Description: From a bestselling author comes a saga of fidelity and betrayal that brings to center stage King Alfred the Great, one of the most crucial figures in English history. It is King Alfred and his heirs who in the ninth and tenth centuries fought to secure the survival of England by battling the ferocious Viking invaders.
Brief description:
Bernard Cornwell is the author of over fifty novels, including the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales, which serve as the basis for the hit Netflix series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.
Review Quotes:
"Masterful....[An]irresistible epic adventure....Cornwell deserves praise for his mesmerizing narrative finesse and his authentic historical detailing." - Booklist
"A crackling good storyteller." - Publishers Weekly
"Historical novels stand or fall on detail, and Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back. Much has changed since the ninth century, but some things, and some feelings, are timeless." - Wall Street Journal
"Superior entertainment that is both engaging and enlightening....Historical adventures as smart and vigorous as Cornwell's are in short supply." - Washington Post
"[Soaked] in nasty political intrigue, ripsnorting battles, and pungent blasphemy.... Glorious." - Entertainment Weekly
"For readers who find contentment in reading historical novels featuring clanking swords and battlefield carnage, Bernard Cornwell should be at the very top of your list." - USA Today
"Enthralling ... the desperate, heroic struggle of Alfred "the Great" ... against the seemingly invincible Vikings. - Wall Street Journal
"History comes alive." - Boston Globe
"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've ever read, past or present." - George R.R. Martin
"Cornwell .... makes the usually gloomy ninth century sound like a hell of a lot of fun." - Kirkus Reviews
"Highly recommended ... another great historical series in the making." - Library Journal (starred review)
"Enter Cornwell's vividly drawn ninth-century Kingdom ... after this dip into the Dark Ages, we want to go back." - Entertainment Weekly
"Intoxicating....Thrilling....Cornwell conveys the disquiet of change and the melancholy of extinction as few historical novelists manage to." - Washington Post Book World