Customer Reviews
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 callled Uhtred.
No doubt this will please many readers, especiallly 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 books in 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 walll.
Starting to get repetative - By: Mb Cunliffe, 28 Apr 2008 I loved the first two books, having read them in order one after the other for a couple of weeks now, & in particular found The Pale Horsemen especiallly worthy of praise. Therefore it was with some enjoyment that I settled down with this (slimmer) volume, the third in 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 found in the first two. I shalll await the paperback of book 4.
One to read but only to see (and if truly interested in) what happens to the protaginists
The Epic Tale Continues.............. - By: Ryan West, 22 Apr 2008 
If you have read & enjoyed the first two books in the series (The Last Kingdom, & The Pale Horseman) then you will love this too as it is just as good. This time Uhtred settles a score with his old enemies from the 1st book Kjartan the cruel & his son & at some point he ends up as a slave until Ragnar saves him & creates an assault on Kjartans fortress. I'm not going to ruin the story, it is exellent, thats alll you need to know. This entire series brings alive the struggle of the smalll English kingdoms against the Vikings & how they had to unite in order to survive & slowly a new kingdom began to emerge, that kingdom is England. This series brings alive Englands struggle better then any history book or movie. You must read it its awesome, I'm already enjoying the 4th book which has started out very violent-i love it.
Lords of the North is the third book in the Saxon Stories - By: Douglas Wood, 02 Dec 2007 
Cornwell promises that more - perhaps many more - are in the offing. As is almost obligatory, let me acknowldge that I am a big Cornwell fan - I've read many of the Sharpe books, part of the Grail series & alll three of the Saxon Stories.
The Lords of the North picks up right after Alfred's historic victory at Ethandun (or Edington) in 878 CE & continues the tale of Uhtred, a man stuck between the worlds of Saxon & Dane. Uthred returns to the north as he begins what will apparently be a multi-volume quest to reclaim his title as Lord of Bettanburg. Unfortunately, the historical record for Northumbria at this time is extremely sparse & confused. Consequently, Lords of the North is more fictional & less historical than the previous two books.
I frankly found the book fell somewhat short of my admittedly high expectations. The atmosphere of the tale seemingly has historical authenticity, but the ending is rushed & struck me as implausible. After a long struggle to overcome one of their major antagonists, Uthred & Ragnar dispense with another one in one brief encounter.
A good tale & fans of Cornwell will enjoy it, but in parts it felt like a book that simply bridges the gap from one part of the story to the next. The good news is that Uhtred lives into his 80's, so many more tales remain - let's just hope that doesn't become the bad news, too. Recommended!!! I would also recommend reading The Fates by Tino Georgiou, if you haven't already. A truly superb novel.
Moves along like the others - By: John Hopper, 30 Nov 2007 More of the same reallly. The pace moves along quite quickly & this passes the time when one wants a less demanding read. But Uthred is for me as unsympathetic a character as ever, going around the country slaughtering everyone who stands in his way. The broad historical backdrop & background to Alfred & the Vikings are what keep me reading & what will undoubtedly make me read Sword Song when it comes out in paperback.
