It’s arguable whether he could still be such a great fighter in his late 60s, but when considering how much tougher a man needed to be in Anglo-Saxon times, I think it’s believable. Yet, he’s still there battling away with the younger warriors. Having said that, I did enjoy a chase on the water at one part of the story.I don’t know Uhtred’s exact age in this book, but as the first novel in the series opens in 866, and with this one being set during 924, he must be pushing 70 – at least 67. Perhaps this is owing to the amount of time spent on ships, as my ship/boat terminology isn’t expert, making it harder for me to picture what's happening. It took me longer to get into ‘Sword of Kings’ compared to most novels in this series. But an attack on him by a leading supporter of one of the candidates and an unexpected appeal for help from another, drives Uhtred with a small band of warriors south, into the battle for kingship-and England’s fate. Uhtred was tempted to ignore the demands of the oath and stay in his northern fastness, leaving the quarrelling Anglo-Saxons to sort out their own issues. Despite attempts at pulling him into the political fray, Uhtred of Bebbanburg cares solely about his beloved Northumbria and its continuing independence from southern control.īut an oath is a strong, almost sacred commitment and such a promise had been exchanged between Uhtred and Aethelstan, his onetime companion in arms and now a potential king. There are two potential heirs-possibly more-and doubt over whether the once separate states of Wessex and Mercia will hold together. It is a time of political turmoil once more as the fading King Edward begins to lose control over his successors and their supporters.

The twelfth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England-'superior entertainment that is both engaging and enlightening” ( Washington Post), and the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit Netflix series.

Cornwell sword