Lords of the North

These books keep getting better, what a journey! So many events, such an assorted plot, and a few more interesting characters to boot.

The following contains spoilers about the plot.

PLOT

Right at the start, Uhtred rescues a king from slavery while at the same time evading being captured by his most hatred enemy. Outnumbered, his fate seemed sealed, but he uses his wits and perseveres.

He joins this new king, Guthred, who is still a young boy, both a Dane and a Christian. Begrudgingly, he swears his fielty to him, hoping that by raising him an army to conquer the North would eventually help him kill his 2 enemies that reside there: his uncle an Kjartan.

A few Danes show up, all armored up and riding war horses. They say they want to join their army, Uhtred is suspicious of them, since any fighting Dane with half a brain would surely join forces with one of the other two Dane lords in the North, Kjartan or Ivarr. But he is desperate for any help he can get and accepts their help.

A while later, they show their true color, and try to capture Uhrred, on Kjartan's orders. They nearly succed, but Uhtred's fate was already set, and this is not how he would die.

Guthred's army grows enough for them to decide to invade a nearby Dane occupied town. This poses a great risk, because they don't know what Ivarr's plans are. If he decides to confront them there, they are finished. But on taking the tow they discover that Ivarr has been defeated by the Scots, and escaped the fight baddly injured.

The king decides to find him, and when he does, he offers treatment for his wounds and accepts him as an ally, against Uhtred's advice to kill him.

Now they move to take Kjartan stronghold. It is an impenetrable fortress. Uhtred has a brilliant idea but Ivarr feels threatened by him and wants to remove Uhtred from the king's grace. A while later, Uhtred is sold into slavery, betrayed by Guthred, because he needed his uncle's army and that was his price.

Uhtred suffers for a few years and almost dies as a slave. He is rescued by his half brother Ragnar, who was release by Alfred under the condition that they both return to him. Uhtred once again swears his allegiance to King Alfred, much to his chagrin.

They are sent north as ambassadors to king Guthred, offering Alfred's good will and advice. Alfred cannot directly interfere in the north, but he fully expects Uhtred and Ragnar, whose name is well know and has an army on his command, to defeat all of Wessex enemies.

Ivarr has joined forces with Kjartan and a group of their men is now sieging Guthred's forces. Uhtred rescues the traitor king. They devise another ingenious Black Ops plan to take on Kjartan unassailable fortress. They move unnoticed to the back of the fortress, under the cover of the night, scaling huge wall made of rocks deemed too steep to be climbed. Once inside, they blend in with the other Danes, are spotted as intruders, rescued by his half sister Thyra and her pack of dogs.

They open the gate and Ragnar's men finish the job. Now it is time to take on Ivarr. Their meeting is on open ground, and Uhtred manages to defeats him against all odds, by goading him into a man to man combat. Ivarr's men join Lothar's forces.

Executive Summary: Another excellent entry in this series, and probably my favorite one yet. This is likely in part due to finally being past the part of the series that was adapted for television.

Full Review
If nothing else, I think this book solidifies my opinion that reading the book before watching a movie or TV show based on it is always the way to go. Not that I needed any convincing on that front really.

It was nice to get past the point where I knew what was coming though. The first book had a lot of stuff that was cut from the show, but the second book had very little new. There were no surprises or twists. I kept comparing the book and the show rather than just enjoying the book I was reading.

So here we are into fresh story territory, and finally away from Alfred. Mostly. Uhtred continues to be a fascinating and compelling character. He's young and arrogant, but he has a tendency to back up his boasts. Things don't always go his way however.

I know very little of England's history, but Mr. Cornwell continues to combine fact and fiction in a way that has me wondering which parts are which.

The other thing this series has going for it are great supporting characters. From Ragnar to Beocca and many others along the way. It may be Uhtred's story, but those he encounters are what makes it great.

This series continues to be a lot of fun. It often approaches the feel of a fantasy book, while never quite crossing that line. I can't wait to jump into the next book.