Sword Song: The Battle for London
by Bernard Cornwell
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Book Reviews of Sword Song: The Battle for London
Book Review: More emotional thrilling than historical
Summary: 4 Stars
"But fairness is not the historical Novelist`s first duty."
(B. Cornwell in his Historical Note, page 317)
Apart from his assertion about what's not a historical Novelist`s first duty Bernard Cornwell in addition grants in his epilog that "Sword Song" contains more fiction than each of the prevoius novels about King Alfred. For this the poetical title already has a forebonding. While the first part "The Last Kingdom" to a great extend follows the historical chronicle (shown by a lot of dates) Cornwell confessed in his epilog of "The Pale Horseman" that in order of "dramaturgical reasons" he for one year had advanced the anglo-saxonian victory in the battle of Cynuit. In the third book "The Lords Of The North" the "dark age of Northumbria in the 9th century" allowed him a large poetic licence, that he took brightly. The "Historical Note" of "Sword Song" however only shows a half-hearted separation between facts and fiction.Beside Cornwell confesses, that he put the old testamentary "Ordeal of Bitter Water" (Numeri 5,11-31) in the plot, the reader doesn't get any information about which characters are historial or fictional and that the author again has changed the events chronocical order.In Cornwells 4th novel that starts in the year of 885 the marriage between Aethelreds II of Mercia and Alfreds' daughter Aethelflaed is followed by the saxonian conquest of Lundene (London) and the siege of Rochester. Actually the former Hrofeceastres had been besieged already in 884 belagert, London was conquered had handed over to the Lord of Mercia in 886 and earliest date for the marriage could be in the year of 887....
....after Uthred has come back from Northumbria his since two year lives with his second wife Gisela (sister of king Guthred of Northumbria) and their children in Coccham (Cookam/Berkshire). He has the order to build a "burgh" and to save the river Temes as frontier against the continual raids of the northmen. Suddenly King Alfred gives him the instruction to conquer Lundene....
Beside the already known characters Cornwell also brings two new antagonists, the norwegian warlords Sigefrid und his brother Erik. Remarkable again is that the presentation of the characters again isn't a simple black & white painting, because friendship an loyality doesn't depend on tribal or religious memberships. Cornwell succeeds that the reader rather have a liking for the "pagan" Uhtred and his camerads than for King Alfred and favourites and clerical advisers.At the beginning of the book there is a list which confronts the anglo-saxonian names of villages, forts, rivers, islands etc. of the ninth century to their today designations. After this the reader also can find two maps that give a geographical overview of the former saxonian kingdom Wessex, danish kingdom Eastanglia and the devided Mercia, as well of Lundene (London) in the corner of those three countries. "Sword Song" is a must für alle Cornwell-Fans, who have read the previous Parts of his "Saxon-Chronicle" an forces the reader to leran more about the history of Britannia. Anyway the the progressive loss of historical substance Cornwell succeds again in presenting a emotional thrilling story which again prooves that "wyrd bið ful aræd"......
Therefore and in hope that the next sequel will be also thrilling but more historical there is an evaluation with 4 Amazonstars.
"Yet dreams, as the more fortunate of the authors characters discover, can come true, and so Uhtred ans his Story will continue....." (Page 318)
Book Review: More Blood and Guts
Summary: 4 Stars
As the fourth in Bernard Cornwell's swashbuckling and raucous Saxon series of 9th century England under the reign of Alfred the Great, I'd be less than honest if I didn't say that Uthred's heroics in "Sword Song" are beginning to feel a bit tired. After all, it takes fewer than twenty reminders to get the idea that a Viking warrior must die with sword in hand for admittance to Odin's corpse hall. Or that hand-to-hand battle across a shield wall was really bloody. Or that life among the waddle and thatch and damp and human waste of the Dark Ages is not a lot of fun. So no, "Sword Song" is not the strongest of this terrific series, but it is nonetheless an action-packed page-turner that, despite some repetition of its predecessors - especially "Lords of the North" - this is high octane entertainment with enough history and education to disqualify it from simple guilty pleasure.
This time around, Alfred sends the ever-mightier Uthred to liberate London from the clutches of a trio of marauding Norsemen. Cornwell's London is a wonderfully sordid place - crumbling walls of the Roman's patched by mud and sticks, raw sewage in the streets, a stick that precedes the city by miles. Meanwhile, the fair Ethelflaed, Alfred's daughter, is married off to Uthred's cousin Ethelred, a marriage that turns out not to be made in heaven. Cornwell admittedly takes some liberty with what little is known about real historical characters Ethelred and Ethelflaed, but wraps enough history into the drama and ever-present carnage to keep it credible and often enlightening. As always, Cornwell makes his tales engaging with liberal doses of treachery, betrayal, deceit while keeping the blood flowing deep. Viking lore clashes openly with Christianity and its annoying priests, while Uthred's irreverence and rejection of Alfred's authority plays like a Medieval Dirty Harry. And thus the tension between Alfred and Uthred continues, joined by the escalating feud with his cousin Ethelred, building to a brutal climax that if unlikely is still a lot of fun.
"Sword Song" wraps up a couple of loose ends from "Lords of the North" and provides a good set-up for its successor, "The Burning Land", while weaving in some interesting threads along the way. Fans of the series will definitely want to gobble this one up, but newbies will likely not want to choose this one as a potential standalone novel (though "Lords from the North" would be a decent candidate). In short, despite some flaws, more great entertainment from the reigning master of historical fiction.
