characters (Father Cuthbert is probably my favorite) and we get the interesting perspective of warriors taunting Uthred as an old man (he is almost 40 now). At any rate, I enjoyed continuing the series but this particular installation didn't really reach out and grab me. You likely wouldn't start with the 6th book in the series but if for some reason you were tempted either start at the beginning or read the third book (Lords of the North). Solid 3 stars.

history851's review against another edition

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5.0

One of the best battle scenes of the series so far

topdragon's review

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4.0

Alfred the Great is on his death bed and the various Danish Kings, as well as a few ambitious Saxons are circling, just waiting for a chance to claim the region known as Wessex. It seems Alfred’s dream of uniting the Saxon lands under one leader may vanish with his own life. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, while having a complicated history with Alfred, has sworn loyalty to Edward, the chosen heir of Alfred. But Edward’s inexperience desperately needs Uhtred’s leadership to prevent the Danes from their goals of conquest.

This sixth novel in “The Saxon Stories” carries the larger story arcs forward through a critical time. Indeed, this is an important novel within the series as we see several character arcs completed (not just Alfred’s) that began back in the first book. The politics of the plot was interesting but also balanced with some nicely constructed battle scenes that really pulled me in. It was nice to see Uhtred transform into the leader of men that we all knew was coming. He’s done this sort of thing before but this time, he really takes on the role. His craftiness in setting traps for the enemy, his timing, his charisma in gaining men to his cause is truly inspiring.

I’m anxious to see what happens next and will try to have less time go by before I do.