Sword Song: The Battle for London
by Bernard Cornwell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bernard CornwellEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-12-23
ISBN: 0061379743
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Book Reviews of Sword Song: The Battle for London
Book Review: Cornwell returns to top form.
Summary: 5 Stars
In this fourth volume of historical fiction about the rise of Alfred the Great, the father of England,Bernard Cornwell once again proves that he is one of the very best authors of this genre.
Perhaps this novel could be read alone, but its richness is greatly multiplied if you read the three predecessors. Doing so will plunge you into the depths of the 9th Century struggle of the various kingdoms in what would one day become England. Saxons, Angles, Danes, Norse, Irish, Scots, Welsh and others struggle not only for sovereignty, but survival.
This was indeed a time when life was miserable, nasty, brutish and short. A man could be killed, his wife and children taken into slavery with little or no warning. Disease and famine were frequent companions. Kings, earls and other "nobles" ruled and if a man failed in his duty to his master, he could be dispossessed, put to death and his wife and children sold into slavery.
Certainly not a lot of pleasant options in those days.
Cornwell has created for us Uhtred, Lord of Bebbanburg. A Saxon who was enslaved as a child and raised by Danes, Uhtred has become a feared warrior, who has sworn an oath to King Alfred. The relationship between Uhtred and Alfred is both odd and tense. Alfred, a fanatical Christian in what are known with good reason as the "Dark Ages" dreams of building his kingdom outward from the Wessex he has won and to do that, he needs the military skills of the pagan Uhtred. Neither trusts the other, yet they share a bond.
Cornwell acknowledges that he invented more than he usually does in "Sword Song". One must remember the are reading historical fiction, not simply a history. But Cornwell's sweep is wonderful. He harks back to the Romans and their long occupation of the land that left paved roads and stone buildings, still used by people who now build with timber, wattle and mud.
Christianity is not treated kindly by Cornwell, while the paganism of the Danes and Norsemen is romanticized. Uhtred, while kind, loving, charitable and gentle with his friends and loved ones, is a brutal warrior/prince who kills without hesitation.
And there is ample opportunity for Uhtred to employ his swords. Palace intrigues, so to speak, abound with everyone plotting against everyone else. Treachery is as common as maggots in the meat here. Cornwell describes a poisonous political atmosphere where Uhtred must tread carefully when he isn't doing battle.
The story here is that the Danes have captured Lundene (London), are strangling trade up the Thames River and pose a threat to not only Alfred's Wessex, but other provinces as well.
Uhtred is ordered by Alfred to conquer London as the King's wedding present to his new son-in-law, a bumbling, weaselly coward who it turns out isn't a very good husband to the barely adolescent royal daughter.
The battle for London is brilliantly wrought by Cornwell. The clash of sword and shield may ring in your head for days or weeks after reading this.
Uhtred, in fact, is called upon several times to prevail over the king's enemies and comes perilously close to losing his own life. The battle scenes are fierce and bloody.
Uhtred is tempted by an offer to break his oath to the king - and, considering the king's behavior, you have to wonder why he doesn't. But that is what animates much of this series: ancient concepts of honor, loyalty and the binding power of a man's word, his oath.
The first two novels in the series were superb, the third faltered significantly and the fourth reseats Cornwell firmly in the thrown as one of the best authors of historical fiction.
The story is told as the remembrance of the 80 year old Uhtred looking back on his life. The perspective is helpful because the projected series will cover about 60 years. Uhtred is a 28 year old warrior in this one.
Uhtred, his wife Gisela, his friends like Ragnar, Finan and Stepa all live and breathe. Cornwel invests even his minor good guy characters with life. His bad guys are snarling beasts, but not for the most part, stupid. Surprisingly, there are many characters who are neither good nor bad, but do what must be done at the moment, which includes sticking a sword into someone's belly or cutting their throat.
Cornwell is very much a master of depicting the brutishness of 9th Century life.
All in all, this is a wonderful read. You could read it as a standalone, but it will be much richer if you read it as it was authored, the fourth in a fine series. I can't wait for the next one.
Jerry
Summary of Sword Song: The Battle for London
The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and the Saxon kingdom of Wessex in the south. Warrior by instinct and Viking by nature, Uhtred, the dispossessed son of a Northumbrian lord, has land, a wife and children?and a duty to King Alfred to hold the frontier on the Thames. But a dead man has risen, and new Vikings have invaded the decayed Roman city of London with dreams of conquering Wessex . . . with Uhtred's help. Suddenly forced to weigh his oath to the king against the dangerous turning tide of shifting allegiances and deadly power struggles, Uhtred?Alfred's sharpest sword?must now make the choice that will determine England's future.
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