War of the Wolf

What an unsatisfactory read. I love this series but I almost didn’t finish this book. It was completely predictable and fairly boring. I had to constantly stop myself from just flipping through the pages. I connected very little with the Uhtred of this book; he was idiotic and foolish (I knew 100 pages before he did what was really going on), acted old, confused and inept, and I quickly grew tired of it. I “get” aging, but reading about someone whining about it isn’t all that interesting.

Favorite characters who made an appearance added nothing noteworthy to the story. Their interactions with each other fell flat. The villain was not very interesting and was just a rehash of past villains. In fact, just about all of the “new” characters were a rehash of past characters. Even Uhtred’s reaction to the major event of the book was almost exactly like his reaction to a similar past event in his life. In other words, more rehash. As for the major event itself, I found it completely unnecessary unless Cornwell just wants to give Uhtred more reasons to be a miserable old man.

Lastly, Cornwell left readers hanging in book 10 when Uhtred, after more than 50 years of dreaming about it, finally took back Bebbanburg. We received no insight into how that monumental event impacted Uhtred and his life. I thought leaving readers hanging was a teaser and surely Cornwell would at least mention it in the next book. Nope, not a word. Readers are left with that void.

I am so very disappointed in this book. Fans of this series and of the character called Uhtred deserved far better than this limp effort.

I’ve enjoyed the Uhtred series and was eagerly awaiting this new volume. it was enjoyable but was not as engrossing as previous ones. I think Uhtred, now in his sixties, is running out of steam or perhaps Cornwell is. First of all, the new villainous Norseman is much like previous villainous Norsemen, the Christian priests are still lying manipulators and the Saxons are still underhanded. Not much new there. Secondly, some of the fascinating characters are no longer around. Aethelflaeda has died, Edward is dying, and Skiorra…..better left unsaid. Aethelstan is coming into his own and we know he will be the new king as soon as Edward shakes off his mortal coil but he is becoming something of a sanctimonious prig. Third, the plots are too similar…one grasping invader after another in the North and political maneuvering in the South. Of course, Cornell is only being true to history. Now, for the positives. The action is fast paced and Uhtred is still a fascinating character, cynical, determined but sadder and older. Descriptions are vivid although I tend to skim over the bloody battles. It was a violent age and Cornwell is true in depicting this reality.
The focus this time is on Northumbria and the struggle that King Sigtryggr, Uhtreds son-in-law, has in maintaining his rule when he is faced with the Saxons to the South, the Scots to the North, and Norsemen (recently kicked out of Ireland) in the West. Each group wants a share of Northumbria, although the Saxons really are aiming to make it part of Englalond. Uhtred, instead of enjoying his old age, comes to Sigtryggrs aid, first advising him to agree to an absolutely demeaning treaty with Wessex, so that for the moment they can attack the invading Norsemen led by Skoll. Of course, the final outcome is assumed but the struggle with Wessex will u doubtedly be the focus of the next volume. The Uhtred saga is still spellbinding and gives the reader an understanding of a long ago era and the bloody birthpangs of the nation of England.

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Uhtred, now in his sixties, finds he is still not secure and satisfied as treachery and ambitions continue to surround him. The Scots in Alba are licking their wounds, but Norsemen, driven out of Ireland, have established forts defending lands situated in western Northumbria. Son-in-law Sigtryggr and daughter Stiorra rule Northumbrias southeastern region from strongholds in Eoferwic (York), Dunholm (Durham) and Ribelcastre (Lancashires Ribchester), but their forces are thinly spread. And the Saxons are pressing northward from Mercia, where the succession is in doubt as Alfreds son Edward is growing older and ill. So Uhtred hardly knows where to turn next to defend Stiorra and Sigtryggr, gather forces against the growing power and ambition of Norseman King Skoll, or defeat the manipulative ambitions of Ealdorman AEthelhelm to place his weak kinsman on the Saxon throne, while Uhtreds sworn oath to his deceased friend AEthelflaed to always protect her son AEthelstan ties him to support someone he knows will, if crowned, someday invade Northumbria and eventually Bebbanburg. This book appears to be located in the overarching plot of the Saxon Tales as transition from Flame Bearer to the next installment of this fascinating warriors life story. Write on! friend Cornwell.

