"Death of Kings" by Bernard Cornwell, 2011
"Death of Kings"
by Bernard Cornwell
ISBN: 9780007331796
Category: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Country of origin: United Kingdom
Pages: 400
Published: September 2011
Published in the United States: January 2012
blurb 1
It is the year 898 and Britain is in turmoil as the once powerful Alfred, King of Wessex, lies on his deathbed. The Danes linger outside the Saxon King's wealthy kingdom, ready to invade as soon as his 30-year reign ends.
Enter Uhtred, the hero of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Series, of which Death of Kings is the sixth instalment. The Danes want him dead and the Saxons do not trust him, yet the great warrior is caught up in the rival clan's' battle. Cornwell's latest offering is a compelling and accurate historical fiction.
blurb 2
The fate of a young nation rests in the hands of a reluctant warrior in the thrilling sixth volume of the New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales series.
Following the intrigue and action of The Burning Land and Sword Song, this latest chapter in Bernard Cornwell’s epic saga of England is a gripping tale of divided loyalties and mounting chaos. At a crucial moment in time, as Alfred the Great lays dying, the fate of all—Angles, Saxons, and Vikings alike—hangs desperately in the balance.
blurb 3
The master of historical fiction presents the iconic story of King Alfred and the making of a nation. As the ninth century wanes, England appears about to be plunged into chaos once more. For the Viking-raised but Saxon-born warrior, Uhtred, whose life seems to shadow the making of England, this presents him with difficult choices. King Alfred is dying and his passing threatens the island of Britain with renewed warfare. Alfred wants his son, Edward, to succeed him but there are other Saxon claimants to the throne as well as ambitious pagan Vikings to the north. Uhtred's loyalty -- and his vows -- were to Alfred, not to his son, and despite his long years of service to Alfred, he is still not committed to the Saxon cause. His own desire is to reclaim his long lost lands and castle to the north. But the challenge to him, as the king's warrior, is that he knows that he will either be the means of making Alfred's dream of a united and Christian England come to pass or be responsible for condemning it to oblivion.
This novel is a dramatic story of the power of tribal commitment and the terrible difficulties of divided loyalties. This is the making of England magnificently brought to life by the master of historical fiction.
cover image reproduced courtesy of the publishers