The Pale Horseman

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

A Saxon raised by Vikings. A pagan fighting for a Christian King. The conflict at the heart of a hero will be played out in the fight for England.

It is 877. Across the kingdoms of Britain the Danes are gaining strength. Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a pagan warrior, must decide who he will align with: the Vikings who raised him or Alfred, King of the West Saxons.

As the Danes make for Wessex and threaten to destroy the kingdom, Uhtred will forge an uneasy alliance with the king, to lead the last remaining Saxon army in a battle that will be a fight for the very existence of England.

©2005 Bernard Cornwell (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

Praise for The Pale Horseman:

"Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation." (Daily Mail)
"Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched." (Observer)
"It is stirring stuff, and few writers are better qualified than Cornwell to do justice to the excitement of the times…Ninth-century Britain and a master of storytelling - it is a marriage made in heaven." (Sunday Telegraph)
"Cornwell's mastery of historical sources and his aptitude for battle scenes is well established…the language, and particularly the dialogue, is raw and unarchaic, rich in insults and Anglo-Saxon expletives." (Times Literary Supplement)

One of the best books in many year

Nuanced characters, excellent performance, deep look into historical times. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, history, and good story telling.

Excellent

It's hard to stop listening. The story and the excellent narration grabs your attention and it's hard to put it down.
Highly recommended.

great narrator

the narrator does an amazing job. he makes tgey characters sound properly different. the books are amazing as well as tgey writer knows very well what he's doing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent. Brilliant performance.

If you could sum up The Pale Horseman in three words, what would they be?

A superb buy.

What other book might you compare The Pale Horseman to, and why?

The whole series and all Bernard Cornwell's books. They are credible and engaging. Full of excitement and characters you care about.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Keeble – was your favourite?

His performance captures the essence of Ughtred. The tone of voice expresses such emotions, and doubts. Such a shame he hasn't recorded the whole series.

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

Yes. Absolutely. Both for the story and the performance. (I'm now waiting for more in the series.)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great listen

The story continues at a rapid pace with uthred torn between his loyalty to the Saxons and Earl Ragnar. This in my opinion is even better that the first book and I am starting the third book immediately. Fantastic

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The story continues...

This is the second book on the series and equally as good as the first. Again I was immersed in the story as soon as Jonathan Keeble spoke. I'll be listening to them all.

narration

Bernard Cornwell is the master of historical fiction, but the performance of johnathan Keeble brings the excitement into you as you listen. uthreds story will continue and England will be saved

Jonathan Keeble Perfect Narrator

Jonathan Keeble's voice as Outred is perfect and his voices for the other characters are equally good. I thought he was very good, but when I got to book 5 and they changed the narrator I realised Jonathon's reading lifted the book to another level. He is Outred. His voice inflections, sarcasm, anger and weariness with his lot provide a depth over and above the printed page and other narrators and I miss his reading so much. Truly brilliant narration.

Great Book

I started listening to the books after watching the tv programme just so I could put a name to a face.
fantastic book, it stays loyal to the tv series with only some differences

Rip roaring tale

Excellent narration again, storyline has comedic moments along with the scuffles between faith and justified brutality in the battle for land and power.

Amazing story, amazing narrator.

Narrator does an excellent job, especially capturing the myriad of English and Danish accents present.

Best Narrator of the series

second time through now, love it, shame they didn't keep the same narrator for the later books.