Thwacks Lyrical

I've just finished 'Sword Song' by top, pop historical fiction writer Bernard Cornwell.  'Sword Song' is the fourth of Mr Cornwell's Saxon Stories, all set during the reign of King Alfred the Great and narrated by Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

'Sword Song' by
Bernard Cornwell
(HarperCollins, 2007)

Uhtred has been living in relative peace, working to rebuild defences at Coccham and protecting the Temes river, all part of King Alfred's plan to fortify Wessex against Danish attack.  He is settled with his wife Gisela and young family, but remains embittered by his oath to the king.   When King Alfred weds his daughter Aethelflaed to Uhtred's cousin Aethelred, he gives them overlordship of Mercia and the city of Lundune.  Unfortunately, Lundune is occupied by two unfriendly new arrivals, Sigefrid and Erik Thurgilhson, brothers who look towards the defiant young kingdom of Wessex with hungry eyes.  Ordered to reclaim the city for his hated cousin and to secure the frontier once more, Uhtred the feared warlord again finds himself dancing to Alfred's tune, an instrument of Wessex's will.

The last book in this series, 'The Lords of the North', seemed to go a bit odd at the end (there was a character communicating with dogs for goodness sake), but Mr Cornwell is definitely back on form with 'Sword Song'.  It's classic Cornwell, full of bloodthirsty battles, duplicitous warlords and impossible challenges.

I absolutely love Bernard Cornwell books (except, weirdly, his best known work, the Sharpe novels. Go figure!), but they aren't music to everyone's ears.  They are incredibly violent, the characters are usually uncomplex and having to translate old place names into their modern day equivalents is enough to make your head spin.  But I find I get completely lost in them.  I love the way England in the Dark Ages is recreated and places that I know now are given echos of the past.  I love imagining the heat and fervour of shieldwall battles and fearing for the lives of the characters at war.  And I love the character-driven politics of it all, the network of oaths and allegiances, the blood feuds and promises of vengeance, the friendships and family ties.  His books are tales of heroes and villains and it's hard not to get a buzz from it.

'Sword Song' and its siblings are certainly not to everyone's taste, but if you're a fan of Cornwell or love a good adventure, it may be worth you tuning into the first in this series, 'The Last Kingdom' or 'The Winter King', the first of the equally superlative Warlord Trilogy based on the legend of a post-Roman King Arthur.

Let's hope the next in this series is also a hit!