Customer Reviews
Historical fiction brought to life - By: S. D. Beech, 03 Dec 2008 
Having read all the Sharpe novels I was looking forward to this & I was not disappointed. Bernard Cornwell has an unnerring ability of making history fun. True the characters are fictional on the whole but his ability to bring to life scenarios from our past history is pure mastery. The pace as always is face & full of action. A wordsmith of the highest pedigree who makes reading enjoyable & easy.
Great story but not the best performance - By: cwooden, 17 Nov 2008 
I've listened to all of Bernard Cornwell's Saxon seriesin audiobook format (and read themin hardcover, too) & this is an OK version of book 3. I'm not going to comment on the plot but rather about the reader. If you are going to listen to a book, the reader is as important as the content. The right reader can bring a good story to another level. Unfortunately, while Jamie Glover is a good reader but this is not the best version available. Hold out for the one read by Richard Armitage. His reading is far superior to the other narrators (Tom Sellwood reads the unabridged version & Jamie Glover's version is abridged). It's a shame that Amazon doesn't sell Mr. Armitage's version but you can get it through audiobookcollection{.com}.
Revenge is sweet - By: chuckles, 22 Oct 2008 
The 3rdin this excellent Cornwell series sees our confused hero Uhtred finally get his chance at revenge. As normal, Cornwell produces a gripping page turning historical novel full of friends, fighting & women. This series of books is turning out to be a rival to his excellent Sharpe series, with an excellent narrative style that makes is feel a bit different to his other books. Started the next one alreay!
Sharpe dressed as a Saxon - By: Mr. A. I. Harrison, 25 May 2008 When I started this series it was with the hope that it would be another trilogy like Cornwell's Wonderful Arthurian trilogy. However this series is far more like one of his Napeoleonic sagas, with each book being an individual story centred around a Saxon/ Viking version of Sharpe called Uhtred.
No doubt this will please many readers, especially lovers of Sharpe, however I thought they got a little formuliac & monotonous after a while. With the 'Warlord' (Arthurian) trilogy, Cornwell took his writing to a new level, the charactors were more complex & multi-layered & it was one story chopped into three very good books.
The Uhtred story is a return to Cornwell's bread & butter, 9 to 5 job. Not that this is bad, far from it Cornwell is a master of historic fiction. He stays very close to fact (unlike Iggulden at times!) but still writes exciting stories but... well... he just could have done a bit better I feel & stretched himself a bit more.
Still, lover's of heroic sword play will enjoy this book, as I did & will probably buy a few more Uhtred booksin the future as I'm sure I will! Cornwell, cleverly makes our hero a Saxon raised by the Danes so we get to experience both cultures & lets face it Vikings are more exciting & glamorous than us Saxons!
I feel a bit mean only giving it 3 stars because it's better than that but it's not quite a 4 star book but if you like Iggulden, Scarrow & Cornwell's previous works this is a safe bet & worth the money, so go on get yourself a battle axe & push your way to the front of the shield wall.
Starting to get repetative - By: Mb Cunliffe, 28 Apr 2008 I loved the first two books, having read themin order one after the other for a couple of weeks now, &in particular found The Pale Horsemen especially worthy of praise. Therefore it was with some enjoyment that I settled down with this (slimmer) volume, the thirdin the series.
Sadly the series seems to be getting a trifle samey & short of originality & by midway through I found I could predict the actions easily. I am staggered to think how Cornwell will stretch these tales but hopefully he will return to the form foundin the first two. I shall await the paperback of book 4.
One to read but only to see (and if truly interested in) what happens to the protaginists
