Sword Song audiobook

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo4.5/5 starsThis was so good and addictive. Definitely my favorite volume in the series so far.I am so pleased with Sword Song. It seems like taking a break and pacing my reading of the series to one book per month instead of two books might be serving my experience well. From my experience with Lords of the North, I did worry whether having watched the TV series would end up ruining my reading experience of the novels or not, because it certainly diminished my experience of Lords of the North. But that’s simply not the case with Sword Song. “Cowardice is always with us, and bravery, the thing that provokes the poets to make their songs about us, is merely the will to overcome the fear.” Sword Song is the fourth volume in The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. The year is now 885, 7 years since the beginning of the previous book, and the story revolves around Uthred being tasked by Alfred to seize London for him. It felt good to be back with Uthred and his gang here. Plus, being 28 years old now, Uthred is pretty much at his best fighting skill so far in this book, and it is spectacularly entertaining watching him navigate his life through the battles and challenges brought upon him. Uthred’s love for the Danes and his oath for Alfred continues to conflict with his decision-making, and Sword Song raised a lot of thought-provoking discussion surrounding choices, oath, and fate. Fate is inexorable; does that mean that our choices are pre-determined already? It’s a thought-provoking notion about the existence of free-will, and I enjoyed reading this theme being constantly explored throughout the series so far. “A country is its history, bishop, the sum of all its stories. We are what our fathers made us, their victories gave us what we have, and you would make me leave my descendants a tale of humiliation? You want men to tell how Wessex was made a laughing stock to howling heathens? That is a story, bishop, that would never die, and if that tale is told then whenever men think of Wessex they will think of a Princess of Wessex paraded naked to pagans. Whenever they think of England, they will think of that!” Excluding Uthred and Alfred, Aethelflaed and Steapa have a lot of development to them both. It is intriguing; I’ve mentioned how much I loved Finan and Sithric due to the TV series, but Steapa seems to be so much well-portrayed in the books than he is in the TV show. The villains Sword Song were more complex, and the dialogues were always engaging. Also, this is the seventh book by Bernard Cornwell that I read, and it is the first time his book doesn’t have many super long paragraphs—one paragraph by him can last about one to two pages—that burdened the pacing and readability of his novel. With this, I feel that Sword Song is by far the most superbly-paced volume of the series so far. Additionally, we know that Cornwell writes great battle scenes; what surprised me in this book is the range in Cornwell’s prose that readers should acknowledge more. The passage about love, lust, and death in this book was so profound; here’s a snippet of it: “Love is a dangerous thing. It comes in disguise to change our life... Lust is the deceiver. Lust wrenches our lives until nothing matters except the one we think we love, and under that deceptive spell we kill for them, give all for them, and then, when we have what we have wanted, we discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there. Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination. Love is a voyage too, a voyage with no destination except death, but a voyage of bliss.” It’s such a beautifully-written passage, and the full version is more stunning; I can’t put it here due to spoilers. Overall, I think Sword Song is the best of the series so far; it’s an incredible historical fiction novel. If the TV series adaptation worked as a prediction, then the next book, The Burning Land, should be even better. I will be reading the next one in April.You can order the book from: Book Depository (Free shipping)You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel NotionsSpecial thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!My Patrons: Alfred, Alya, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Edward, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Sarah, Seth, Shaad, Summer, Zoe.

Uhtred is in his prime; he has name and reputation, and he also has the youth and energy to complete his goals. He is beyond tried and tested; he is the master of his craft; he is the mighty Uhtred and he is now a war lord to be feared. I pity the man that crosses swords with him. The shield itself, rimmed with iron, was painted with a wolfs head, my badge, and at my left hung serpents breath and at my right Wasp-sting, and I strode towards the gate with the sun rising behind me to throw my long shadow on the filth-strewn street. I was a warlord in all my glory, I had come to kill, and no one at the gate knew it." This book opens with a gory hanging that is just another necessity of war. Uhtred has learnt that a man must be brutal if his enemies are to fear him; he has learnt that in order to maintain his warrior reputation he must be merciless. Men must fear him or his reputation as a dangerous foe wouldn’t exist. The fear is part of his persona; it is part of his character, and a necessary facet of being a successful general. If his enemies can’t predict his actions or understand the way he conducts his business, then half of the job is done before Uhtred has even drawn his sword. He’s already won. It took Uhtred a while to catch on, through serving Alfred he will never receive the deserved glory for the services he has rendered to him. The king is thankless and views Uhtred’s success on the battlefield in a different light. He can never fully trust him or allow him too much power. He fears that his dog may turn round and bite him, which is a shame because for all Uhtred’s savagery he still possesses a degree of honour and loyalty. He quite easily could have been Alfred’s man if he, in turn, treated him with respect. The king has ordered him to be an advisor to his cousin, which means Uhtred will do all the thinking, and all the killing, whilst his weak cousin will get all the rewards. Such is the life of Uhtred. The familiarity of these novels really gives the series a sense of cohesion. When you pick up the next instalment, there is absolutely no doubt as to what you are going to get: more Uhtred. You’re going to get another chapter of his life; you’re going to get the next stage of his development; you’re going to see the narrative change as he comes closer and closer to the retrospective Uhtred that is telling the tale. Uhtred must bide his time in service to Alfred because one day he will be able to reclaim his family home by himself. It’s only a matter of time. The Saxon Stories 1. The Last Kingdom- A fine five stars2. The Pale Horsman- A brilliant five stars3.Lords of the North-A vengeful four stars4.Sword Song- A familiar four stars5.The Burning Land- A loyal five stars6. Death of Kings A mighty five starsI don’t think I’ll ever get tired of reading this series; I could read twenty books on this character. You’re more than likely to get tired of seeing my reviews of the Saxon Stories before I get tired of reading the series. It will be interesting to see how it all ends.

