Review: Death of Kings (The Last Kingdom #6) by Bernard Cornwell

5 stars for Death of Kings (The Last Kingdom book 6) by Bernard Cornwell.

After book 5 The Burning Land, I contemplate giving The Last Kingdom series a break, but the Norns at the foot of Yggdrasil, the tree of life, obviously feel otherwise and thus, propel me ever forward to be a witness to the Death of Kings. And so here I am again at the mercy of Uhtred's sword Serpent-Breath and his dagger Wasp-Sting.

Six books in tow. I have come a long way with Uhtred of Bebbanburg. I have literally watched him grow up, from a pagan childhood to the fight in his first great shield wall, to the mistakes he makes as an arrogant, foolish and headstrong young warrior following his battle with the great Danish leader, Ubba Lothbrokson, to his return from Wessex in the South to Northumbria in the North only to discover chaos, civil war and treachery, to his return from Dunholm in the North back again to Wessex in the South where he becomes a builder, a trader, and a father, to how he leads the Saxon army and defeats the Danes as they launch a final assault on King Alfred's Wessex. And now, Uhtred is an old man of forty-five years.

In Death of Kings, Uhtred continues his story of how men feared him even though he is no great lord in terms of land or wealth or men, of how the death of a king brings uncertainty and in uncertainty lies opportunity for the enemies, and last but not least, of how the warriors scream their war songs as axes fall, spears stab, swords cut and shields block in the winter battle.

Having travelled so far alongside Uhtred, I feel as if I have majored in History all over again, only that it is Britain's history this time; for at the back of Uhtred's tales is the story of how England comes into existence.

In the winter of 898, there is no England. There is Northumbria and East Anglia, Mercia and Wessex, the first two are ruled by the Danes, Wessex is Saxon while Mercia is a mess, part Danish and part Saxon. It is Alfred the Great who lays the foundations on which his son Edward, his daughter Æthelflæd, and Edward’s son, Æthelstan, succeed in taking back the three Northern kingdoms and so, for the first time, unite the Saxon lands into one kingdom called England.

But as with most storytellers, author Cornwell imparts his knowledge to readers by peppering the history lessons with fiction and soaking them in generous doses of humour. These are what give shape to his historical fiction and breathe life into the characters such that they leap out of the pages alive.

And now that the characters have obediently returned to their rightful places inside the book, it is time for me to have a break, have a KitKat. As pointed out by book buddyson Sean who ever so politely puts it that I am reading this Saxon tales at the speed of a freight train, and that I should take a break from this long-running series. So, right now, I shall put aside the Uhtred in me. And open up a whole new world of possibilities.

Wyrd bið ful āræd


Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers; First Printing edition
Publication date: 1 Sep 2011

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Death of Kings continues the story of Uhtred, this time through the tumultous years which followed the death of Alfred the Great as two men struggle to inherit the crown of Wessex. Uhtred has to contend with betrayal, treachery and the largest army the Danes have yet assembled to conquer Wessex . . . all brought to a climax in a winter battle fought in the fens of East Anglia.

*Blurb from author's website*

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