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The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex, Alfred's kingdom and the last territory in English hands, Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane.
The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.
Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a curse, haunted by what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done. A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture means certain death.
Norway, AD 785. It began with the betrayal of a lord by a king.... King Gorm puts Jarl Harald's family to the sword but makes one fatal mistake - he fails to kill Harald's youngest son, Sigurd. His kin slain, his village seized and its people taken as slaves, Sigurd wonders if the gods have forsaken him. Hunted by powerful men, he is unsure who to trust, and yet he has a small band of loyal followers at his side.
Thomas of Hookton is one of these archers. But he is also on a personal mission: To avenge his father's death and retrieve a stolen relic. Thomas begins a quest that will lead him through fields smeared with the smoke of fires set by the rampaging English, until at last the two armies face each other on a hillside near the village of Crécy.
1799. As the British Army fights its way through India toward a diabolical trap, the young and illiterate private Richard Sharpe must battle both man and beast behind enemy lines, in an attempt to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive his French allies out of India.
The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex, Alfred's kingdom and the last territory in English hands, Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane.
The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.
Young Nicholas Hook is dogged by a curse, haunted by what he has failed to do and banished for what he has done. A wanted man in England, he is driven to fight as a mercenary archer in France, where he finds two things he can love: his instincts as a fighting man, and a girl in trouble. Together they survive the notorious massacre at Soissons, an event that shocks all Christendom. With no options left, Hook heads home to England, where his capture means certain death.
Norway, AD 785. It began with the betrayal of a lord by a king.... King Gorm puts Jarl Harald's family to the sword but makes one fatal mistake - he fails to kill Harald's youngest son, Sigurd. His kin slain, his village seized and its people taken as slaves, Sigurd wonders if the gods have forsaken him. Hunted by powerful men, he is unsure who to trust, and yet he has a small band of loyal followers at his side.
Thomas of Hookton is one of these archers. But he is also on a personal mission: To avenge his father's death and retrieve a stolen relic. Thomas begins a quest that will lead him through fields smeared with the smoke of fires set by the rampaging English, until at last the two armies face each other on a hillside near the village of Crécy.
1799. As the British Army fights its way through India toward a diabolical trap, the young and illiterate private Richard Sharpe must battle both man and beast behind enemy lines, in an attempt to push the ruthless Tippoo of Mysore from his throne and drive his French allies out of India.
In a thrilling adventure of brotherhood, warfare, and treachery, Giles Kristian takes us into ninth-century England, a world of darkness, epic conflict, and an unforgiving God served by powerful priests. On ships shaped like dragons, bristling with oars and armor, Jarl Sigurd and his fierce Norsemen have come in search of riches. And riches they are promised, by an English ruler who sends Sigurd and his wolves to steal a holy manuscript from another kingdom.
When William Faulconer rescues Nate Starbuck, his son’s friend, from the clutches of a Yankee-hating mob in Virginia, he finds a grateful and willing recruit for Faulconer’s Legion. But Nate’s decision to fight against his native North is only one of the human dilemmas facing the Legion. The Legion commander’s son is against the war, and his daughter’s fiancé is plotting for control of the family fortune. As a motley gathering of men prepares to engage the enemy at Bull Run, they have high hopes of ending the war before it starts.
The year is 1820 and England has fought its last victorious battle against the French. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, has finally returned to London to wed his young bride. But instead of being able to settle down to his fame and glory, he finds himself penniless in a country where unemployment and social unrest are raging high, and where men - innocent or guilty - are hung for the merest of crimes. Thus, when the Home Secretary offers him a job as private investigator.
Four thousand years ago, a stranger's death at the Old Temple of Ratharryn, and his ominous "gift" of gold, precipitates the building of what for centuries to come will be known as one of mankind's most singular and remarkable achievements.
When he's caught stealing, young Alan Dale is forced to leave his family and go to live with a notorious band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest. Their leader is the infamous Robin Hood. A tough, bloodthirsty warrior, Robin is more feared than any man in the county. And he becomes a mentor for Alan; with his fellow outlaws, Robin teaches Alan how to fight - and how to win.
Beobrand is compelled by his brother's almost-certain murder to embark on a quest for revenge in the war-ravaged kingdoms of Northumbria. The land is rife with danger, as warlords vie for supremacy and dominion. In the battles for control of the region, new oaths are made and broken, and loyalties are tested to the limits. With no patronage and no experience, Beobrand must form his own allegiances and learn to fight with sword and shield. Relentless in pursuit of his enemies, he faces challenges which transform him from a boy to a man.
Uhtred arrives in the north to discover rebellion, chaos, and fear. His only ally is Hild, a West Saxon nun fleeing her calling, and his best hope is his sword. Needing other allies, he chooses Guthred, a seemingly deluded slave who believes he is a king. Together they cross the Pennines to where a desperate alliance of fanatical Christians and beleaguered Danes form a new army to confront the terrible Viking lords who rule Northumbria. Instead of victory, Uhtred finds betrayal. But he also discovers love and redemption as he is forced to turn once again to his reluctant ally, Alfred the Great.
