Rating: ★★★1/2
I’m a little depressed after finishing this. I just realized I have to wait at least another year for a new Uhtred book. Also – I think the tone of these books is getting darker.
In Sword of Kings, Uhtred is called upon for help from Edward’s queen, Eadigfu. She believes Aethelhem and her step-son Aelfweard are plotting against her and her children. She sends for Uhtred, seeking his protection against their mutual enemies. And Uhtred, feeling restless, and also suspicious of a plot against him, against his better judgement and the advice of friends, comes to rescue her. At which point, of course, things go terribly, horribly wrong.
Edward dies, leaving Mercia and East Anglia to Aethelstan, his true heir, and Wessex to Aelfweard, the recognized heir. There’s also the matter of the oath Uhtred has sworn to kill Aethelhelm, and others. (I mean really, is there any oath he hasn’t sworn at this point?)
We say goodbye to a couple old friends. I was a little upset by the way those character deaths were handled, which seemed almost thoughtless. It happens off page toward the end, and while Uhtred seems upset by one, he admits that he was relieved about the other, and it bothered me quite a bit.
He’s often painted as a sort of Knight in Shining Chain Mail (he literally saves like 13 orphans in London from misery in this book), and to have that line thrown in so carelessly toward the end felt like a disservice to his character. I didn’t feel like it reflected who he really was or his past actions. It’s hard to really say what it was without spoilers, but it wasn’t a good way to end.
Anyway- I did like some of the new characters (Beneditta). And Finan received a lot of spotlight here, and his friendship with Uhtred is one of my favorite things about the Saxon Stories. The battle scene at the end was fantastic.
Overall – well worth reading if you are a fellow Uhtred fan. My hangups with this one were more personal than anything else. Thank you to Harper Collins and Edelweiss for the eARC for review.
Sword of Kings releases on November 26, 2019 and can be found on GoodReads or preordered on Amazon.
How do you keep all those names straight? I think I’d pull my hair out, although I’m sure it gets easier as you go along. Hoping the next book isn’t as depressing!
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Haha – honestly I had to cross check them!
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I will definitely need to check this series out at some point. Should I just start chronologically?
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Yes! I think technically it’s written so that you could pick up any book and read it and understand it, but there’s a lot of history built up in those first 10 books so I wouldn’t recommend just jumping in.
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Thanks! 🙂
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A character’s death is heart wrenching in itself and the pain and disappointment increases TENFOLD when it seems pointless and badly done, as you said was the case with this one! 😕😕
I am so sorry this one was not as enjoyable as you’d hoped, Sarah! I havent read any novel by Bernard Cornwell yet though have heard great things about them! Maybe I will..one day..ONE DAYYY 🤣🤣
Amazing review, AS ALWAYS, Sarah! 😘😘❤️❤️❤️💕💕💕👻👻☔️
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Thank you! I wasn’t too terrible upset about the character themself, they weren’t a major character, really just how it was handled I guess.
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I cab understand! Still, great review, Sarah!! ❤️
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Glad you’re enjoying this series – Himself is also tucking into it:). Thank you for a strong, clearly written review – and go you for nailing those names!
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Haha- I had to double back to the book to make sure I got them all right.
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I’m not surprised!
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I have yet to read a Bernard Cornwell book despite having one or two in my TBR. It might even be this series, I’ll have to check. Great review!
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If you read any Cornwell- please let it be this series! I’ve enjoyed almost all his books but this one more than the others.
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Good to note! I will have to double check what I have on hand. 🙂
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At first, I thought it sounded really promising that it’s getting darker with each book but then you mentioned that characters sounded/acted differently to their usual self and I’m now wondering how wrong it is. Nonetheless, your love for Uhtred makes this series a must-try for me! Great review, Sarah! 😀
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I mean- these books span 50ish years at this point- so it’s natural that the characters should change. I just don’t know that I like the way they changed? But I do love Uhtred. And even if love for the series fades at some point, I do highly recommend at least starting them. It’s kind of like- regardless of individual books, the series as a whole is 5 stars for me.
(And this is the part where I tell you, I am a Fan in case you couldn’t tell… haha)
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Given my love of Cornwell and historical fiction, I can’t believe I haven’t tried these yet
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