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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
I’ll never get tired of reading about Uhtred. You can see how his years have shaped him, but what makes him him is always there. He’s fallible, but reliable and honourable and who can’t root for that guy! I love this series and the historical notes at the end are a great cherry on top of the books!
Great to be back with Uthred in Sword of Kings in the penultimate instalment of The Saxon Stories. Cannot believe that I only have one to go!
I would say that Sword of Kings is one of the strongest of this series, with some very high points, and one of the most engaging opening sections of all the instalments so far. It was a fantastic start, and that continued through much of the story.
Whilst there was a section which I thought had pacing problems, the rest was usual Bernard Cornwell success. It has a great cast of characters, with an entertaining plot, and a smaller arc taking place and resulting satisfactory within the wider arc and drive of the series, which is the formation of England under one king.
What I particularly enjoyed in this instalment was that it seamed less streamlined than many of the other instalments. A major focus for Uhtred deviated somewhat from the usual, instead focusing on his hatred of slavery, partly due to personal experience. This materialised into some powerful scenes that both made me love Uhtred more, and also managed to explore the character of Uhtred even more! Bernard Cornwell somehow manages to expand on Uhtred every single book, and I would say this makes our main character one of the most successfully and interestingly developed characters in fiction.
Full Review to Come
I would say that Sword of Kings is one of the strongest of this series, with some very high points, and one of the most engaging opening sections of all the instalments so far. It was a fantastic start, and that continued through much of the story.
Whilst there was a section which I thought had pacing problems, the rest was usual Bernard Cornwell success. It has a great cast of characters, with an entertaining plot, and a smaller arc taking place and resulting satisfactory within the wider arc and drive of the series, which is the formation of England under one king.
What I particularly enjoyed in this instalment was that it seamed less streamlined than many of the other instalments. A major focus for Uhtred deviated somewhat from the usual, instead focusing on his hatred of slavery, partly due to personal experience. This materialised into some powerful scenes that both made me love Uhtred more, and also managed to explore the character of Uhtred even more! Bernard Cornwell somehow manages to expand on Uhtred every single book, and I would say this makes our main character one of the most successfully and interestingly developed characters in fiction.
Full Review to Come
Another great Saxon tale full of our hero Uhtred and many violent warring clashes.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The opening of this book was slow for me to get into but it certainly held my interest far more than previous instalments.
New characters that were fresh and offered Uhtred a different method of interaction were a welcome inclusion. It's still a marvel that after so much time and so many injuries, Uhtred is still front and centre of the shield wall and still beating enemies in hand to hand combat.
That aside, the premise for going south was surprising. An oath to 'lavender tits' seemed a little out of character and the sequential questionable decisions. In the end, though, the outcomes were satisfying even if there were some convenient deaths to bring new characters in.
It has me wondering though, all those books ago, when it was foretold that Stiora would be the mother of kings, was that all for nought? Now that she is dead, and her children... there are no kings to come from her lineage.
Anyway, I enjoyed this one. Still not favourite but I'm looking forward to how this series ends.
New characters that were fresh and offered Uhtred a different method of interaction were a welcome inclusion. It's still a marvel that after so much time and so many injuries, Uhtred is still front and centre of the shield wall and still beating enemies in hand to hand combat.
That aside, the premise for going south was surprising. An oath to 'lavender tits' seemed a little out of character and the sequential questionable decisions. In the end, though, the outcomes were satisfying even if there were some convenient deaths to bring new characters in.
It has me wondering though, all those books ago, when it was foretold that Stiora would be the mother of kings, was that all for nought? Now that she is dead, and her children... there are no kings to come from her lineage.
Anyway, I enjoyed this one. Still not favourite but I'm looking forward to how this series ends.
A real mixed bag - as usual the author's strength in writing battle scenes shines forth, however the repetition is frustrating. By this I mean telling us stuff about characters, situations or the past several times (often within a couple of paragraphs), repeat words, repeat phrases - this is an issue with the editing, not the author. A shame, because the story is decent enough, it simply needed tightening up and some extraneous stuff cutting out. I'll read the next one in the series, though.
Uhtred se encuentra atrapado en un juramento que lo obligará a dejar su tierra y volver a luchar para mantener el legado de Alfredo. La muerte de Eduardo amenaza en sumir de nuevo la isla en una guerra fratricida.
Oscura, directa y épica. Una vez más el autor se mueve en los márgenes de la historia para sacar una obra trepidante y amena.
Oscura, directa y épica. Una vez más el autor se mueve en los márgenes de la historia para sacar una obra trepidante y amena.