Lords of the North audiobook

The second season of the Last Kingdom has started off very strongly, and by the looks of things it’s going to be following the events of this book. So it will focus on the blood feud between Uhtred and Kjartan, which is all good. But if you’ve read the books you’ll know that this isn’t something that takes too long to resolve. I wonder what the show writers will have left because so far the rivalry is the most compelling part about the adaption. I think the characterisation of Uhtred’s uncle is rather weak in the show, and the competition between the two is not remotely intense. There’s also the issue of aging. In just a few books time, Uhtred is already in his mid to late forties. I wonder how they will handle this on the screen with the actor being so young. He also looks a little bit too much like Jon Snow for my liking. I’m interested to hear what other people who have read this series think about the television show. Do you think it's any good?*********************************************Original Review:I love a good tale of revenge. I always find that they have some of the most intense plots; they always seem to rush past before my eyes. And it was good to finally see Uhtred set out on his own, with his own goal, with his own men, with his own quest for bloody revenge. He dreams of it; he longs for it. His oldest enemy, Kjartan the Cruel, is within his reach. The two have a blood feud that must be satisfied with cold, sharp, steel. Kjartan murdered Uhtred’s adopted farther and stole his sister many years before. Uhtred has waited years for an opportunity to strike at his enemy. The warlord thinks himself safe behind the mighty walls of fort Dunholm; he thinks that no enemy would dare attack him there. But, his enemy is Uhtred son of Uhtred, the rightful lord of Bebbanburg. Kjartan’s is in for the fight of his life, but he also has bad blood with Uhtred. The old warlord will not go down easy; he, too, has a reason to hate his enemy. Just look at the emotion in his eyes; it all stems back to the first book. Uhtred doesn’t go alone; he goes with his brother, Ragnar the Younger, who has also sworn to avenge the death of his farther. Uhtred and Ragnar share a strong brotherly bond which has been formed by the need for Kjartan’s foul blood. To get it they need allies such as charming King Gurhtred who also wants Kjartan out of the way as he threatens his instable rule. He’s a weak king, bullied by monks and his subjects alike. They push him to do the “right thing” which means he is pushed to do the Christian thing. In the process he makes several weak moves that his enemies wish to benefit from. Only Uhtred and Ragnar cam strengthen the weakened kingdom and use it to kill their greatest foe. The brothers have a mighty task on their hands, but their will for vengeance pushes them forward. Uhtred’s ever going identity crisis continues: he is a Saxon with the heart of a warrior Dane. He is slightly older with a little more experience, but he still retains his fiery attitude to life. His enemies have a lot to fear when he enters the shield wall or rides onto the battle field. This crisis is hampered more by his renewed friendship with his brother. He, too, longs for the possibility of fighting beside his brother, but Uhtred’s destiny lies elsewhere. He knows that when the blood has been spilt, he must return to Alfred the Great’s court despite how tempted he is to remain with his brother. “I dreamed of this,” he told me as we rode eastwards, “I dreamed of riding to war. All that time I was a hostage I wanted to be riding to war. There’s nothing in life like it, Uhtred, nothing!” The retrospective tone of the novel adds a touch more humour to the character, as I can see how the aged Uhtred looks back on his youth with a smile. You can hear it in the narration. You can hear how he misses his days of war. I always know what I’m getting when I pick up another instalment in this series. The plots are structured in a very similar way, and adhere to a similar pattern. But, surprisingly, this isn’t a bad thing. In this case, it’s more of a good thing. I find it creates a sense of familiarity with Uhtred’s story. It would be too weird if one of the books didn’t fit this structure and style. I’ve seen a massive development within Uhtred in this book, like all of his books, he has become wiser in the ways of the world; he really is a fantastic protagonist. He is cocky, violent, ruthless and at times even stupid, but he is also compelling and I can’t help but want to see him finally takeback what was his. He will be the Lord of Bebbanburg one day. Well, hopefully. "Wyrd bith ful araed. Fate is inexorable."

