Sword Song

The Last Kingdom Series, Book 4

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Jamie Glover

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The fourth in the bestselling Alfred series from number one historical novelist, Bernard Cornwell.

The year is 885, and England is at peace, divided between the Danish kingdom to the north and Alfred's kingdom of Wessex in the south. But trouble stirs, a dead man has risen and new Vikings have arrived to occupy London.

It is a dangerous time, and it falls to Uhtred, half Saxon, half Dane, a man feared and respected the length and breadth of Britain, to expel the Viking raiders and take control of London for Alfred. His uncertain loyalties must now decide England's future.

A gripping tale of love, rivalry and violence, Sword Song tells the story of England's making.

©2007 Bernard Cornwell (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK

Brilliant as always!

Bernard Cornwell is by far one of the best historical fiction writers on the planet. Sword Song is the fourth book in the Saxon Stories series which is based in England in the AD 800s. The central character of the series, Uhtred, being born to Saxon parents then kidnapped and raised by Danish Vikingr, is a fantastic vessel for the history behind the Danish occupation of England during the middle ages.

Cornwell manages to weave the history into his narrative seamlessly, without forcing the reader to endure paragraphs of "info dumping" which some historical fiction writers often do. This creates an extremely engaging story, and a perfect balance of narrative and historical information.

Jamie Glover does a very good job of performing the various accents of characters within the story, although at times I did find some of the accents and voices to be slightly irritating.

I do believe that readers should finish the preceding books in the series before moving onto Sword Song.

continues to please

Sword Song, the fourth book of the Saxon Chronicles, continues its lusty and barbaric ways made so inviting and satisfying in the inimitable Bernard Cornwell style.

Only when the last chapter is performed (as it is *so convincingly* not only in this audiobook, but the others of the series, as well), does sadness set in when the listener realises that she or he has to wait impatiently for the next chapter in the Uhtred saga to be published.

One note: it is unfortunate that, at this writing, Audible only offers the abridged version of this book. Certainly some books benefit from an abridgement but readers and listeners of tales written and read so well as was this one, deserve the writer's intended version!

The story continues

And once again
An excellent book read by an excellent reader.

A sad solution to end the tale here!
I -for one- would have loved the read more about that time. And to know how our hero finaly got his beloved Bebbanburg.

And -I would have prefered this version to be the Unabridged version.