Book Review: The Pale Horseman

My Viking phase continues with this 2nd novel in the Saxon Series, The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell. The historical fiction picks up where it left off in the previous book of The Last Kingdom concerning Anglo-Saxon England. It's main character Uhtred of Beddanburg, who was born English yet raised by the Danes, continues to intermingle with both sides. While he has become engrained with the Danish Viking way he now favors his home land of England. He has become a lord and a councilman to King Alfred the Great, and would see it protected from the Danes. However Guthram, leader of the Great Heathen Army, intends to continue his assault on England by capturing the final kingdom of Wessex.  

Book Synopsis

Following the Saxon's victory over the Danish Heathen Army at Battle of Cynwit Hill in 875 AD, Uhtred returns to his land in Wessex. He is infuriated when he discovers that Lord Odda the Younger, has taken credit for the victory when it was actually Uhtred that had killed Ubba. For his outburst in Alfred's court, Uhtred is withdrawn from the king's presence and his favor. He returns to his wife, Mildrith and their son to look after his land. However he is in an agitated state and kills one of the local fieldworkers over a dispute of thievery. In an effort to escape this controversary and his general boredom he reunites with his war-friend Leofric to raid the Danes along the coasts of Cornwall.

They raid several Briton and Danish posts to acquire wealth and plunder. At one of these sites Uhtred meets and falls for the Briton queen Iseult, who is considered a witch of sorts. Uhtred briefly allies with the Danish warlord Svein to pillage a Saxon settlement. He then returns to his home with Iseult and much wealth he uses to buy off his crimes and debt. His wife Mildrith is quite jealous of Iseult's presence mostly due to her pagan ways. Uhtred spends some time building up his land and for a while appears to have found peace until he is summoned by King Alfred to Cippanhamm.

Uhtred half expects to be called into the king's service again, but is later surprised when he is being tried for his partnership with the Danish Svein. Odda the Younger, who sees Uhtred as a threat, accuses him of various more falsehoods which Uhtred denies. The king later agrees that the ordeal should be handled thru a trial by combat in which Uhtred must face Odda's champion Steapa to the death. The fight is however interrupted by an invasion of Guthram's army. The capital city is sent into array as it goes up into flames. Uhtred is able to escape with Leofric and Iseult and eventually make their way to the swamps of Athelney. There they are able to fend off a Danish attack led Guthram and protect several Saxons, including the King Alfred.

Uhtred once again gains favor with the king and swears his allegiance to protect him in the swamp lands. With his family in poor condition, Alfred considers to flee to Frankia however Uhtred urges him to stay, regroup, and fight. Thus the small band works together to build a fort and gather as many Saxon forces as they can. After several weeks they have amassed a decent force to confront Guthram, however Uhtred is more worried about Svein's force on the waters. He is able to take a small raiding party to burn Svein's boats which causing Svein to unite with Guthram. This allows for a decisive battle in which King Alfred can defeat the Vikings once and for all. 

The Battle of Ethandun is the climatic point of the book, in which a good portion has built up to. Led by Uhtred the Saxons are heavily outnumbered to Guthram and Svein's forces yet nonetheless meet them in battle. The Saxon army first confronts Svein's army on the ground, while Guthram's force holds back in the fortification. After much hesitation, Uhtred is able to rally the Saxons to defeat Svein, with Steapa delivering the fatal blow to the Danish leader. However Uhtred is heartbroken to discover his lover Iseult has been killed. He uses this rage to lead the final assault on Guthram's fort which is eventually able to overwhelm the Danes and send them fleeing. The Saxons have their decisive victory, and King Alfred has finally expelled the Vikings from Wessex.   

Historical Premise

The author Bernard Cornwell does a great job at making a fairly easy read in the backdrop of a historical content. I found myself zipping thru this one quite quickly and finishing the 400 page book in a week. There's really never a dull moment for Uhtred who always engaged in battle, court disputes, raiding parties, or some love affair. While he is a fictional character he is surrounded by historical characters and events most notably King Alfred the Great. It is in this book that Alfred finally defeats the Great Heathen Army in 878 AD, which brings him his title of "great".

The Battle of Ethandun (also referred to as the Battle of Eddington) was the decisive victory for King Alfred over the Danes. While the Danes had successfully conquered Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia they were unable to defeat Wessex. The book demonstrates that hope was dim for Wessex until this final stand at Ethandun. At this battle Alfred decided to make an all out final stand against the brunt of the Danish army. By achieving this victory Alfred declared Wessex it's own nation, while the other northern regions became Daneland. This was agreed upon in the Treaty of Wedmore where Guthram was to be baptized a Christian. King Alfred saw the conversion of Christianity as the top priority in his kingdom and believed he could subdue the Vikings this way. Little by little the Danish rulers abandoned their pagan beliefs and converted to Christianity.   

