Book Review: The Lords of the North

I just finished the 3rd book in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Series, The Lords of the North. Published in 2006 the book continues with the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his adventures across Anglo-Saxon England. Following the Saxon victory at the Battle of Edington, Uhtred has traveled north to reclaim his land. However as the theme suggests, "fate is everything", and he is sent on a very unexpected journey. I zipped thru this book fairly quickly and can say that it was enjoyable, however the historical content was not quite as intriguing as the previous two. 

The Premise

Following the Battle of Edington (878 AD) Alfred and Guthrum have agreed to peace. Uhtred is now free of his service to King Alfred and decides to travel to Northumbria with his lover the former nun, Hild. Uhtred has several matters to resolve in the northern lands including a bloodfeud with Kjartan the Cruel and his one-eyed son Sven. As a child Kjartan killed his adopted Danish father Ragnar and kidnapped their daughter Thyra. Aside from this quest, Uhtred seeks to reclaim the land of Bebbanburg that was stolen by his uncle Aelfric. 

He first arrives to the city of Eoferwic (modern day York) where he discovers a city in total disarray. Divided by Danes and Saxons there is no proper leader yet constant threats of Danish warlords. Uhtred is hired by a wealthy family to escort them thru dangerous lands at which point they meet up with Sven the One-Eyed. Uhtred hides his face and claims to be a dead soul from Niflhelm out to hunt him and his father. Uhtred allows Sven to flee yet frees some of his prisoners which include some monks and a lord name Guthred who claims to be king. Uhtred joins their band as they return to Eoferwic with the holy corpse of Saint Cuthbert. Guthred converts to Christianity and is declared king of Northumbria.

However in order to defend this claim, Guthred knows he will have to fend off the Danish warlords which include Kjartan and Ivarr Ivarrson (son of Ivar the Boneless). Uhtred falls for Guthred's sister Gisela and decides to stay with the group and command their army. They are able to fend off an assassination plot by Kjartan and send the severed heads back to him as a warning. However in a sudden surprise Uhtred is captured and discovers that Guthred has made an alliance with Aelfric with the only condition being that Uhtred be sold to slavery. 

Uhtred is sent to a trading ship where he works as a rower for the cruel merchant Sverri. For two years he hangs on to hope, and befriends an Irish slave named Finan. One day they are rescued by a red ship, who they discover to be Ragnar and Steapa. Ragnar informs Uhtred that King Alfred has sent them to find and free him. Uhtred is beyond pleased to be free and at first seeks vengeance against Guthred but then reconsiders it to have been a smart trade-off. Uhtred is briefly reunited with King Alfred, who once again asks of his service. They are to escort Father Beocca to Northumbria to establish an alliance with Guthred. Alfred also decides to free their Danish hostages Ragnar and Brida to join their journey.

It is not long until Uhtred and Ragnar highjack the mission and gather Ragnar's army. Both Uhtred and Ragnar are hungry for vengeance against Kjartan and decide to ally with Guthred to attack Kjartan's stronghold. Upon returning to Eoferwic, Uhtred is most happy to see Gisela again yet infuriated when he discovers she is to be married to his uncle Aelfric. He declares that this marriage has yet to be consumated and against the will of the priests, takes Gisela for himself. Guthred is speechless, overcome with guilt for having sold his friend to slavery. Uthred forgives him and explains to him that they are to wage war against both Kjartan and Ivar.

There first attack is on Kjartan's fort of Dunholm where they strike at night. Uhtred leads a band of 12 to the back side of the fort at night to break into the settlement and open the front gate. The plan goes terribly wrong however when they are discovered and Kjartan sets his hounds on them. At this point Thyra, the imprisoned sister of Ragnar, is able to siren the dogs into submission. Uhtred is then able to open the gate where Ragnar arrives with his men to face Kjartan's men. With the chaos of the hounds, the battle goes to Uhtred's favor. Thyra takes vengeance by killing Sven, while Kjartan takes his vengeance by killing Kjartan. 

Having secured this victory the army of Guthred does not rest for long, for they know they have an even bigger task to face Ivar. While they are heavily outnumbered Uhtred convinces Guthred that he can lure their leader Ivar to a one-on-one faceoff. At the war council Uhtred is able to irritate Ivar enough into open battle at which Uhtred easily defeats him. With their leader dead the Danish army decides not to attack and Guthred strengthens his power over Northumbria. However Uhtred's work is still not finished and he still seeks to reclaim Bebbanburg.

Book Review

While the first two books dealt more with the historical events of King Alfred and the Heathen Army, this one moves away to more fictional accounts. However the story is still quite intriguing now that we now all the characters. Uhtred has major unfinished business in Northumbria against Kjartan and his uncle Aelfric and this made for an exciting premise. However the story took a bit of a turn when he was recruited by a nobody, named Guthred. I found this character to be very dim without much historical content. What was interesting was the holy corpse of Saint Cuthbert, in which was used by Guthred's priests as a relic to strengthen their cause. 

I found the twist of Uhtred being sold into slavery as a refreshing change-up from Uthred's battles and womanizing. Here he was put into an entirely different situation and had to overcome dire hope thru it all. At this point I was back on Uhtred's side and hoped to see him take vengeance on all the lords of Northumbria, including Guthred now. To think that at one point Uhtred had four proper enemies in this book including Kjartan, Ivar, Aelfric, and Guthred made for some real open possibilities. I thought it was great when he was reunited with Ragnar and Steapa for yet another warrior clash against Kjartan.

I felt like the final two battles were somewhat rushed and the author has overused the shadow-walking tactics. It was refreshing for a change to see that things did not go as Uhtred had planned when he was surprised by the hounds. I especially thought the following battle against Ivar was the most unrealistic and disappointing part yet of this book. To think that a leader of far superior numbers would throw himself into battle like that is just far-fetched and lazy writing. That being said I think Bernard Cornwell has still captured the setting of Ango-Saxon better than could be imagined. He clearly knows his history and has created some very intriguing characters. I will now take a break from the Saxon Series, and wrap up my Viking phase. Maybe some day I will continue reading books 4 thru 13 in which Uhtred finally captures Bebbanburg.