The Empty Throne audiobook

The Empty Throne was an improvement over The Pagan Lord, and it somehow felt refreshing despite its formulaic structure. “I wondered why the gods no longer came to earth. It would make belief so much easier.” This is the eighth installment in The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. This means that I’m fully caught up with the novels that have been adapted into the TV series adaptation. I was genuinely worried entering this book; The Pagan Lord was the weakest book of the series so far for me, and I was afraid that this would be even worse. Fortunately, this ended up being better. As I mentioned earlier, Cornwell still follows the formulaic structure of the entire series; if you’ve read two or four books of the series, you’ll know how the story goes. But in The Empty Throne, the prologue is told from a different perspective for the first time. And also, for almost the entirety of the novel, Uthred is heavily injured. Then there’s also the hunt for a “magic” sword. These brought a refreshing feeling to the narrative, and I was more engaged with it. “We live in a world where the strongest win, and the strongest must expect to be disliked. Then I am a pagan, and thought Christians teach that they must love their enemies, few do.” Uthred is not young anymore; he’s old now. The themes of faith, loyalty, life, legacies, death, and afterlife still dominate the series, maybe even more now. I will have to admit that every time I read a book in The Last Kingdom, the discussions on what’s going to happen to us after death made me worry. There’s a lot of food for thought, but more importantly, it also made me grateful for my life. My favorite element of the story in The Empty Throne, however, was seeing Uthred teaching Aethelstan the meaning of strength, responsibility, and what it takes to be a leader. “You’re the son of a king… and one day you might be a king yourself. Life and death will be your gifts, so learn how to give them, boy.” Admittedly, I didn’t like some of the character’s thoughts and decisions regarding their daughters, especially with Uthred and Aethelflaed. But I have to remember, these characters were living in a totally different time in history than us. These actions may have been born more out of necessity than wants, and it’s not always an easy decision. “It takes a weak man to prove his strength by striking a woman.” The Empty Throne was a great read; the plot mostly revolved around a political dispute, and it was handled incredibly well. Although Cornwell’s iconic battle sequences were mostly missing in this volume, the tensions and character developments were still evident. I’m moving into uncharted territory now. I’ve heard that the final five books in the series contained some of the best volumes within the series. I’m looking forward to reading Warriors of the Storm soon. “Pride, I suppose, is the most treacherous of virtues. The Christians call it a sin, but no poet sings of men who have no pride. Christian says the meek will inherit the earth, but the meek inspire no songs.” You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channelSpecial thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!My Patrons: Alfred, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Devin, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Mike, Miracle, Nicholas, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Summer, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.

Masterpiece!

This is another gripping story in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. He is such a fantastic story-teller! He brings his believable characters to life. His main character, Uhtred, is a nobleman and sometimes an outcast, even an outlaw, and is respected as a great warrior throughout the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia. King Alfred has died, and has been succeeded by his son, King Edward. In this book, Uhtred is older now, and is suffering from a serious wound in a battle. He is on a quest to cure his wound before he dies from it. And, the cure is based on superstition, that only by finding the sword that inflicted his injury can he be healed. The degree to which superstitions are believed, and the degree of investment in the supernatural--both Christian and pagan--is quite remarkable. But, during the Dark Ages, I suppose that most people really did have these beliefs that seem so strange to modern people.And one place where the book truly excels, is the imaginative cleverness of Uhtred. He thinks out the political and military situations with a probing logic. He sometimes finds himself in desperate situations where he is out-numbered, and develops clever strategies for winning. It amazes me that his strategies are never duplicated from one book to the next--they are always fresh, and interesting.And the best aspect of this novel, is that I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Matt Bates. It is fantastic! I enjoy how he reads, and breathes life into each character. My recommendation is to listen to the book, if you can, because the excellent narration energizes the story and makes you feel like you can reach out and touch the characters!

Historical political intrigues at their best!

Too short a book. 5stars. Great battle scenes.

