Cornwell does it again | The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2)

Cornwell's Anglo-Saxon continues . . . and crackles! | The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2) | Bernard Cornwell

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	• The Pale Horseman (The Saxon Chronicles Series #2) Bernard Cornwell HarperCollins, 2007 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 59 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Alfred Stands Against the Dane's

The Pale Horseman is the sequel to the best selling Last Kingdom and continues the the tale of the great warrior Uhtred, born in Northumberland. Raised as a Viking but he is now married to a Saxon girl. He is a pagan and his alliance with the pious Alfred the Great does not sit easily on the shoulders of either man.

However after a disastrous truce with the Dane's, only Alfred's family and Uhtred and a small number of his companions are left of the leaders in Wessex and they have been driven deeper and deeper into a swamp, where they are helpless to try to gather forces to stand against the Dane's

The Vikings now hold most of England and it has been a disastrous time for the Saxons. Uhtred find himself torn between the growing respect he has for Alfred and the love he has for his Danish foster brother and the all conquering Vikings. He has to wrestle with his heart and decide whether to try and rally the Saxons and drive out the Vikings, or change sides and go to his foster brother.

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Cornwell does it again

Cornwell has found a niche in the pop historical fiction market. I contribute much of his success to his novels' readability. Most of them can be read in one sitting within a few hours, and The Pale Horseman is no exception. The reason is Cornwell's clear, crisp style and focus on dramatic storytelling. He sets a brisk pace, eschews exposition in favor of action, and avoids excessive adjectives and adverbs. Many of his books follow a formula: The protagonists are skillful warriors, less than virtuous but always loyal, and ruggedly handsome enough to attract well bred ladies. Cornwell excels at describing battles, and The Pale Horseman is at its best when Uhtred is killing someone. I like how Cornwell depicts soldiers as businessmen: Their business is killing, and they do it for wealth, women, and reputation. Most of his soldiers are not mindless brutes but clever, practical strategists. They don't like to risk losing men, ground, or fame. The novel also has a grim sense of humor. I recommend it to any fan of Cornwell, historical fiction, or military adventure.

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Cornwell's Anglo-Saxon continues . . . and crackles!

Bernard Cornwell continues the saga of Uhtred, Alfred the Great, the Danes and the struggle to create England. Cornwell's predecessor novel, "The Last Kingdom," was great . . . and "The Pale Horseman" is better.

Uhtred is a minor Saxon noble whose lands have been taken from him by his treacherous uncle who has aligned himself with the invading Danes. At 20, Uhtred is little more than a savage. Killing comes naturalle to him. Alfred the Great is the last surviving Saxon King, a man given to religious piety, which Uhtred has little use for. Uhtred spent time as a slave to the Danes and literally became one of them, a pagan warrior.

"Horseman" begins with Uhtred being betrayed by a glory seeking noble who takes credit for Uhtred's victory in a battle described in "Kingdom." Uhtred is disfavored by the King and made to humble himself. Giving little heed to his oath of allegiance, Uhtred engages in a bit of free-lance piracy and, to cap things off, a bit of self-dispensed judgment, killing one of his workers.

He is called to account for himself at Alfred's court. Trial by combat is interrupted by a Danish invasion.

Alfred is driven into a swamp where, by chance, Uhtred joins him. From here Alfred is determined to retake his kingdom and, ultimately, unite all England.

Cornwell is a superb storyteller. He brings the stark brutality of the age home with the resonance of swords clashing. Deftly he skewers the greedy religionists. His portraits of swaggering, ignorant, grasping petty nobles are swiftly drawn and piercing. Literally Cornwell produces the stink of the era, the ignorance, the coarseness of life. His battle scenes are marvels: you can feel the fear, the raw courage, the brutality of combat.

This is the very height of adventure, particularly if you have a taste for history. Cornwell promises yet more on Alfred the Great and his uniting of England. I look forward to the next installment.

Jerry

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Historical Fiction at its Best

Kudos to Mr. Cornwell for bringing attention to this much-neglected era in Britain's history. And he has done it with a compelling, engaging narrative that holds the reader's attention from the first page to the last. His depiction of the climactic battle between Alfred and Guthrum--though entirely fictional, at least insofar as the details of the conflict are concerned--is superb. I anxiously await the next installment.

A long awaited read.

I had tried to purchase this book whilst on holiday in England and it was out of print,so I ordered it via amazon and it was well worth the wait.Cornwell mingling of fact and fiction and his gripping style of writing leaves you with an unputdownable book if I had more time on my hands I would have read it in one sitting.

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