Another cracking read with an awesome ending. That's four of these books read this month!

I now have a YouTube channel that I run with my brother, called 'The Brothers Gwynne'. Check it out - The Brothers Gwynne “Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empty land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination. Love is a voyage too, a voyage with no destination except death, but a voyage of bliss.” It had been a while since I last dived into an Uhtred son of Uhtred book. And I missed him! Sword Song was a step above The Lords of the North in my opinion, as Bernard Cornwell appears to have more of his flare once again, with the voice of Uhtred just coming so, so naturally. It was also a return to me feeling emotionally engaged, which was lacking in book three.This is known as one of the great historical series of the century thus far for a reason. Bernard Cornwell is a master of producing entertaining content. Each book may not be the most individual, as they appear to follow a template that he has forged. But it is a successful template, which is engaging and fun to read, especially if you do not read these in quick succession. For me, one a month or one every other month is working very well.“Cowardice is always with us, and bravery, the thing that provokes the poets to make their songs about us, is merely the will to overcome the fear.” As we are now in book four, Uhtred has gathered quite the crowd around him. Loyal companions such as Sihtric and Finnan add so much heart and depth to these stories that they all become enjoyable. Looking back k on them, as I have now read quite a few, the instalments do merge together a bit, but that does not detract from how well crafted they are.Now let us talk about the battles. It is Bernard Cornwell, and he is one of the best writers of action, so of course they were just brilliant. We have a wide scale of small scale conflicts and skirmishes, in the open land to towns and villages, and then we also have the pleasure of being swept through large scale battles and conflicts as well. A great mix is struck, and the action is scattered throughout to keep the tension high but also allow time for plot and character progression.“He hates you, but why should the falcon care about the sparrow's hate?”As I get further into the series, there is less I can say to avoid spoilers, so the reviews are getting shorter. But, to summarise, Sword Song was a solid, enjoyable fourth instalment to The Saxon Stories, with great character.4/5 STARS

Promise to review as soon as possible

4.5/5 Estrellas.Buena lectura para terminar el año.La verdad es que es uno de los mejores entre los 4 libros que he leído hasta ahora de la saga.Corre el año 885. La situación entre sajones y daneses en Gran Bretaña sigue estancada entre las dos zonas de influencia que separan el Danelaw (controlado por los daneses) y la zona controlada por los sajones que incluye el sur de Mercia ( donde no hay rey) y Wessex, que es el único reino sajón con poder real para enfrentarse a la amenaza de los hombres del Norte y que sigue regido por el rey Alfredo.El teatro de operaciones se traslada al estuario del Tamesis y a la antigua ciudad de Lundene (Londres), situada en tierra de nadie entre Mercia, Anglia Oriental y Wessex. Su dominio parece clave para abrir la puerta a otra invasión de los territorios sajones libres, que Alfredo quiere evitar a toda costa. Nuestro protagonista Uhtred, se ha convertido en un gran señor de la guerra, todavía al servicio de Alfredo, aunque sus simpatías por los guerreros vikingos sigue pesando en sus acciones cada vez que debe enfrentarse a ellos. Noto en el personaje una evolución positiva, más maduro, con más dudas, más humano, sigue en el centro de todas las hazañas por muy inverosímiles que sean, pero me ha gustado más que en libros anteriores.La historia narrada en el presente libro, aunque se basa en hechos históricos: la conquista de Lundene, la piratería vikinga en Essex y el Tamesis, los ataques a Kent (extremo oriental de Wessex), en su mayor parte, es ficticia. Esto da carta blanca al autor para desplegar con toda su pericia ante nosotros un relato lleno de aventuras y acción, en el que hay que destacar la batalla naval final, que es impresionante.Roza las 5 estrellas.Buena lectura para acabar el año. El siguiente de la saga no va a tardar mucho en caer......