Book Review: Better and better and better
Summary: 4 Stars
It's 885 and Uhtred of Bebbanburg, Saxon-born, Dane-raised is twenty-eight, now -- practically middle-aged for that time -- and he has become the military leader, the warlord, Alfred of Wessex needs to gain and keep his throne. He killed Ubba, most formidable of the Lothbrok brothers and leader of the Danish invaders, and he was largely responsible for the victory over Guthred and the next great Danish army at Edington. And for the first time Uhtred describes himself in that future from which he is narrating the story of his life -- a truly ancient figure in his eighties, long after the existence of England is secured. In this fourth volume of what promises to become an extended series, the country still had an excellent chance of becoming "Daneland" instead. The Danelaw has been established by a peace treaty but everyone knows that's only a temporary respite. Now, Alfred -- whose overriding ambition is to become king of the whole island south of Scotland -- takes the next step toward unification by marrying off his eldest daughter, Aethelflaed, to Aethelred, the premier nobleman of Mercia, the kingdom next-door to Wessex. Aethelred, who happens to be Uhtred's cousin on his mother's side, wants to be king of Mercia but Alfred wants to keep that throne vacant for strategic reasons. And East Anglia, the third kingdom in the south, is the territory of the now-Christianized Guthrum. And all three kingdoms come together where London, the island's greatest trading port, sits on the Thames. The Danes control London but Alfred needs it and Uhtred is sent to get it. The plot of this episode relates how that necessary goal is achieved and how the next wave of Danish invaders (under the entirely fictional Sigefrid this time) is defeated. It's also the story of how Uhtred deals with the tangled allegiances that result from his own desire to return to Northumbria and retake his lost patrimony from his uncle, combined with his oath of service to Alfred. He muses often on the problem of the Fates -- the deterministic three spinners -- versus oath-taking, which is an entirely voluntary and very, very serious business. Has he no control over his future at all? As he gets older he begins to wonder. And, third, it's the story of Uhtred's relationships with a continuing string of women, whom the Fates so often take away from him. Cornwell has created a protagonist of heroic stature but very human needs and fears. This series just gets better and better.Book Review: Cornwell's writing soars from inside the warrior Uhtred's head
Summary: 5 Stars
In this fourth book of the Saxon Chronicles, the warrior Uhtred is now one of Alfred's key men, holding and strengthening an eastern garrison not far from Lundene (London), which the Danes hold and from where they plan to strike yet again into Wessex.
Unbeknownst to Alfred, Uhtred's divided loyalties are once more being played upon. The Danes offer to make him King of Mercia if he delivers his Danish blood brother Ragnar's support to their efforts. Swayed by a ghostly vision, Uhtred wavers.
His greater problems, though, lie with his strutting, unctuous cousin Athelred, made Mercia's strongest lord by Alfred as he weds Alfred's young daughter Aethelflaed (SP), whom Uthred is fond of but whom Athelred mistreats.
Alfred wants Uthred to take London to bolster Athelred's position in Mercia, but when he does, Athelred gets the credit and Uthred, whom Athelred hates, must chafe under his rule in London. Meanwhile the Danes gather force once more, this time at their seaside lair at Beamfleot, where the Thames flows into the sea. The Thorgilson (SP) brothers make a bold move which threatens to deliver Wessex into their hands regardless of what happens.
Cornwell's writing, liberated as I've noted previously by his decision to write Uhtred in the first person, soars, near poetry at times, whether Uhtred is describing landscapes, pondering the mysteries of life and the hereafter, or exulting in battle as his sword Serpent's Breath once again sings it song. It is not surprising that JRR Tolkien was a scholar of Old English and its related languages; much of "The Lord of the Rings" comes from the same feel for the heraldry of ancient warriors that Cornwell draws from for this series.
Book Review: The Saxon Chronicles continue in brilliant fashion
Summary: 5 Stars
One major reason The Saxon Chronicles are so enjoyable is the main character, Uhtred. Put simply, Uhtred rules. He might possibly be the coolest main character narrator to every grace the pages of a book. Cornwell is an expert on religions of the time, and the Saxon Chronicles has a heavy dose of religious history and the growing domination of Christianity. Cornwell doesn't hide the fact that he's a fan of paganism, and I love that aspect of his writing.
Descriptions of battles just don't get any better. These aren't Braveheart-style free-for-alls, but true to history 9th century battles. Men fought in shield walls, slipped over blood and guts, moved the enemy's shield a fraction so you could get a sword in to cut at his ankles. Not romantic by any means, but realistic and absolutely thrilling. Cornwell's blow-by-blow descriptions put you smack dab in the middle of the action.
Some of you may think a historical fiction book would read like a textbook. You couldn't be more wrong. I'm not sure I've ever read as fast-paced a book as these Saxon Chronicles. You can't read four pages without action. If you're looking for some very entertaining medieval historical fiction, look no farther than the Saxon Chronicles.
I would give all these books 4.5 stars out of 5 and I'm really having a hard time deciding whether to give them 4 or 5. I just can't put much fantasy on the same level as George R. R. Martin, but this gets close. Book 4 is just as great as the rest, and I can't wait to get into Book 5.