Book Review: The Last Kingdom

I was intending to read A Passage to India after finishing Sherlock Holmes, however unexpectedly found myself in yet another Viking phase. This is due to my recent inspiration from the film, The Northman starring Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, and Anna Taylor-Joy. The film is a story of vengeance set in Iceland during the Viking age. It is without the question the best Viking movie I have ever seen, with it's mountainous backdrop, old Norse music, and intense drama. It was everything I could have asked for in a Viking movie, loaded with the cultural stereotypes. I would put this right up there with some other popular Viking TV shows, including Vikings, Vikings Valhalla, and The Last Kingdom. 

Its been several years since I watched The Last Kingdom on Netflix, but I do remember enjoying it's historical setting. I remember it's main character Uhtred, the wild blonde woman by his side, and King Alfred of England. I did not know however that it was a popular book series of 13 novels written by Bernard Cornwell. The first book in this Saxon Series was The Last Kingdom published in 2004. It was a New York Times Best Seller and considered one of the best Viking historical fictions. I knew it had to have been a popular book if it was adapted into a television series. So since I believe there is no better way to emerge yourself into a historical period then thru a book, I decided to take this one on. 

Book Premise

The setting takes the reader to England 866 AD, at the start of the Danish Viking invasions. The young protagonist Uhtred is son to a lord of Northumbria, where they dwell at the castle of Bebbanburg. Uhtred loves this land by the coastline, however one day he witnesses it invaded by Danish Vikings. Their leader Ragnar the Fearless kills Uhtred's brother and later his father in at battle at York. With everything taken from him Uhtred charges at Ragnar, who comes to admire the boy's bravery. Ragnar decides to spare the young English boy and take him as their prisoner at first. Uhtred's cruel uncle Alfric takes the castle of Bebbanburg and chooses not to free Uthred from the Danish captivity.

Uhtred grows up with the Viking tribe, learns their ways, and befriends many of them. He comes to see Ragnar the Fearless as a father, and admires his sense of humor and courage in battle. As a young teenager Uhtred joins the Viking raids on Mercia and East Anglia, and he meets their leaders Ubba and Ivar the Boneless (the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok). He proves to be a valuable asset to the Vikings, for his knowledge of English. One night he is able to infiltrate the English war camp and spy on their King Alfred and his boyhood priest Beocca. The English later become aware that he is an ealdorman prisoner and are able to kidnap him from the Danish tribe (along with his friend Brida). However this is only for a brief period and the two are able to escape and return to Ragnar. 

Despite being English, Uhtred prefers the Danish over his own people and continues to aid them in their raids. After conquering Northumbria, Mercia, and East Anglia all that remains in England is the kingdom of Wessex. This is the most wealthy of the regions in England ruled by the clever King Alfred the Great. Uhtred later meets the mighty Viking war chiefs Halfdan (son of Ragnar Lodbrock) and Guthrum the Unlucky. Together they plan to split Wessex into two from the north and the sea. However one night Ragar's tribe is attacked by a rival Kjartan and his son Sven. The entire hall is burned and Ragnar and his family are killed that night in the fire. Uhtred is able to escape the raid and travels to Wessex to serve King Alfred.

King Alfred takes a quick liking to Uhtred's pride and stubbornness and offers him a post with the navy. Uhtred serves under the fierce captain Leofric and helps them fight off many Viking raids. King Alfred also makes Uhtred learn to read, so that one day he may be able to lead men and understand the king's written orders. Uhtred comes to enjoy his new found life as an Englishman once again, fighting to defend Wessex. Since Uhtred is a lord, Alfred decides to arrange a marriage with an orphan woman named Mildrith, who owes great debt to the church. In return for this Uhtred is granted the command of a fleet and helps defend a siege from Guthrum. In the peace discussions, King Alfred chooses to send Uhtred as a neutral hostage, since he is already close with the Vikings. 

As a hostage of Guthrum, Uhtred is reunited with his friend Brida and her new lover Ragnar the younger. Uhtred tells Ragnar the younger what happened to his father that night, and the two swear to one day take vengeance against Kjartan and Sven. However one night Guthrum decides to kill his hostages and luckily Uhtred is saved by Ragnar the younger. Uhtred escapes back to Wessex to return to his wife and newborn son, however finds they have gone missing. He discovers that she was taken by the Wessex lord Odda escaping a raid from Ubba Ragnarrson. Uhtred joins the English fortification and fights with them against' Ubba's vikings at the Battle of Cynwit (878 AD). He takes part in his first proper shield wall and confronts the mighty Ubba in open battle. Uhtred proves to be a great warrior by defeating Ubba and leading the English to victory. He is reunited with his wife and son.

