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reydeam's review against another edition
5.0
Well I'll be!
This is a damn good book.
When I first started this book, I wasn't so sure if I would like this second book as much as I did with The Last Kingdom. And, this time around, I wasn't so sure about the protagonist, Uhtred. He didn't seem the way I remembered him from The Last Kingdom. He is now arrogant, prideful, angry, and resentful. Usually, he would be a character that I would enormously dislike. But man did he grow on me—he is all those negatives but he also has courage and he is loyal. He is finding his way. Uhtred is complex; born a Saxon lord and raised a Dane during the 800s. Those two facts create a tension within Uhtred as he navigates both worlds. And those worlds are not easy ones to navigate, thrilling for me from where I stand, but I am forever thankful that I did not live during the late 800s—it was a cruel world.
Uhtred is a fabulous device for bringing us, the reader, into the perspectives of the Saxon and the Danes—I love this about this series. Through Uhtred, two different cultures and the way they lived are conveyed to the reader—his narration weaves the intricacies of the times into a story that I was riveted to. I was absolutely enthralled.
Uhtred also brings to the table a variety of characters that he interacts with on some level or another—I am now greatly curious about Alfred the King, and Pyrlig is a hoot and probably my favorite secondary character. Alfred is deep, he speaks to me. He is not a warrior in the fashion that Uhtred is, but a warrior he still is, in his own way. I wonder how he really was. I think he was genuinely a pious man who used his intellect well. He fascinates me. Uhtred's loyalty and love for the Danes is felt deeply, most especially for Ragnar who is his Danish brother. The facets of Uhtred's interactions with the Danes adds many more layers to the story which is engrained with politics of the times, brutality, harshness, violence, and war—very little comfort and softness is felt. Much of this era is gruesome. And I ate it up.
Uhtred's narration is powerful, he brings history alive. And THAT gives me a high that I cannot throughly explain except to say that this genre, this type of storytelling is pure comfort food to me.
The experience of reading Bernard Cornwell stories is not one easily described. You most definitely need to be ok with reading intense battle scenes, and the harsh life of death, treachery and the like when off the battleground. This is not an easy world for women by any means, and in many ways a more harsh world to women than to the men. Also, I am quite confident, if all our senses were able to experience the story it would smell atrociously.
The Pale Horseman is such a good story—the series is a great epic! I have not been this excited and hooked on a series in a long while. Seriously, this book gave me all sorts of comfort food feelings, a rush and immense satisfaction of immersing myself in a brilliantly written story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
To note: I listened to the audiobook version—it was read by Tom Sellwood, and a fantastic job he did! I loved the voices he gave the various characters. I am very bummed to learn that he does not narrate all the books in the series.
And, the priests give Christianity a bad name, they were quite greedy. I would dare say that a vast many were not pious. Along this line, the idea that a citizen must give money to the church makes me grateful that no such law exists in my country. The amount of corruption that existed within the Church is insane and shameful. Being drenched with this throughout the story is another reason why Pyrlig is a favorite secondary character—a priest himself who gave balance to the greediness of the others. It definitely was a harsh world.
This is a damn good book.
When I first started this book, I wasn't so sure if I would like this second book as much as I did with The Last Kingdom. And, this time around, I wasn't so sure about the protagonist, Uhtred. He didn't seem the way I remembered him from The Last Kingdom. He is now arrogant, prideful, angry, and resentful. Usually, he would be a character that I would enormously dislike. But man did he grow on me—he is all those negatives but he also has courage and he is loyal. He is finding his way. Uhtred is complex; born a Saxon lord and raised a Dane during the 800s. Those two facts create a tension within Uhtred as he navigates both worlds. And those worlds are not easy ones to navigate, thrilling for me from where I stand, but I am forever thankful that I did not live during the late 800s—it was a cruel world.
Uhtred is a fabulous device for bringing us, the reader, into the perspectives of the Saxon and the Danes—I love this about this series. Through Uhtred, two different cultures and the way they lived are conveyed to the reader—his narration weaves the intricacies of the times into a story that I was riveted to. I was absolutely enthralled.
Uhtred also brings to the table a variety of characters that he interacts with on some level or another—I am now greatly curious about Alfred the King, and Pyrlig is a hoot and probably my favorite secondary character. Alfred is deep, he speaks to me. He is not a warrior in the fashion that Uhtred is, but a warrior he still is, in his own way. I wonder how he really was. I think he was genuinely a pious man who used his intellect well. He fascinates me. Uhtred's loyalty and love for the Danes is felt deeply, most especially for Ragnar who is his Danish brother. The facets of Uhtred's interactions with the Danes adds many more layers to the story which is engrained with politics of the times, brutality, harshness, violence, and war—very little comfort and softness is felt. Much of this era is gruesome. And I ate it up.
Uhtred's narration is powerful, he brings history alive. And THAT gives me a high that I cannot throughly explain except to say that this genre, this type of storytelling is pure comfort food to me.
The experience of reading Bernard Cornwell stories is not one easily described. You most definitely need to be ok with reading intense battle scenes, and the harsh life of death, treachery and the like when off the battleground. This is not an easy world for women by any means, and in many ways a more harsh world to women than to the men. Also, I am quite confident, if all our senses were able to experience the story it would smell atrociously.
The Pale Horseman is such a good story—the series is a great epic! I have not been this excited and hooked on a series in a long while. Seriously, this book gave me all sorts of comfort food feelings, a rush and immense satisfaction of immersing myself in a brilliantly written story.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
To note: I listened to the audiobook version—it was read by Tom Sellwood, and a fantastic job he did! I loved the voices he gave the various characters. I am very bummed to learn that he does not narrate all the books in the series.
And, the priests give Christianity a bad name, they were quite greedy. I would dare say that a vast many were not pious. Along this line, the idea that a citizen must give money to the church makes me grateful that no such law exists in my country. The amount of corruption that existed within the Church is insane and shameful. Being drenched with this throughout the story is another reason why Pyrlig is a favorite secondary character—a priest himself who gave balance to the greediness of the others. It definitely was a harsh world.
cptcheerful's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
liziev's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
alexandra_kat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Uhtred is so unlikeable, I prefer his character in the TV adaptation. Also Bernard did we really need multiple women getting raped throughout the book?
Father Pyrlig steals every scene he’s in
Father Pyrlig steals every scene he’s in
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
david_during's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
car_theauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
fricktion's review against another edition
5.0
Starts off a little bit slower than the first book but starts to get very interesting as it goes on.
The ending was great, absolutely loved the build-up to the end while they were in the swamp, and the final battle did not disappoint.
The ending was great, absolutely loved the build-up to the end while they were in the swamp, and the final battle did not disappoint.
rareotter's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
queltynoedd's review against another edition
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5