As good as book one of the series. I really like the story line and villains in this one.

4.5Fantastic read.The battle scenes are just great.I also love how Uhtred is more mature in this.

Zu Ende. Dun dunn duuuuuuuunn Ich liebe es. Ich bin süchtig. Ich liebe den Unterhaltsamen Schreibstil. Halb poetisch, halb störrisch, voller eindimensionaler Männersachen, die ich ebenfalls liebe. Keine Moral doch so doppelt so viel Herzblut. Ich liebe die Charaktere, die mich zum weinen bringen. Leider Sterben zu viele, die ich doch grad erst liebgewonnen hab 😫 das liebe ich nicht. Es bricht mein Herz 💔 Ich liebe diese Reihe 😍

„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!

And the adventure continues!! Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell is the 4th book in the Saxon Stories series. As always, this book continues the chronicles of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. The year is 885 and Uhtred has given his oath to Alfred and lives with his wife, Gisela. There is peace but peace is very fragile. There are rumors that a man has come back from the dead and predicts the next king of Mercia. Aethelflaed is the daughter of Alfred and is married to Aethelred of Mercia. When she is kidnapped, Alfred sends Uhtred to bargain for his daughter but also maintain peace…WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERSI almost forget where one book begins and the other ends because once I finish one book, I immediately start the next one. I seriously cannot get enough of this story, the history, and the characters. Uhtred is one of the characters who is impossible not to love. He is a fierce warrior, demands justice, and is passionate about honor. In fact, he is always mentioning how he places a sword in his enemy’s hands at their death so they may live in Valhalla. He is also hilarious. He has a quick wit which I just adore.“He still has a removable head…”SWORD SONGUhtred is the narrator of the story and he is not the only character. As a narrator, he is very perspective. There are many wonderful additional plotlines in this novel. Some that completely broke my heart. I want to live in a world where two particular characters can be together.This book can be read as a standalone, but I do not recommend it. There is so much backstory that helps readers understand the characters and the reasons for the events that have occurred. I recommend that readers begin with book one. Also, if you listen to the audiobooks, you are in for a treat. Jonathon Keeble is one of my favorite narrators! This book gets 5 out of 5 stars!