Book Analysis

The past few books I have read were classics written some 100 years ago, so it was quite refreshing to read a fairly modern and much easier to read book. The author Bernard Cornwell does an incredible job at creating a fictional character and story set in a historical setting. Uhtred is the iconic warrior hero very skilled in battle, yet he is his own man fighting for both the English and the Danes. I think this independent character allows the author to take the reader into both the English and Danish settings. This is great historical insight and there's two topics here that I came most inspired by; King Alfred of Wessex and the Great Heathen Army of the Danes.

In my past writings concerning Vikings  I have touched before on the Great Heathen Army of 865-878 (Historical Study of Vikings). This was the most notable of the Viking conquests, which invaded most of England, except for Wessex. That is the premise of this book, and also the premise of the video game AC: Valhalla I should add. In this book the writer takes us thru the early invasions where the Danish cannot be stopped. That is until they come to Wessex, which is as the title suggests the Last Kingdom. It appears the first part of the book glorifies the Vikings while the 2nd part glorifies King Alfred. It's quite interesting how Uhtred switches sides various times for various reasons. But I believe at his true heart, is to side with his countrymen the English.

I made a deep study on the English Monarchy several years ago and began with Alfred the Great as the first king of the Anglo-Saxons (Anglo-Saxon Kings). However I still know very little of this king who quite interestingly is the only English monarch to have the title "Great". That is because he is the only one who was able to defend against the Viking conquest and essentially established the English kingdom. In 878 King Alfred made a treaty with the Danish, that they could occupy much of the northern lands, however Wessex was to remain an English kingdom. I intend to later have a more in-depth study of King Alfred, but I also intend to read several more books in this story. I don't think I will read all 13 of the novels, but I did buy the first 3 books and intend to finish them all. 

Book Review: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Since I can remember the name Sherlock Holmes has been the utmost association to anything pertaining to a detective, mystery, or investigation case. This iconic character was first created by the British author Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887 and appeared in many short stories. Sherlock is very unique character who lives on Baker Street in London. He has many character flaws (such as drug use), but has an extremely keen intelligence. He is best renown for his natural skills of human observation and picking up on the most miniscule of details. Sherlock is often accompanied by his best friend, Dr. John Watson who also narrates much of the stories. 

I came to better understand the character of Sherlock Holmes from the 2009 and 2011 films starring Robert Downey Jr as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson (Rachel McAdams plays Holmes' love interest Irene Adler and James Harris plays Holmes' arch nemesis Prof Moriarty). The two movies cram together much of the mini stories from Sherlock Holmes and I found the macabre style to be quite intriguing. It's my understanding that a third movie is currently in production. There is also a BBC TV series I enjoyed starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson. But aside from the media portrayals I had never truly embarked on the source material. 

About the Author

Some years ago I got quite interested in classical literature and found the works of Sherlock Holmes to be considered among the most famous works of literature. I therefore added this book to my read list many years ago and was interested in the writing and the life of Arthur Conan Doyle. He was a British writer and physician who lived from 1859-1930. Aside from his passion of reading and writing Arthur Doyle studied and practiced medicine through much of his career. He had many interests and contributions to legal matters, politics, sports, botany, freemasonry, and spiritualism. Much of these personal passions for him make up the polymath character of Sherlock Holmes. 

Doyle was most influenced by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, specifically the detective character of C. Auguste Dupin. Published in 1841, Poe's short story "The Murders in Rye" debuted this character which was considered the first ever detective story in literature. Poe released two more stories pertaining to this intelligent character as he rationalizes and solves various criminal mysteries. There was also the popular detective, Monsenior Lecoq written by the French author Emile Gaboriau during the 1860s which also influenced Doyle's creation of Holmes. In 1887 the character of Sherlock Holmes made his debut in the story "A Study in Scarlett" and became an instant success. Throughout his career Doyle wrote 56 short stories and 4 novels starring this iconic detective character. 

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This particular book review I am making pertains to the 1892 publication of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The book consists of 12 short-stories that are his earliest works of Sherlock Holmes, some of which are regarded as his favorites. The stories all have a similar structure in which Sherlock teams up with Watson to meet a unique character, listen to their case, and solve the mystery. The more I read these stories, the more I found myself trying to deduce the details of the person's case. What's especially interesting is that although Sherlock Holmes always solves the case, the criminal either escapes, dies, or is forgiven in the end. I'm going to give a brief summary and analysis of each of the books. 

