Sometimes I just can't resist going back to authors and characters that I love. And so, I reached for Sword of Kings, by Bernard Cornwell, the 12th instalment in The Last Kingdom series. Uhtred of Bebbanburg seems quite happy at home, until he hears that King Edward is dying. This means that it is time for him to live up to the oath he made many years before to his former lover, Aethelflaed. He vowed to protect her nephew, Aethelstan, and put him on the throne. However, this means he will have to kill two men who have their own ideas about who should rule when King Edward is gone. And so Uhtred heads south once more with a small band of warriors, and plunges himself into the machinations of 10th Century Anglo Saxon politics. As usual, he encounterss formidable foes, and cannot help but get into incredibly tight scrapes. He almost meets his match and is lucky to escape with his life at one point, but Uhtred, it seems, is indestructible and manages to pull himself together for the final encounter and yes, it's shield wall time again. These novels are always entertaining, and the urge to turn the page is ever present. However, it is all becoming very familiar and, at the age Uhtred must be by now, a little on the unbelievable side. Whilst I have, and always do, enjoy a Bernard Cornwell book, I didn't feel there was much more that could be squeezed out of this character. Luckily, there is just one more book in the series and it will be interesting to see what the fates have in store in that final outing for the legend that is Uhtred.
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, audio CD, ebook.
Length: 340 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library.
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