Promise to review as soon as possible

„Wyrd bið ful ãræd.“ – „Fate is inexorable.“ I had a super long review written for this series but I deleted the document accidentally so let me share with you at least some major points to explain my reasons for loving this series so much:* Astonishing storytelling skills. Bernard Cornwell brought 9th century England alive for me.* Unforgettable narrator. Uhtred of Bebbanburg is unapologetic and ruthless yet lovable and admiration worthy character with brilliant military strategic mind. He is a true hero!* Complex and fascinating side characters that you will love to come back to.* Constant philosophical battle between paganism and Christianity that depicts given period precisely.* Well thought-out storyline and twists.* War and fight scenes are chillingly realistic. I really felt like I was there with Uhtred, fighting every new enemy or being part of countless shield wars.All in all, The Warrior Chronicles/Saxon Stories series (all 10 available books) is spectacular story with spectacular writing. It is one of the best historical fiction stories I have ever read and it is the perfect example of how to write engaging historical fiction series that never get boring or predictable!Moreover, I loved author’s note at the end of every book where author explained which parts were based on historical facts and which parts of his novel he made up. RECOMMENDED!

4.5*

3.5/5 estrellasTras la batalla de Edington, en el 878, el Rey Alfredo recupera milagrosamente la iniciativa en Wessex y los daneses se retiran, e incluso, algunos de sus líderes se convierten al cristianismo. Finalmente se llega a una especie de pacto, en el que se crea el Danelaw o zona de influencia danesa directa que queda reducida a una parte de Mercia, Anglia Oriental y Northumbria. Realmente el pacto es una tregua en la que ambas partes de lamen las heridas y se preparan para el próximo envite, en el que se decidirá la soberanía sobre la isla.Ante esta situación, nuestro protagonista Uhtred, decide volver a su tierra, Northumbria y luchar por recuperar el señorío de Bamberg, usurpado por su tío a la muerte de su padre. Es precisamente en el antiguo reino de Northumbria, donde un oscuro rey, Guthred el esclavo, intenta establecer su hegemonía, adelantándose al futuro e intentando gobernar para daneses y sajones por igual, vislumbrando una nueva sociedad en la que el estrato danés será asimilado y unificado en el nuevo reino de Inglaterra. Evidentemente no lo tendrá nada fácil ya que caudillos de uno y otro bando siguen enfrentados y dominan importantes partes del territorio.En este libro domina la ficción histórica sobre los hechos reales, ya que que lo sucedido en el norte de Gran Bretaña en estos años es prácticamente desconocido. Esto da carta blanca al autor para embarcar a nuestro protagonista en toda clase de aventuras y desventuras, siempre en el centro de todas las batallas, duelos épicos y decisiones críticas lo cual hace del libro una lectura muy disfrutable, ya que se mantiene siempre la tensión narrativa, pero que llega a hacerse un poco cansino, dada la ubicuidad del personaje.Detecto una deriva cuartelera y chabacana en el lenguaje, a medida que avanza la serie, que puede acercar al lector a las escenas y situaciones narradas, pero que va en detrimento de la calidad del texto.En cualquier caso libro muy recomendable para amantes del género. Seguiré con el siguiente.

Another good episode in the story. Uthred's story is more isolated in this one and we don't have the epic battles of the first two.

This series just takes my breath away. It is a superbly told story that gripped me from beginning to end. This novel is the third in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Corwell. This is the story of Uhtred, born as a Saxon, taken by the Danes (Vikings) at the age of 10, and then raised as a Dane. He speaks both languages well, and seems to bounce back and forth from one culture to the other. And, besides being smart, he is a brilliant warrior.Each character in the book comes to life, especially in the audiobook, read with clarity and distinction by Tom Sellwood. He makes each character sound distinct, and it is never difficult to tell who is speaking, because of Sellwood's accents. One cannot say that the accents are authentic, of course, since the story takes place in the ninth century. But, he uses English, Irish, Scotch, Danish, and other accents to good use throughout.This series of historical novels has such a good reputation, that a TV series The Last Kingdom has been based on it, and is now up to 16 episodes (two series).The protagonist in the story, Uhtred, lives to fight. A number of other characters also seem to have that aim in life. As a result, and because of the multiple would-be kings all have their subjects fighting for their hegemony, it seems like everybody in the land is touched by violence. Continuously. Almost without a break. So, as I listen to the story, I am reminded about how true the book The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Stephen Pinker is so true. A millennium ago, violence was a way of life.