• A Scandal in Bohemia
  
• At Sherlock's apartment on 212B Baker St (where most the stories begin) Sherlock and Watson are visited by the king of Bohemia (who is dressed incognito). The king pleads that Sherlock take his case to steal a photograph which could cause great scandal to his upcoming marriage with the princess of Scandanvia. This is a photograph of the king with the famed opera singer, Irene Adler (also a love interest of Holmes). Holmes accepts the case and in order to discover the location of the photograph he stages a fire at Adler's house with the assistance of Watson. Holmes reasons that in a moment of distress a person will go for their most coveted treasure and observes Adler do-so during the event. Holmes waits until later however to return to the hidden location only to realize that Adler has outwitted him. After the fire she quickly realized that Holmes had staged the fire, and decides to take the photo and leave the countryside. She leaves a message with a portrait for Holmes and the king, explaining that she has found love and there is no need to worry about the photograph. The king finds peace with this message, however Holmes is somewhat bemused that he was outwitted by someone. He requests to keep the photograph of Irene Adler (and from that point on she is the utmost love interest of his). 
• The Red-Headed League
• Sherlock and Watson are visited by a pawnshop owner who describes his unusual case to them. Since he has red-hair he is welcomed to an exclusive club known as the Red-Headed League, that could offer great privileges' to the select few. A request of the league was that he leave his pawnshop for several hours during the day, at a nearby office where he could perform various clerical duties (such as transcribing the Encyclopedia Britannica). After 8 weeks of performing these tasks at the office, one day he shows up and sees that the office has been disbanded without any explanation. Holmes then does some investigation around the perimeters and discovers a nearby bank. He is able to deduce that the league is ultimately a cover, by which these criminals are using the pawnshop to build an underground tunnel into the nearby bank. 
• A Case of Identity:
  
• A young country woman approaches Sherlock and Watson about a mysterious missing person case, that happens to be her lost lover. The woman explains ther relationship and how her lover did not show up to the church on their wedding day. Holmes is able to reason that this mysterious lover was actually the woman's step-father (who was intending to permanently damage her desire to marry). In conducting this cruel scheme, the step-father had hoped that she would never want to love another man again which would allow him to hold possession of her inheritance. Holmes confronts the step-father and accuses him of his wicked ways, however the man is able to escape having committed no crime. Holmes predicts that this man is wicked in heart and will eventually commit further crimes. He also decides not to tell the young daughter as he deems it unwise to snatch a delusion from a woman.
•    The Boscombe Valley Mystery
• Inspector Lestrade of the Scotland Yard police force requests Sherlock's assistance on a recent murder mystery. A young Australian man is convicted of murdering his father and Lestrade believes he is innocent. While the evidence is quite damming to the young man, Holmes is able to investigate the crime scene and realizes there was a third person at the scene. Later that evening Holmes is visited by the guilty culprit named John Turner, who shares his unusual reason for the murder. He states that back in his youth in Australia he committed crimes and came to London to start anew. However he was followed by one of his expatriates who blackmailed him into giving him his own land. The final straw came when this blackmailing man intended for his son to marry his daughter. Having heard the unusual circumstance, Holmes decides not to implicate John Turner, but he is able to help release the young man on the evidence of a third person at the crime scene. 
• The Five Orange Pips
  
• A young man visits Sherlock at Baker Street to describe a fearful letter he has received that has five orange seeds inside it and is labeled with the letters KKK. The man elaborates how his uncle and father died shortly after receiving the letter and now fears for his life. Holmes advices the young man to be very careful and is able to deduce that this letter came from the terrible American organization of the Ku Klux Klan. On his way home from Baker Street, the young man is killed, much to Holmes dismay. Holmes is however able to locate the recent murderers by studying the ship-logs and identifies the ship they traveled on from America. He thus mocks their death threat by sending the captain a letter with five orange pips and quite mysteriously the ship becomes lost at sea. 
• The Man with the Twisted Lip
• Watson is visited by a woman in distress who declares that her husband, Neville St. Clair has gone missing and was last seen at an opium den. Watson goes to the opium den to investigate and shockingly he uncovers Sherlock Holmes there in a state of stupor. Holmes informs Watson that he is also trying to investigate the case and partaking in the drug to see things from the criminal's perspective. At first Holmes believes Neville St. Clair to have been murdered having found his coat in the River Thames. However after the wife informs him that she recently received a letter from him, he is able to deduce that Neville has actually been living a double life as a beggar. It is thru his acting and face cosmetics that he is able to come off as a beggar and make a fortune. 
• The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
• 
  Shortly after Christmas, Watson arrives to Baker Street to find Sherlock in a perplexing state analyzing a hat. Sherlock has taken on a recent case of a missing carbuncle (gemstone) which is found in the mouth of a goose. While Watson observes the hat to be quite rudimentary, Sherlock picks apart many details of it's owner such as his age, social status, and intellect. He is able to discover the owner of the goose, however realizes that this person is innocent and did not steal the gemstone. Sherlock then goes on a hunt across town to track the dealings of this goose that had a gemstone in it. He eventually comes to a pub where he is able to trick the bartender by revealing where he bought the geese with a bet. Holmes then arrives to the source of the geese in question at a garden where he observes another man searching for geese. Knowing that Holmes is on to him the guilty culprit later confesses his guilt to Holmes, that he stole the gemstone, placed it inside a goose, then misplaced the goose. Seeing the man's regret Holmes decides to drop the case specially since it is Christmas season.
• The Adventure of the Speckled Band
  