Whats daring about War of the Wolf is author Bernard Cornwells decision to push his Saxon Tales beyond what seemed to be a satisfying resolutionthe return of Uhtred in Book 10 to Bebbanburg to reclaim his family fortress. Initially at least, Book 11 feels like an appendage to a project already finished.

But quickly enough Cromwell provides Lord Uhtred with a powerful motive for action: revenge against a potent war lord and his intimidating sorcerer. Political and religious conflicts within War of the Wolf remain as complex as ever, though the players seem less imposing than when Uhtred wrangled with, for example, King Alfred in earlier books.

What has not diminished is Cornwells ability to describe the warfare of the period powerfully, even poetically. It gives away nothing to say that War of the Wolf ends with a monumental struggle because most of the books in this series do. The final two chapters are just about impossible to put down.

So this extension of the Saxon Tales is both plausible and engaging. Most readers will be happy to have Uhtred of Bebbanburg around a little longer.

There are two, quite separate, elements that I’d like to cover within this review; this book and the review process itself.

First this book. I absolutely love reading Bernard Cornwell and, having written everything of his that I can get my hands on, it’s a huge body of work with just a very few ‘mis-fires’. I always found it amusing that, having made Richard Sharpe as a black haired cockney, Cornwell changed the character to a blond man from Yorkshire as the TV series starring Sean Bean gained in popularity. He’s done it again here as this series of novels started out as the ‘Warlord Chronicles’ and morphed into the ‘Last Kingdom series’ once the TV series got underway. Whatever it’s called, I’ve loved every one of these and Uhtred has been one of favourite Cornwell characters from the outset.

This book is just as good as all of the others and, indeed, therein lies the rub. There are only so many ways that a story can be told that involves Uhtred going to war against overwhelming odds and still winning. This is the eleventh in this series and the plot line is getting a bit worn thin now. Also, Uhtred is getting much older and imagining him defeating much younger and stronger men in combat gets a bit more of a stretch of credulity. I do understand that Mr Cornwell takes huge pains to use Uhtred to express the real life historical events of the period, so each book takes the history of England forward in compelling fashion but, perhaps, a new ‘hero’ is now due. Even the viper-fast Finan is getting on a bit now.

These books, possibly, hold more interest for me as I live close to ‘Bebbanburgh’ and recognise most of the places involved in the story. And, of course, no one writes more compelling history than Mr C: he could write a tale of a trip to the dentist and his style would still keep me enthralled.

As well as having one shocking death in this book, a number of slightly lesser characters are also cleared out too. As always, the story ends by setting up the next book and, as an Uhtred addict, I’ll be first in line to buy it.

Now to my second observation; a Kindle phenomenon that I haven’t come across before. Bernard Cornwell is, arguably (but no argument in my opinion) the best historical fiction author around today. Every new book of his is trumpeted for many months in advance, with urgings to pre-order. But not this time. I didn’t know that this book was published until it appeared, in hardback form, on the book shelves. And then there were the reviews. At first glance, the early reviews were terrible; purporting to show an overall assessment of some two stars at best. For a Bernard Cornwell novel!

But reading the reviews showed another picture. There seems to have been a campaign from a group to shame Amazon for the exorbitantly high price of this e-book by giving it a poor review rating. Whether you think that Amazon are utter bandits for charging so much for a product that is so cheap to make, or whether you understand that Amazon is a commercial company and will charge whatever the market will bear, is immaterial; my objection is that the reviewers should be reviewing the book, not Amazon. To do otherwise unfairly impacts upon the author. I haven’t seen this sort of thing before and I hope that it doesn’t set a trend.

For all of its minor flaws, this is an excellent book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m sure that you will too.

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