The Last Kingdom

The Saxon Chronicles, Book 1

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Jamie Glover

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

From Bernard Cornwell, the New York Times best-selling author whom the Washington Post calls "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today", comes a saga of blood, rage, fidelity, and betrayal. In the ninth and 10th centuries, King Alfred and his heirs fought to secure the survival of the last outpost of Anglo-Saxon culture by battling the ferocious Vikings, whose invading warriors had already captured and occupied three of England's four kingdoms.

In AD 866, Uhtred, a boy of 10 and the son of a nobleman, is captured in the same battle that leaves his father dead. His captor is the Earl Ragnar, a Danish chieftain, who raises the boy as his own, teaching him the Viking ways of war. As a young man expected to partake in raids and bloody massacres of the English, he grapples with divided loyalties, torn between Ragnar, the warrior he loves like a father, and Alfred, whose piety and introspection leave him cold. It takes a terrible slaughter and the unexpected joys of marriage for Uhtred to discover his true allegiance, and to rise to his greatest challenge.

Ready for battle? Don't miss the rest of the Saxon Chronicles Series, including The Pale Horseman (Book 2), Lords of the North (Book 3), and Sword Song (Book 4).

©2005 Bernard Cornwell (P)2005 2005 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A solid adventure by a crackling good storyteller." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Cornwell deserves praise for his mesmerizing narrative finesse and his authentic historical detailing....[An] irresistible epic adventure." ( Booklist)

Sadly disappointed

I had high hopes for this book, hoping it would be the first of a stream of novels I would delight in. Many days of enthralling entertainment awaited me. The Last Kingdom delivered abundant action and vivid descriptions of action battles, and events from an intriguing historical period. However it was thin in character development, and the absence of secondary plots was noticeable. The story leaps from one year to the next, missing clear opportunities to give detail and engage the reader. The focus is strictly on the action. It should please younger audiences, but falls short for those seeking insight into a forgotten world. Paradoxically, more of it is gleaned from reading Martin or Tolkien, but this is no Song of Fire and Ice, nor Lord of the Rings.

Excellent entrance to a long journey

This is my first introduction to Cromwell's writing, having watched all of the TV adaptation of "The Last Kingdom" previously. Cromwell's story is exciting, and his plot is punctuated by thrilling action sequences and scenes of dialogue that do most of the heavy lifting in revealing the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing more of Utred's early years, which are largely glossed over in the show. The scenes between Utred and King Alfred in particular crackle with tension. If I had one gripe against this story, it's that I don't know if I would enjoy it as much if I didn't already know the characters. But I do, and I did. Can't wait to start the next one.

Excellent Story

I enjoyed this book. I had seen the Television series and liked it a lot. I decided to listen to the books while traveling. You can't help but love the main character due to his impulsive behavior. As a child taken when he was old enough to understand that religion limited his freedom, and thrust him into a world where freedom was a way of life, he straddles both worlds incompletely. Definitely worth the listen!

Gritty, warrior stuff

I had read this book before, but then bought in through audible thinking I hadn't read it then realized when I started into it. I love the historical fiction of this period in history because my lineage is Danish/Swedish/Welch. It is gritty and violent, though, but I really love reading about the warrior character who has integrity, is strong, honest, and fights through the battles with faith in God taking care to be righteous. I have heard a lot about The Pale Horseman which is Cornwell's sequel to this book and I am looking forward to getting into that one, too.

Ending too abrupt

I loved the reader of this book. I had never read or listened to Bernard Cornwell books before. I thought the story was great, but I have to admit to feeling let down at the end of this story. I kept thinking that I must have somehow missed a part at the end of this story....but I don't think so. The ending is too abrupt. It left me wanting more, but then maybe he plans to make this a series like his other books.

Historical fiction

What made the experience of listening to The Last Kingdom the most enjoyable?

I love historical fiction and after reading this I went online and looked up King Alfred. He did exist and the book follows the history perfectly. I've now read Book 2 and am finishing up Book 3. Just love them!

Great story, well told, would highly recommend.

This is a well written book for this genera. The story seems to put legendary characters and make a great story of the tensions between them and develops their true character.

The first great

Enthralling introduction into a series that grows with a greater story and saga. Doesn’t disappoint

Vikings vs. Saxons! Sex, Blood, & Rock N' Roll!!

I have known about Bernard Cornwell for quite some time but only when I saw the premise of "The Last Kingdom" did I finally bite: and now I'm addicted!

This is a real "Guy's Tale": if you loved the film "Braveheart" you'll love "The Last Kingdom". Gory details about the sword & axe battles; the burning & looting of villages; the scams & schemes from both the Danish & the English lords; the kidnapping and enslaving of the defeated. On top of all that the narrator is top-notch and I even laughed out loud at many of the little jokes thrown in between the heavy action!

I am downloading the 2nd book in this trilogy ASAP: "The Pale Horseman", and I'm thrilled to learn that the final part, "The Lords of The North" has just been released in the U.K. and will be in the USA in early '07!

Can't wait to hear the next round of blood spilling, gut churning, butt-kicking adventures of Utread Utreadsson!

The Last Kingdom

Jamie Glover did a super job narrating this book. I did this series backward and had been looking the first book in the series(The Last Kingdom) for sometime. As soon as I saw that Audible had it I downloaded it. This book and series covers the 866 a.d. in England when the Saxon and Danish were at war for control of all England. Bernard Cornwell is in my opinion, the best writer of battle scenes. He brings the battle to life, you feel as if you are there and can hear, smell and feel the battle raging around you. This series took me to the history books to learn more about this time in history.