The Burning Land

The Saxon Chronicles, Book 5

De: Bernard Cornwell

Narrado por: John Lee

The fifth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling Saxon Tales chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit BBC America television series.

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. But fate has different plans . . .

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.

John Lee's narration didn't work for me

Any additional comments?

I have listened to most of the books in this series, and John Lee's narration is the only one that didn't really work for me. His style is a bit too "actorly". The pace is too constant, and the almost robotic rise and fall of the sentences started to send me to sleep after a while. It was like listening to Toast of London doing the voice over for a Sat Nav. Didn't help that he used different pronunciations of names from all the other narrators. Great book of course.

Captivating.

Before listening to this novel I had read the reviews about a different narrator so I was prepared for the difference. After getting into the novel quite a ways I was used to the difference in pronunciation. Overall i was enthralled by the somewhat historical accounts of this era. I am definitely going to finish out this series.

narrator??

I did not like the narrators voice. I felt like he was in a hurry at times and just wanted to get it over with.

Love it!

I watched the Netflix series and read the books. I travel a lot and so I decided to download the Audible version. So glad I did, I have a tendency to fall asleep when I read books. Loved the narrator. Just enjoyed the retelling of the story.

The adventure continues! Masterful

Superb narration complements a masterfully written story that places the reader square in the middle of the historical action!