• Holmes and Watson are visited by a hysterical young bride-to-be who is afraid that her step-father is trying to kill her. She explains the story in which she and her sister were promised an inheritance of the estate from the mother, upon their marriage. However her sister mysteriously died two years ago shortly before the wedding and this woman now fears the same as she approaches her wedding. After hearing and accepting the case, the step-father later visits Sherlock and warns him to stay away from his estate. Nonetheless Sherlock and Watson decide to investigate the bedroom at night. They discover a ventilator and a rope attached to it, which they later find is for a snake attack (the same method that killed the woman's sister). Sherlock is able to frighten the snake and turn it back upon it's master, the step-father who fatally bites him. 
• 
  The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
  
• Dr. Watson is visited by a distressed patient who has recently lost his thumb and intends to make a report to the police. After treating him Watson takes the patient to his friend Sherlock Holmes to hear his case. The man is an engineer who was hired to inspect a hydraulic press in a confidential location. He then realizes that the press is for counterfeiting coins and he confronts the criminals, led by a wicked German. The engineer is nearly crushed by the compressor but is able to escape, that is after the German chops his thumb off. He awakes in a field far away from the site of the compressor and does not know the location to report. Having heard the case Sherlock informs the police and he is able to pinpoint the location of this hydraulic press. However when they arrive to the scene, the building has caught on fire and the criminals have fled. It is one of the rare cases in which Holmes does not catch the criminals. 
• The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
• Holmes is visited by a nobleman who explains that his bride has gone missing shortly after their wedding. He details the wedding ceremony how his bride was acting strange and seen talking with her maids and another man. The police inspector Lestrade later informs Holmes and the nobleman, that the bride's ring and wedding dress were found in the Serpentine Lake. Holmes is quickly able to reason that the woman has been reunited with her former husband from America who she thought was dead. Shortly after solving the case the American couple decides to explain the situation to the nobleman.
• The Adventure of Beryl Coronet
• A distressed banker arrives to Baker St in a state of mania, slamming his head against the wall. He explains to Holmes and Watson how someone had loaned him a royal crown, and feeling a sense of duty, he took the crown to his home to look after. However at his house, the crown was mysteriously stolen, recovered, yet damaged (and three gemstones have gone missing). The banker caught his son at the scene of the crime, who had recently undergone poor financial mishaps. The son does not declare his guilt or his innocence and the police take him away. However Holmes believes the son is innocent and investigates the scene of the crime. He locates footprints in the snow and is able to deduce that it was not the faulty son, yet rather the sweet daughter who schemed with another man. It was the son who was trying to confront the criminal, and his father caught him mending the trophy not stealing it. The father realizes that his son was doing an honorable thing by trying to confront the thief yet also to protect his sister. 
• 
  The Adventure of the Copper Beaches
  
• Holmes is visited by a young lady who seeks his counsel on whether she should accept a governess post or not. She explains the unusual conditions of her employers, wanting her to wear a certain dress and cut her hair. However the wage is too high for her to turn down and despite Holmes' misgivings she agrees to accept the post. A couple weeks later Holmes receives a letter from the girl wanting to meet and share more on the situation. The girl further elaborates on this mysterious household, where she is asked to often stand by a window in a dress and laugh. She also notices a locked room, in which the owner of the house gets very irritated when he discovers her snooping. While the owners are gone, Sherlock and Watson investigate the house and solve the mystery. They realize that the young woman was hired to imitate their daughter and to appear happy so as to fend off a broken love interest. Furthermore the real daughter has been kept prisoner by the parents for wanting to run-off with this young man and collect an inheritance. Sherlock and Watson confront the father who sets his dog on them but in turn the dog attacks the father instead. The daughter is able to escape and marries her lover and collects her inheritance. The governess later takes on a job as a school principal.