A breathtaking adventure, Lords of the North is also the story of the creation of modern England, as the English and Danes gradually become one people, adopting each other's languages and fighting side by side.
"Cornwell...breathes life into ancient history with disarming ease, peppering it with humor and even innocence." (Publishers Weekly)
What does Tom Sellwood bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Jonathan Keeble, performed the first 4 books and nailed the voices of all the characters for me. why would you change performers in the middle of this epic series?I cant listen to the other performers not because they are not good, but because im now use to Jonathan Keeble's reading and voices. please bring him Back!!!!
Any additional comments?
please bring Back Jonathan Keeble.
69 of 70 people found this review helpful
The narrator of the first two books was a lot better. The story was as gripping as the other books in the series, however, the change of narrator spoilt it for me.
30 of 30 people found this review helpful
Tom Sellwood has absolutely NO business narrating this series PERIOD!!! He is very well spoken but utterly lacks the deep, raw, throaty, strong, authoritative, passionate, GRITTY & MASCULINE voice necessary to convincingly portray a 9th century Viking Warlord and the battle hardened men around him!!!!! His voice/voices is/are shamefully weak and his portrayal is truly nothing shy of disastrously flat and impotent. Thoroughly and totally disappointed after having started the first two books in the series read by the amazingly talented and powerful John Keebles, whose voice is the PERFECTION for this series!! But for whatever horrible reason the John Keebles version from book 3 and on are not available in the U.S. to purchase so I had been forced to settle for the awful Sellwood version to continue Uhtrid's mighty tale... Dear god I beg you please fix this awful mess and give us Keebles versions right this moment!!! And my money back for the god awful version I just muscled my way through!!! Please help!!!
39 of 41 people found this review helpful
Any additional comments?
The author needs to keep the same reader from the first 2 books. It is very distracting to have another Utred voice. Especially one much less masculine.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
After two books with Jonathan keeble, it's impossible to start, much less finish this book with anyone else.
11 of 11 people found this review helpful
I listen to audio books to be entertained or to get through books I have a hard time reading but still want to know about them.
This series is all about entertainment. I enjoyed the first two books although they only came as abridged. The difference between the two is a couple (8hrs) more hours of entertainment.
Same good story, Same great charactor and all the same action and adventure as the first two. Also I have enjoyed the same reader through all the books and he does a very good job.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
This is the first book of Lords of the North that I've listened to because the first two are available only in the abridged format (Are you listening, Audible? Abridged is yuck!).
I enjoyed the detail of Cornwell's Agincourt, so I was expecting more of the same for this book, set in my favorite period of British history. I wasn't expecting Lords of the North to be at all humorous, but I was pleasantly surprised. Uhtred is disappointed in Alfred the Great's lack of generosity--Uhtred helped Alfred drive back the invading Danes, but because he was pagan, Uhtred was rewarded only by being made the lord of Five Hides, an estate of questionable value and little prestige.
He leaves Five Hides to take back Bebbanburgh castle, rightfully his, from his uncle. "And that was when the stupidity began," he says early on. He gets into one crazy mess after another, throwing his lot in with the deluded slave/king Guthred and a band of religious fanatics--that doesn't turn out well, and the craziness keeps on coming.
Uhtred is looking back on his life through this volume, and as he laughs at the stupidity of his younger self, we laugh with him. This isn't a strictly comic novel, however--we get plenty of political plotting and a great deal of fighting (some of which is quite violent and might be a turn-off for some readers). I also got all the historic detail I was hoping for.
I see that some other reviewers aren't happy with the narrator. If I'd started with book one and a different narrator, I might feel the same way, but as it is I think Tom Sellwood was a great choice. His Northumbrian accent is spot on (enough so that it might be an issue for readers not used to northern British accents). But the best part is that he's actually acting--I really got a sense of Uhtred being an older man looking back on the follies of his youth.
Overall, highly recommended for readers who like battles, adventure, and even a few laughs.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful
Would you listen to Lords of the North again? Why?
No. It's a great novel. I'll probably read it before I listen to it again.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
The only thing the narrator could have done better is be the original narrator: Jonathan Keeble. Please STOP changing narrators. Once you get used to a voice over the course of three novels, it is really hard to associate that character with another voice.
Especially in a book that told in the 1st person perspective.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to Lords of the North the most enjoyable?
I am enjoying the Saxon series and enjoy hearing further adventures of Uthred.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
I am sure he would have been a good narrator for any other adventure series. However the only narrator that can really do justice to this series is Jonathan Keeble.
Any additional comments?
If you ever have the rest of the Saxon series narrated by Jonathan Keeble I am sure I will purchase them again. He is does an amazing job with this series.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
wow! quite possible the worst narration I've heard yet!!. he just about ruined the whole series for me. Keeble is in the next book but I'm stopping after that until Keeble does the whole series. Tom Sellwood should go read children's books and leave these novels to real men!
3 of 3 people found this review helpful