War of the Wolf (The Last Kingdom Series, Book 11)

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Cornwell has his protagonist observe: "The gods are not kind to us, any more than children are kind to their toys. We are here to amuse the gods, and at times it amuses them to be unkind....Perhaps my conviction that I was cursed was false, but there were not birds in the winter sky, and that omen told me I was the plaything of cruel gods." Uhtred finds himself more than once at the wrong place, and at the wrong time. This is what engenders his thoughts of being cursed by the gods (those being the Norse gods). Yet he still feels bound by an oath he took to protect Æthelstan, his friend, protege and Edward's oldest son. So when there is a Mercian revolt against Edward, he rides with Finan and about 90 veteran warriors to relieve the siege of Ceaster. When he gets there, he realises he has been lied to; the besieged, led by Æthelstan, were in no real danger, and the enemy are soon defeated. This 11th entry in Cornwell’s Saxon Tales series ( The Flame Bearer, 2016, etc.) is a rousing, bloodthirsty tale of tumult in early-days Britain.

Astonishing storytelling skills. Bernard Cornwell brought 9th and 10th century England alive for me. I have fought many battles. I have stood in shield walls and heard the sound of axes biting willow boards, I have heard men howling, heard them screaming, I have heard the butcher’s sound of blades cleaving flesh, the heart-wrenching sound of grown men weeping for heir mothers’ comfort. I have heard the grating breath of the dying and the lament of the living, and in all those fights I have fought for one thing above all others. To take and to keep Bebbanburg.”

I had put off reading this book, scared the Saxon Stories were finally going to be over, but with another book scheduled for release it felt like it was finally time to put my fears aside.

War is bitter. The poets give battle a splendor, extolling the brave and exulting in victory, and bravery is worth their praise. Victory too, I suppose, but the poems, chanted in mead halls at night, give boys and young men their ambition to be warriors. Reputation! It is the one thing that outlives us. Men die, women die, all die, but reputation lives on like the echo of a song, and men crave reputation, as they crave the heavy arm rings that mark a warrior’s victories. Nevertheless, Uhtred is bound by his word, so once again, he must strap on Serpent’s Breath — his great killing sword — and fight England’s foes. For the Danes are threatening England again and they want Uhtred dead. PDF / EPUB File Name: War_of_the_Wolf_-_Bernard_Cornwell.pdf, War_of_the_Wolf_-_Bernard_Cornwell.epub

He and Sigtryggr lead nearly 500 warriors there, but their assault fails, and both Uhtred and Sigtryggr are wounded. Their situation is dire, as they are outnumbered, and retreating would be perilous. Then Snorri comes outside the fortress and starts cursing them. The half-mad, self-styled bishop Ieremias engages in a war of cursing and scores a victory of sorts, when Snorri's dog deserts him for the bishop. This enrages some of Sköll's wolf-warriors, half-crazed from applying an ointment of henbane. They charge out as a disorganised rabble, but are defeated by a disciplined shield wall. Then, something unexpected happens. Berg becomes separated from the rest of Uhtred's men during the fighting. He finds his two older brothers in Sköll's fortress and persuades them to switch sides. With their help, Uhtred and Sigtryggr's warriors force their way inside, and Sköll's men either die or surrender. Sköll himself pretends to surrender, then tries to kill Sigtryggr, but Uhtred saves his son-in-law. Uhtred disables Sköll in single combat, then invites Sigtyrggr to avenge his wife, but not before he disarms Sköll, thus ensuring that Sköll will not go to Valhalla. Then on the other hand, the contents of War of the Wolf are familiar, evocative and unfortunately somewhat stale. Northumbria is under threat. The kings of Wessex struggle to hold together Alfred's dream of England. New Vikings show up to ravage the land. The hero loses something important and requires vengeance. It is more of the same, and of course it's fun reading despite the advanced years of our protagonist, but it does not carry the same thrill as it once did. Norwegian novelist Jacobsen folds a quietly powerful coming-of-age story into a rendition of daily life on one of Norway’s rural islands a hundred years ago in a novel that was shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker International Prize. To Master Alexander le Convers, for money paid by him to the carpenters making the engine called ‘War Wolf’, and other workers working (also on the engine), in May and June 1304, 10 shillings on 7 June 1304.

That got no reaction except from Mus, who laughed when I told her. “Oh, I couldn’t marry Lord Osferth,” she said, “it would be like marrying a priest!” I don’t know how Uthred is still crushing at 60 something years old, but he’s an absolute LEGEND and one of my favorite characters of all time, and Finan of course. 11 down 2 more to go ! I’m going to have the worst book hangover . The Flores Historiarum claims that the Warwolf sent a single stone through two of the castle's walls in the course of the siege, "like an arrow flying through cloth". [4] Other sources, however, report that the weapon was only finished after the Scots had surrendered. [3] Edward decided to use it anyway, refusing to let anyone enter or leave the castle until it had been tested. [5] In the original records [ edit ] It is set in 10th-century England and continues to follow the fortunes of the fictional Uhtred of Bebbanburg. This novel begins with his investigating the murder of fishermen under his protection. He then gets drawn into an expected succession struggle in Wessex and Mercia. War is bitter. The poets give battle a splendor, extolling the brave and exulting in victory, and bravery is worth their praise. Victory too, I suppose, but the poems, chanted in mead halls at night, give boys and young men their ambition to be warriors. Reputation! It is the one thing that outlives us. Men die, women die, all die, but reputation lives on like the echo of a song, and men crave reputation”However, and firstly let me declare that Mr Cornwell's work (not exclusively but particularly Uhtred) has given me years of enjoyment and mirth...

Eleven books into the trials and tribulations of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and its still as fresh and exciting as book one.

Uhtred is told that the plague has broken out in the north; his wife, son-in-law and grandchildren are dead. battle scenes bettered in their excitement levels only by those of Wilbur Smith, yet generally without the tongue-in-cheek elements meaning Bernard' s work delivers more credibility to the reader. Outside of the inconsequential scuffle at the start of the book, and the large set-piece battle at its end, there isn’t a great deal of martial action in WAR OF THE WOLF. What there is, unfortunately, is a good deal of palace intrigue. The good news here is that Uhtred has (seemingly) learned his lesson about making oaths to Saxon kings, but this doesn’t keep him out of politics. The unification of the English crown, over the long term, is going to require the conquest of Northumbria and the end of the uneasy accommodations that Christians and pagans have made in that community. Uhtred, as a thoroughgoing pagan, can only look at the rise of Christian England with disgust --- and has to endure the spectacle of his pagan son-in-law undergoing baptism to placate the Saxons.