Lots of fighting in this one!

[gridlore]

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Saga of Uthred continues!

Along with some light raiding of Cornwall by a bored Uthred who really is made for the life of a Wessex lord, the main focus of the book is the events of 878, starting with the Danes surprising Alfred of Wessex at Chippenham, his subsequent exile, and guerrilla war from the Somerset Levels. The climax of the book is a rather condensed telling of the Battle of Ethandun.

Uthred again is used as a central point of telling the story of the era. Many of the characters he interacts with are historical, and to increase his standing, he is given credit for moving the scholarly, pious, Alfred along when he needs a push. Uthred makes for a very interesting man, torn between two worlds.



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