In 899, King Alfred the Great dies. His son Edward becomes the monarch of a land at war between the Saxons and the Danes. Several like Uhtred, the Pagan warlord was in favor when Alfred ruled Wessex only to find themselves in trouble with Edward on the throne as the new King of the Saxons purges Danish influence. This is made clear to Uhtred after a particularly violent incident in which Alfred would have applauded him while Edward declares him an outlaw. Fleeing the monarch’s wrath, Uhtred turns home to take back Bebbanburg. His brave, inane action places him during a war between the Danes and Saxons. Feeling comfortable in combat, Uhtred plans to strike back at those who outlawed him regardless of what happens to Britain, especially those people subject to Danish control. This is a great tenth-century historical that centers on competing multiple cultures (Danes vs. Saxons and Christians vs. Pagans) fighting for control of England. The premise is built from the hypothesis that much, if not all, the island could have become Scandinavian as easily as it became Saxon.

The author does seem to have taken a few liberties with the historical records. For instance, Chester (Ceaster), the old Roman legionary fortress of Deva, seems to have been reconquered by the Saxons a few years before the battle of Tettenhall, and, as Cornwell mentions, the Danish warlords that he includes in his story are mostly fictional. This, however, does not detract from the story in any way and, because of the paucity of the sources, the novelist has quite a lot of room to weave his story in between the few known facts that they mention.

Fans of the Saxon Tales will appreciate this strong entry as Uhtred’s angry acrimonious aims impact the world around him.