Sword Song (The Saxon Chronicles, Book 4)
by Bernard Cornwell
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Book Reviews of Sword Song (The Saxon Chronicles, Book 4)
Book Review: Wonderful Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
"Love is a dangerous thing...Lust is the deceiver. Lust wrenches our lives until nothing matters except the one we think we love, and under that deceptive spell we kill for them, give all for them, and then, when we have what we have wanted, we discover that it is all an illusion and nothing is there. Lust is a voyage to nowhere, to an empy land, but some men just love such voyages and never care about the destination."
What can I say? Cornwell's insights are brilliant. His historical detail is enjoyable and, when he departs from strict history, his story is generally believable.
I'll make one comment which is no criticism. How could it be? I've enjoyed virtually every book Cornwell's written and he's been influentual in my writing of historical fiction. His heroic characters are perhaps a little superhuman and I prefer somewhat more human types---people who are sometimes bested in a straight-up fight, people who get injured and are even soundly defeated. Still Cornwell's stories work so he must have it right.
I do wonder, however, if Alfred would accept a Thor-worshipper into his ranks? I remember reading a tale in the Icelandic Sagas in which an English king refuses the services of two Viking brothers unless they convert. "You needn't practice Christianity," the Englishman tells them, "but you must agree to be baptised." They agree because, afterall, what harm can a little water do? Hence, believers in Thor and Odin became Christian from Normandy to Iceland...from Greenland to the Volga.
Those who think the Viking surge was somehow defeated must consider the fact that they gave Russia and Normandy their names, colonized Iceland and Greenland, maintained control of Scandinavia and left their abundant seed scattered over northern Europe including Britain and Ireland. They weren't defeated...They got what they came for.
Ron Braithwaite, author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God" on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
Book Review: The Historic Epics Continues!
Summary: 4 Stars
"Sword Song" is the fourth book in the epic series by Bernard Cornwell telling the amazing story of King Alfred, through the eyes, deeds, and fighting of Uhtred. Sword Song opens up a few years after the "Lords of the North." The year is 885, and there has been an uneasy peace declared between the Danes of the North, and the English of the south, Wessex. The city dividing them: London. Uhtred, his desire ever so much to go home, has been given the daunting task of protecting London and the Thames from the vikings (what the Danes are called when they pillage).
Sword Song is action and story packed from the first page. Alfred has great plans for the island of England, but all while new threats emerge from the north, and Alfred's daughter has been kidnapped. Uhtred has been tasked, charged with, rescuing her, all while Alfred's kingdom is on the verge of collapse.
While "Sword Song" is of the 4 novels the least historically accurate, the times, the places, the people, the settings are all real, and we are given a clear picture in our heads just what it was like to live back then. The war which started as "pagans" vs the follows of the "White Christ," has begun to change as the people are now living co-existing together. Bernard Cornwell does a superb job of retelling the times. While the story mainly focuses on Uhtred and his story, Mr. Cornwell never steers far from the stories true hero, Alfred. We begin to see that Alfred does have great ambition, and starts to take on the persona that we know of him today, Alfred the Great.
Sword Song is a fully packed story, and not to be put down. I am looking forward to the next installment!
Book Review: Uhtred is Inexorable
Summary: 4 Stars
Fate is Inexorable. Cornwell repeats this phrase throughout this novel; it's one of the driving themes behind all the tales in the series. And if Fate is indeed inexorable, then our hero, Uhtred, is a perfect example of a man who could easily be described in the same terms. Uhtred follows his own conscience, and he refuses to give in in the face of defeat. He is a force of nature, exasperating and determined, and always ready for a fight.
The fourth novel in the series, Sword Song follows Uhtred as he renews his oath to King Alfred, thus ensuring that Uhtred will defend Lundene (London) from the Vikings. Uhtred is definitely torn in his loyalties, but ultimately he realizes that his word is binding and he must help his baleful cousin Ethelred secure the city. Meanwhile, Uhtred worries over both his wife, Gisela, who is pregnant, and Ethelflaed, the young daughter of Alfred who has married the arrogant Ethelred. The fight scenes are plentiful and gory, and the story is enlivened with the elderly Uhtred's ruminations on the events that took place long ago.
While not quite as intense or thrilling as the previous two novels, Sword Song is a well-built action novel that ultimately has a humanistic core. Uhtred is one of the better heroes in historical fiction today; always true to himself and his ideals, sarcastic and hot-headed, a man to be counted on. I will be eagerly awaiting the next entry in this excellent series.
Book Review: blood, steel, and soil
Summary: 5 Stars
Best of the Saxon series, and in my opinion the Saxon series is the best of Cornwell's cycles.
Whatever in Cornwell's writing you love, you will find it in this well written and enthralling book.
The author reaps in this book the abundant character-crop that he sowed in the previous ones based on the heroic Uhtred, a Danish blooded war-band leader of the Saxons fighting to keep their land free of the notorious "Danelaw."
Part of the fun of Cornwell's writing is that he explores through his characters complex topics like religious belief, or tribal-ethnic allegiance, with realism, with wit and candor, and without pedantic judgment. Just when it seems, for example, that a character has exemplified religious credulity, along comes another character and exemplifies religious social virtue. Just when Cornwell's painted a tableau illustrating the dark side of ethnic hatred, along comes a situation that shows the joy of ethnic belonging.
Cornwell does his ancestors a great honor by writing well about them. Anybody with an interest in English or Northern European history, anyone who likes historical fiction, or war fiction, anyone with an interest in Asatru, will find this work enjoyable. I recommend it conditionally however, in that I urge prospective buyers to read the rest of these Saxon tales first.
Book Review: The Chronicles of Uhtred
Summary: 5 Stars
Having flown through the preceding books in this series, I was delighted to find this latest work available before leaving for a trip. No spoilers, here, but this volume continues the tale of Uhtred, the half-Saxon, half-Danish warrior who reluctantly serves at the behest of Alfred, King of Wessex, known to us as "Alfred the Great."
Cornwell's command of a relatively little-known period of British history is excellent and more importantly, entirely plausible. His characterizations are rich in detail and well-drawn. Cornwell's development and exposition throughout the series of Alfred the Great is compelling, putting flesh on the bones of a monarch who is mostly the stuff of legends.
Cornwell has found his personal "medium," in the character of Uhtred who, while appropriately grim for a warrior, has a certain sardonic sense of humor and a penchant for pointed social commentary. Cornwell's idea of creating Uhtred as a "pagan" instead of a Christian is brilliant and allows us a far more insightful hero than what might otherwise have been the case.
The narrative is clear and concise, and we are easily able to follow what the characters are doing, where and why.
Altogether an excellent novel by one of the masters of the craft.