Lords of the North (The Last Kingdom #3), by Bernard Cornwell

Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


»I had a taste for this kind of madness. In madness lies change, in change is opportunity, and in opportunity are riches.«

I had every intention to temporarily remove myself from the amazing literary maelstrom this series has proven to be for me but, alas, when I looked through the books I actually intended to read right now, I kept feeling drawn to “Lords of the North”, the third instalment in Bernard Cornwell’s “Saxon Stories”.

This time, we accompany Uthred to the north where he meets Guthred, another king who plays Uthred almost as well as Alfred does. We also see Uthred clash with his arch-enemy, Kjartan the Cruel, and the latter’s son, Sven the One-Eyed.

As usual Uthred keeps curious company: From Finnan whom Uthred meets in captivity (the one part of the book that didn’t engage as much as the rest (just like in the TV series!)) to Sithric up to Saint Cuthbert himself and, quite literally, parts of Saint Oswald…

Even though – to me at least – this is not the strongest book so far, I very much enjoyed it and found I simply had to start its successor, “Sword Song” despite my continued best intention to quit this addiction!

I can only encourage you, dear reader, to stop struggling against any similar reluctance right now and to get started on this great series! (Or, to quote another favourite: “Resistance is futile.”)

Four out of five stars.



Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam




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