On second listen, this is probably my favorite for the clever trick Uhtred plays to give the throne of Mercia to Aethelflaed. I knew nothing about this warrior queen, who must have been a very formidable person to be accepted as ruler at the time, since women were so terribly repressed and mostly considered chattle to trade around. She not only ruled but lead successful wars against the Danes.Original review———————The Game of Thrones for real continues, and so do the battles, trickery and intrigue. Uhtred is gravely injured, and has to leave much of the heavy fighting and killing to his son and Finan, but still manages to maneauver Aethelflaed to the throne of Mercia. After this, instead of recuperating, he sets out on a quest to Wales to find the Grail Ice Spite,Cnut’s magical sword, believing the sword that wounded him will cure him. There he runs into the young warlord Sigtryggr (I had to look this name up, congratulations to narrator Matt Bates for pronouncing it). The sight of him gives Cornwell the excuse to relive Uhtred’s young, glory days, reveling in the young man’s battle joy… because, if one has read the series so far, one knows that battle joy must be present and described in detail.Uhtred makes aquaintence with his daughter, Stiorra, of whom he knows next to nothing, and finds a formidable beauty and intellect like her mother, and a strong will and passion like his own. She is no more peace cow material than her mother was, no matter what Aethelflaed plans.I waver between four and five stars for these books, and I will round this one up, because of the historic warrior queen, Aethelflaed, and Stiorra. Mr Cornwell is still going strong.

5 Stars ✨ “We live in a world where the strongest win, and the strongest must expect to be disliked. Then I am a pagan, and though Christians teach that they must love their enemies, few do.”One of my favorites so far of the series! The prologue had me shook, and a little nervous at first 😅. 8 down 5 more to the finish. It’s the dawn of a new Era- a new generation rises to the challenge in this installment. Really enjoyed seeing all the kids growing into their own and figuring out their place in this amazing world Corrnwell has created. Uthred is getting older and weaker that was my least favorite part but it’s going to be time to pass the sword ⚔️ soon! Can’t wait to see how everything unfolds with the rest of the series!

Eight down and 5 to go! The Empty Throne by Bernard Cornwell is the 8th book in the Saxon Stories series. England hasn’t been the same since Alfred’s death. Edward rules Wessex now, but King Aethelred of Mercia is now dying. Athelflaed does not want Mercia to be absorbed into Wessex. But who could rule? Even though Uhtred is not healing well from his injury, he is determined to see Athelflaed on the throne, but a woman ruling is unheard of. Uhtred can’t manage much as long as he has his injury so now he is in search of the sword that gave him the injury. Once again, everything hangs in the balance.This book is an emotional ride. My emotions were all over the place! If you read book 7 (I highly suggest that you do) then you know that it ends on a massive cliffhanger! Bernard Cornwell must have been in a playful mood because he toys with us for a bit. YOU WILL WANT ANSWERS.Despite the suspense, this is one of my favorites out of the series so far. We have Uhtred being a badass at supporting women. And don’t forget about Athelflaed. She is FIERCE! The historical detail that revolves around her character is perfection.Here is the thing, we all know Uhtred is flawed. Yes, he is an amazing warrior, but he has a temper. He supports women, but also a terrible father. And when I say terrible, I mean, he is the worst to his sons. He respects his daughter more than his sons though.This edition is narrated by Matt Bates and I approve. I love Johnathon Keeble but Matt Bates does a stellar job. He really gets Uhtred. This audiobook gets 5 out of 5 stars!

You know, it's a severely bittersweet feeling, for me, to finish a story about the incomparable Uhtred Uhtredson. I love this series so much, when I complete the newest novel, it feels like I'm sending my child off to her first day of school all over again.So why, a sane person may ask, do you read the damn books so quickly when they come out, Shayne old boy? Well, I happen to have an answer to that:THIS SERIES IS FUCKING PERFECT, AND I CAN'T HELP IT.Not a single one has bored me. Despite what I see in the reviews of a few of the installations in this series, no book has never felt like filler. Every single one has its place in the sometimes grand, sometimes disheveled, and sometime blood-spattered tapestry that is the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg.This is historical fiction at its absolute finest. Highly recommended to anyone with eyes and literacy. Will I read the next one? You're damn right I will. And why? Wyrd bi∂ ful ārǣd.Fate is inexorable.

Enjoyable read.