The final novel in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories series (adapted by Netflix as The Last Kingdom), gets a ringing endorsement from George R.R. Martin.
It’s no surprise that George R.R. Martin, who writes the famously voluminous A Song of Ice and Fire books, likes to take in a few books himself now and then. Recently, he devoured the final novel in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories series, War Lord.
Netflix is in the midst of adapting The Saxon Stories as The Last Kingdom, which was recently picked up for a fifth season. War Lord won’t be available in the United States until November 24, but Martin’s ringing endorsement makes us all the more excited for the final adventure of Uhtred, son of Uhtred.
"Bernard Cornwell is one of the writers who never fails to grab me by the throat. I have loved his Sharpe books, several of his stand-alones, his Thomas of Hookton series, his Arthurian triad… but my favorite is his long-running Saxon series, the tales of Uhtred son of Uhtred, some of which have been brought to television in the excellent series THE LAST KINGDOM. The latest installment in Uhtred’s saga is WAR LORD, which arrived here just a few days ago. As always with Cornwell, it went right to the top of the stack, and I gulped it right down. Excellent, as always."
Martin is spot on with his assessment. Cornwell’s novels are always easy to read, but don’t sacrifice any richness or complexity.
“No one writes better historical fiction than Cornwell,” Martin continued, “and the Saxon series is especially cool in that it brings to life a part of British history that I knew almost nothing about. (Other eras, while fascinating, have been done to death, in good books and bad ones). The battle scenes are terrific, as ever. Cornwell brings battles to life like no one else, whether he is writing about the shield walls of the Dark Ages or the musketry of the Napoleonic Era.”
Again, Martin is 100% correct. Cornwell’s depiction of medieval shield walls is downright terrifying, like the literary equivalent of the Battle of the Bastards on Game of Thrones. At 13 volumes, The Saxon Stories might seem daunting, but I can assure you that they read at a lightning pace. You could consume three or four of them for every entry in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Martin did have one bone to pick, though it turns out to be more of a compliment: “There was only one thing I did not like about WAR LORD. It reads as if it is the last Uhtred. We have been following him since childhood, but he is very old now, and on his third king, and the epilogue definitely gives the impression that his tale is at an end.”
War Lord is indeed the final entry in Cornwell’s series, although Martin envisions a world where it keeps going. “aybe Cornwell will continue with tales of Uhtred son of Uhtred son of Uhtred, who knows? Whatever he writes next, I am sure it will be well worth reading.”
War Lord is on book shelves in the U.S. tomorrow!
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