Read this book in 2006, and this is the 3rd episode of the "Last Kingdom" series.This story is set in the year AD 878, and it will bring Uhtred back to the North.After defeating the Vikings, King Alfred's Wessex is finally free, but Uthred is disgusted by his treatment by King Alfred, and because of that he's heading north to seek revenge for the killing of his foster-father and rescue his stepsister, and not to forget finding his enemie of old, Kjartan, who lurks in the stonghold of Dunholm.What he finds in the north is rebellion, chaos and fear, and his only ally is Hild, a west Saxon nun fleeing her calling and his famous killing sword, so he needs to find new allies in an attempt to attack Dunholm, and one is Guthred, and together they will find fanatical Christians and Danes in an desparate battle to overthrow the ruling Viking lords of Northumbria.What is to follow is an action-packed tale full with struggles, romance and betrayal which is set in a land in turmoil and full with upheaval and all this for control, power and land.Highly recommended, for this another great addition to this astonishing series, and that's why I like to call this episode: "Great Uhtred Goes North"!

I just finished another epic adventure thanks to Lords of the North, the 3rd book in the Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell. This book picks up right after Uhtred helps Wessex defeat the Danes. Uhtred was expecting Alfred to show more appreciation. So Uhtred leaves Wessex. He goes to enact revenge on Kjartan for killing his family. Along the way, he meets a slave named Guthred. He is a Dane that has become a Christian and claims to be a King. He joins Guthred to help him make alliances. England is in constant turmoil and betrayal runs rampant.This is another fantastic installment to the Saxon Stories! This audiobook is narrated by Tom Sellwood. He does a great job getting into each character. I still really miss Jonathon Keeble though.I have also reviewed the previous two books. We all know that Uhtred is arrogant–which leads to many mistakes on his part. His position changes in this book, but he comes out even stronger. Not physically but emotionally and mentally. The hardships he faces in this book make him smarter. There are some new characters that come into play in this book. As always there are fierce and strong women like Hild and Gisela. I love how Uhtred makes some fantastic alliances and friendships. There also many familiar faces like Steapa and Ragnar, and of course, the characters we love to hate like Kjartan.Once again, the historical detail is so vivid and every time I listen to this book I feel so immersed in the world. The battle sequences are descriptive and keep readers on their toes.I have already started book 4 and by the time this review posts, I will probably be further along in the series. This book gets another 5 out of 5 stars!

This was a very well written book. The history was quite accurate pertaining to the wars of England against one an other in the eight hundreds. Warning there is a lot of violents and rape in this view. Not recommended to the squimmish or the young.

Uhtred does considerable growing up in the third installment of the Saxon Stories, growing from a brash and over-confident boy to a man hardened and tempered by suffering. He is now a warrior of considerable reputation, but Alfred has dispensed with his services now that peace has come to Britain. Spitting with rage over his demotion, Uhtred goes north to meet old enemies and make some new ones. Betrayal leaves him enslaved and chained to an oar but unbroken, and when he gains his freedom Uhtred finds himself attacking a castle everyone assures him cannot be taken. But of course he finds a way, and begins settling old scores with a vengeance. This is one of the best of the Saxon Stories - two nasty villains bite the dust, a shy and limping priest gets an unlikely moment of glory, and there is a scene with a vengeful slave girl and her pack of maddened dogs that will raise the hair on the back of your neck. Uhtred is the consummate hero, brave and bursting with enjoyment of life.