The Pale Horseman

I don’t even know how to begin reviewing this book, so I’ll just say that it’s so good, so well written that I’m reading through the whole series. If you love stories of war, strong male warriors mixed with some humor then you’ll like these books by Cornwell. I watched the BBC TV series before reading these books and of course the two don’t line up my perfectly, but so what. They never do so don’t expect it. It was good to watch it first to give you a good picture in your mind of the words in the book. As mentioned in other reviews, the violence is graphic. War is a very unpleasant thing.
The author is very clear on what parts of the book are based on his researched historical documents and what parts he took artistic liberty with.

Meh, it’s fine. Well-written, as good as the first book. I think ultimately not for me… while I like historical fiction I prefer character-driven story (think Clavell) where history serves as a backdrop for the real stars – great characters. The characters here are fine, they’re just not that uniquely defined or interesting. And like Wouk’s Winds of War they have a remarkable and too-frequent habit of coincidentally showing up at key turning points in history and running into world leaders while wandering in the woods. As a device it’s interesting to essentially follow a guide who walks you through the events of the time, but the suspension of disbelief distracts me – but may not bother others. I greatly preferred Giles Kristian’s awesome six-part norseman series set in a similar time (but character oriented and not handcuffed by needing to connect the historical dots).

Uhtred Ragnarson is a divided man. He was a Saxon, born in 9th century Northumbria, at a time when England was regularly being raided by the viking Danes. He grew up in a time of warfare and learned to fight at his father’s side, which is where he was when his father was killed by Danes in battle. Uhtred was still a child but he fought so savagely against his father’s killers that he impressed Ragnar, their leader. Instead of killing him, Ragnar captured and eventually adopted him, and so the Saxon boy grew up as a Dane.

Uhtred was fully Dane in his culture. He admired the Danes and loved his adoptive family. He received his post-graduate course in fighting from them and so he learned both the Saxon way and the Danes’ way of battle. It was to serve him well in later years.

We meet Uhtred here as a brash and arrogant twenty-year-old, cocksure of his own strength and his power to overcome all enemies. Not a pleasant bloke. Not the guy with whom you’d want to sit down and have a cup of tea.

In spite of the fact that he loves the Danes and considers himself one of them, Uhtred is still a Saxon and still hopes to reclaim his family lands in Northumbria. In his pursuit of that goal, he aligns himself with Alfred of Wessex. He gives Alfred his oath. He will fight against the Danes.

By the ninth century, the Saxons, Uhtred’s people, had taken most of the territory of the future England from the Britons and the Welsh. They had, in fact, held most of the land for hundreds of years. It had been divided into seven different Saxon kingdoms, but by the 870s when the action of this novel takes place, all those kingdoms had fallen to the Danes one after the other until only Wessex and its king, Alfred, were left standing.

This Alfred is, of course, the one who will later be known to the English as “the Great” and in this book we catch glimpses of why he may have come to earn that name. Alfred is a sickly man, who suffers greatly from intestinal complaints. He is a Christian and he wants all of his kingdom to be Christian. His strongest character trait may be his stubbornness. He refuses to give up even when greatly outnumbered. He insists that God is on his side and so he cannot be defeated.

Uhtred has difficulty gaining and staying in Alfred’s favor because he is not a Christian and has no desire to become one. He follows the gods of the Danes, carrying an amulet of Thor’s hammer around his neck. Moreover, he has taken up with a pagan woman, a Briton, who some believe to be a witch. All this while he is still married to a Saxon woman with whom he has a son.

Cornwell spends a good bit of time in The Pale Horseman developing the relationships and the personalities of his characters, but he doesn’t stint on the blood and guts when it comes to the descriptions of battles and of the hardships that Alfred and his few followers have to endure while they are stuck for a time in a swamp. He gives vivid descriptions of shield wall warfare – much of which my eyes glided right over, frankly – and he gives us balanced perspectives from both the Saxon and the Danish viewpoints.

What he doesn’t give us is a feminine viewpoint, but then women had very little to do with Cornwell’s tale. It makes one wonder where all those hardy men came from.

The Pale Horseman is a rousing good adventure tale of masculine derring-do for those who enjoy the genre. Plus, it has the advantage of being based on actual events. It gives us a window into the time when England as we know it today was just becoming a possibility. It was mostly because of the man called Alfred and perhaps of warriors not unlike Uhtred Ragnarson.

Excellent!!!!

I’m totally addicted. What an exciting tale of the Vikings and their battles with the Saxons.

I love love love Uhtred of Bebbanburg. What a fierce warrior he is!

I wont go into great detail of this awesome book but it continues from the first book and I have to say King Alfred almost loses his kingdom. He finally grows some balls Id say.

Id also like to note how the Christian religion plays a major roll during this time period. It reminded me of how things were forced upon everyone and were killed if they didnt convert. Im so glad our world today isnt like that, however I think of how close it could be like that again if the Muslims try to force their religion on us by killing all the infidels – but thinking back to that time period, man were those brutal years for every person that lived in that region.

In this book the Saxons win back their land after a brutal battle. The battles are descriptively described and will have you hooked on every word. I really liked the shadow queen and was sad to see her killed. Poor Uhtred! Well his Saxon wife is still alive even though she has become practically a Nun.

I think Uhtreds battle of loyalty between the Vikings and the Saxons is very interesting. I know I think I would of told Alfred to go take a flying leap and stuck with the Vikings.

The writing is so vivid and is addicting. I could hardly put the book down. In a way, I wish the Vikings would of wiped England off the map just because I hated the way the monks and the way they forced Christianity on everyone.

Dont get me wrong, I believe in God, I just dont believe in all these different types of Christianitys. Those Monks literally made stuff up and or had some tale of a miracle of a heroic Saint to get their point across.

Whats funny about that is that the Vikings thought it humorous as did I when a lord stated the story of a saint depicted from a picture of an arrow piercing him and the lord protected him and he did not die. So the Vikings tested that theory and stated that if they fired arrows upon the Lord and it didnt kill him then theyd convert to Christianity. Well, that Lord died as they put 6 arrows through him. (I totally laughed out loud at the ignorance of that Lord) Now sorry but thats funny and made me think how stupid these people were and how their common sense was out the window gone.

Over all this is just an excellent read and I highly recommend it.

After reading the last kingdom, I could not wait to get stuck into this second instalment of Uhtred and Alfred. Although the time line in this book and what I remember of the tv show still do not line up in my head, which could be wrong, I enjoyed every moment, just like I did with the tv show. Seeing Uhtred grow as a person and find a closer Danish love was wonderful, even if it drew him further from the church.

Following on from book one, Uhtred clashed once again with the crown and seemed to almost come to a point of giving up on Wessex altogether, especially as Alfred once again made peace with guthram the unlucky, and was once again betrayed. Unlike previously, Wessex almost came to an end with the Danes taking a lot more land and sending the king into the swamps to pick his wounds. This is where the desperate king plans one final, desperate fight to take back his kingdom and his vision of a united England.

The character development felt well thought out and progressed at a believable speed, while staying true to themselves throughout.The mix of fact and fiction blends seamlessly together in a way not many could pull off. This only went to increase my immersion into the tale and always leave me wanting mire. Book 3 has already been purchased and is waiting to be started.

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