Wyrd bi? ful ãræd. Fate is inescapable As taglines go... this is as good as any for the fourth volume of this series. Cornwell used it no less than nine times. (I verified on the Kindle 😀 ). I can tell the dates/stories are starting to spread out as Uhtred ages. The first book The Last Kingdom covers the most ground as it spanned several years (867-876) and followed Uhtred from childhood into early adulthood. The second The Pale Horseman picked up immediately after TLK's conclusion. The TPH timeline only covered two years (around year 878) though and was a more compact story. The third book Lords of the North has a gap and takes place 3 years after TPH in year 881.If you aren't caught up there will be minor spoilers ahead 😀 I will use spoiler tags for anything too revealing in this book. This time around in Sword Song another 5 years have gone by. Uhtred has married Gisela (he just pretends the marriage arranged by Alfred to Mildreth didn't happen). He has two children and another on the way. Uhtred's cousin Æthelred is to marry Alfred's daughter Æthelflæd... As part of the arrangement Alfred has appointed Æthelred as ealdorman of Mercia. When Uhtred points out that Lundene (London) has been taken over by Danes – Alfred commands him to liberate it as a wedding present. No problem right? 😀The description of Lundene is interesting historically. It was originally set up by the Romans and later abandoned by them. The structures they built remained however and the new Saxon/Danish inhabitants were afraid that the old parts were haunted. Alfred made mention that he... “I want it done before the first cuckoo sounds.” - I didn't know what that meant so had to look it up. According to wikipedia it refers to 14 April (of some undetermined year but prior to AD 500) and was when St Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus - Christian martyrs - were buried. The day was celebrated with feasting and was included as part of the General Roman Calendar of saints until it was removed in 1969. I thought that was kind of interesting.Uhtred toys with his recurring internal struggle for the 4th time now. Will he / Won't he? You probably know what I am getting at. (view spoiler)[The whole will he betray his oath to Alfred and return to the Danes. The catalyst this time around with Bjorn was a clever one. (hide spoiler)]Based on what I had already learned about Æthelred I figured he wouldn't be the best of husbands. I don't think in all the books I have seen Uhtred get quite as mad about things (outside of battle) as he does in this one. As far as characters go this one has a few new ones. The Thurgilson Brothers – Sigefrid and Erik – were the main new ones on the Danish side. There's also a new character named Osferth... but I'm not going to disclose how he fits into the story. It also has a return of Haesten. It also has Sihtric, Finan, Steapa, Clapa, Willabald, and one of my personal favs... Pyrlig. Overall the story is simpler than the other three I've read in the series this far. There are less battles and as I mentioned above it covers a much smaller period of time. Uhtred's internal monologue is better than ever. The way Cornwell channels his raw thoughts and snarky comments is so entertaining. I've been watching the tv version while making sure to stay well ahead in the books as I do so. I think the show is brilliantly executed and I love the actors in the parts...but one thing that that is hard to come across is the wit and passion of Uhtred's inner thoughts. He throws out some arrogant good one liners in the show, but the books are far superior in this respect. Some of my favorite interactions are between Alfred and Uhtred. Alfred, always suspicious of Uhtred, will seek his advice since he's smart enough to recognize that most others around him won't openly express opinions they think will offend him. That includes pretty much everyone... the priests, noblemen, even family members. Uhtred of course pretty much says whatever he wants. So after they argue about the best way to win a battle for some time - usually by pleasing God - Alfred will ask Uhtred what he thinks and get some arrogant answer like he has it all figured out. Alfred is a good cross examiner and asks counter questions, but Uhtred is quick to counter them with logical arguments as well. The real battles are won when Uhtred improvises in the field by what he can see. I don't think any battle has played out even close to how he portrayed it to Alfred... he's good at thinking on his feet for sure. Alfred respects him for that and I think that's why he lets Uhtred get away with as much as he does.I have been trying to recruit my friends to try this series out. I haven't been successful so far – most of them are like “I don't know if I would like historical fiction”... For any of my GR friends thinking the same thing... you really ought to give this a try. The characters and dialogue are great and the stories are a lot of fun to see them play out.

It is a testament to Cornwell's craftsmanship that I enjoy hanging out with Uhtred. I know I should dislike him, he's vain, sullen, petty, often foolish, mostly brutal, and very occasionally, kind. And yet I am fond of him. I grimace when he falls for stupid tricks & when he is vicious without cause. I shake my head and smile when he tries to hide his real motivations from me with low cunning. Uhtred is a very clever, very flawed and very human creation.So many writers of historical fiction feel the need to modernize their protagonists - all those perky girls who ride astride and hate embroidery, all the bleeding heart liberal heroes who fret over slavery and violence and all the other nasty period habits modern readers find unpalatable. Those sort of books might be populated by nicer folk, but they don't ring true. Uhtred feels like a real Saxon, and though I am fond of him - if I was on fire, he wouldn't piss on me to put it out - He'd probably throw another faggot on and warm his mead.Alfred is probably closest to our modern sensibilities, well maybe a evangelical Christian from the Bible Belt - and seeing him through Uhtred's eyes makes the king much more entertaining as a character. There is a layering & an irony of narrative that makes these books much more complex than they appear.The language is simple, though it does have the rhythm and stress of Anglo Saxon poetry - thankfully without the alliteration, but there are quite complex historical themes at work. Of particular interest in this book is the role of the oath and how Alfred uses this to slowly bind people to him and his notion of an emerging England. The oath of fealty was to become the cornerstone of Feudal control in the Medieval period, and it is fascinating to see the evolution of this type of government through the eyes of a warrior of the old school. You really get a sense of how manipulative Alfred must have been. No matter how hard Uhtred wriggles, he can't escape Alfred's hook - any more than he can escape his Fate.

Read this book in 2007, and this the the 4th episode of Uhtred in the "Last Kingdom" series.This book is set in the year AD 885, and Eng(la)land is at peace with King Alfred of Wessex in the south and a Danish Kingdom in the north.But that peace is broken when a supposed dead man has risen and his Vikings are occupying London.It falls to Uthred, half Dane, half Saxon, to show his true loyalties, and thus he should be the one to expel these Vikings from that place and win London back for King Alfred.What is to come is an action-packed tale about loyalty, bravery, rivalry and violence, and this great Sword Song will make Uhtred and England formidable to enemies wherever they come from, whether its from within and without.Very much recommended, for this is another exciting addition to this great series, and that's why I like to call this wonderful episode: "A Brilliant Sword Song"!