The Burning Land

The Saxon Chronicles, Book 5

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

In a clash of heroes,the kingdom is born. At the end of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in ill health; his heir, an untested youth. His enemy, the Danes, having failed to conquer Wessex, now see their chance for victory. Led by the sword of savage warrior Harald Bloodhair, the Viking hordes attack. But Uhtred, Alfred’s reluctant warlord, proves his worth, outwitting Harald and handing the Vikings one of their greatest defeats. For Uhtred, the sweetness of victory is soon overshadowed by tragedy.

Breaking with Alfred, he joins the Vikings, swearing never again to serve the Saxon king. Instead, he will reclaim his ancestral fortress on the Northumbrian coast. Allied with his old friend Ragnar--and his old foe Haesten--he aims to invade and conquer Wessex itself. Yet fate has different plans. The Danes of East Anglia and the Vikings of Northumbria are plotting the conquest of all Britain. When Alfred’s daughter pleads with Uhtred for help, he cannot refuse her request. in a desperate gamble, he takes command of a demoralized Mercian army, leading them in an unforgettable battle on a blood-soaked field beside the Thames.

In The Burning Land, Bernard Cornwell, “The reigning king of historical fiction” (USA Today), delivers a rousing saga of Anglo-Saxon England--an irresistible new chapter in his thrilling Saxon Tales, the epic story of the birth of England and the legendary king who made it possible.

©2010 Bernard Cornwell (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Narration lacks..

The story is great, no problem there. I like the narrator himself, but it’s pretty obvious that he had not listened to the previous audiobooks OR watched any of the television show. It was SO distracting to hear Steapa (Stee-ah-pah) pronounced Stee-pah. A little more effort would be nice

A good listen

Once again I loved the story and the characters! A great narrator- BUT - why must the pronunciation of main characters and cities change with each book? It is confusing and distracting and takes away from the story, as the listener is trying to figure things out.

Good book

This is a good book it has its moments when it’s boring. The narrator does not make in interesting. Wish someone else had narrated it.

I got used to Jonathan Keeble

Would you listen to The Burning Land again? Why?

Yes - I enjoyed the story and the narrator was ok.

What did you like best about this story?

It is very descriptive just like the earlier books of the series. There was an allusion to something I never expected - if it is indeed true, then I am stunned and disappointed in the element of the storyline, but everything else was great.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

No. The narrator's dynamics (in particular, his emotion) was not up to snuff. There was an event in this story which would have crushed Uhtred's heart (1st person narrative) - you never felt the anguish that should have been there.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Audio publishers - if you have a great narrator, commit the series to them. They know the books, the characters, and have established the listener's expectations. It's like book publishers changing the author of a long running series (Fleming, Ludlum, Clancy) - readers lose interest because it just isn't the same.

lee no keeble

the story is as good as the rest, but the narrator is not nearly as good as john keeble.

Great Story but...

I love all of these books! This is a great continuation of the story of Uthred. I do miss the previous narrator. It was hard to get used to the different style of reading. Once I got used to the new narrator I was able to enjoy the story. Overall I loved it!

AWESOME!!!

I have waited a long time to get this book and it was excellent. This series is quite addictive as I now have my wife reading them. This book kept me on the edge the entire time! However there was a narrator change between the last two and some of the names are pronounced differently but the story itself is wonderful and I cant wait to read/listen to the next one!

Excellent

Only thing keeping it from perfect is the change of narrator - he was good (better than 3), but can't hold a torchere to the narrator from 1,2 and 4. Love these stories!

Bring Keeble Back!!!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, the story is superb. This is one of the best series I have read/listened to

loved it

loved the continuation of the story of uhtred. narration would have been better with keeble, but overall it was well done.