The battles were epic especially the last one. It was touch and go there for a minute and had me on the edge of my seat wishing I could grab a sword and dive in. Ieremias was a hoot , such a weird and quirky character. My heart also broke at one point … but I’ll just leave it at that. As a child, Cornwell loved the novels of C.S. Forester, chronicling the adventures of fictional British naval officer Horatio Hornblower during the Napoleonic Wars, and was surprised to find there were no such novels following Lord Wellington's campaign on land. Motivated by the need to support himself in the U.S. through writing, Cornwell decided to write such a series. He named his chief protagonist Richard Sharpe, a rifleman involved in most major battles of the Peninsular War.

When a new Viking invader decides to set up his own kingdom in the lawless Western Northumbria, fate pulls Uhtred down a difficult new path of sorrow, pain, and renewed entanglements with Wessex. Let me share with you at least some major points to explain my reasons for loving this series so much: PDF / EPUB File Name: War_of_the_Wolf_-_Bernard_Cornwell.pdf, War_of_the_Wolf_-_Bernard_Cornwell.epub War and fight scenes are chillingly realistic. I really felt like I was there with Uhtred, fighting every new enemy or being part of countless shield wars. Cornwell was born in London in 1944. His father was a Canadian airman, and his mother, who was English, a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted and brought up in Essex by the Wiggins family, who were members of the Peculiar People, a strict Protestant sect who banned frivolity of all kinds and even medicine. After he left them, he changed his name to his birth mother's maiden name, Cornwell.

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Uhtred learns that Edward has called a Witan at Tamweorthin, summoning Sigtryggr, but not him. He goes anyway. He sees Æthelhelm there too. Eadgifu, Edward's wife, tries subtly enlisting his support against their mutual enemy, Æthelhelm; later Æthelhelm tries to have him killed, but fails. Sigtryggr agrees to a treaty with Edward so that he can turn his full attention to avenging his wife. Then, Æthelstan swears an oath to never fight against Uhtred or invade Northumbria (if he becomes king of Wessex) while Uhtred lives; in exchange, he gets Uhtred to swear to try to kill Æthelhelm. Yet he still feels bound by an oath he took to protect Æthelstan, his friend, protege and Edward's oldest son. So when there is a Mercian revolt against Edward, he rides with Finan and about 90 veteran warriors to relieve the Siege of Ceaster. When he gets there, he realises he has been lied to; the besieged, led by Æthelstan, were in no real danger, and the enemy are soon defeated. War of the Wolf is the eleventh historical novel in The Saxon Stories series by Bernard Cornwell. It was first published in October 2018. [1] [2]

Uhtred is in his 60s for this book. He's more cautious, superstitious, he's less impulsive, less confident, anger doesn't control him the way it used to. I found myself missing some of his other qualities as a younger man, but his wit is still fully intact and there were several parts of this book that made me laugh out loud. I had put off reading this book, scared the Saxon Stories were finally going to be over, but with another book scheduled for release it felt like it was finally time to put my fears aside.Constant philosophical battle between paganism and Christianity that depicts given period precisely. That got no reaction except from Mus, who laughed when I told her. “Oh, I couldn’t marry Lord Osferth,” she said, “it would be like marrying a priest!”

After publishing eight books in his ongoing Sharpe series, Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in adapting them for television. The producers asked him to write a prequel to give them a starting point to the series. They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe’s Rifles, published in 1987, and a series of Sharpe television films staring Sean Bean. He and Sigtryggr lead nearly 500 warriors there, but their assault fails, and both Uhtred and Sigtryggr are wounded. Their situation is dire, as they are outnumbered, and retreating would be perilous. Then Snorri comes outside the fortress and starts cursing them. The half-mad, self-styled bishop Ieremias engages in a war of cursing and scores a victory of sorts, when Snorri's dog deserts him for the bishop. This enrages some of Sköll's wolf-warriors, half-crazed from applying an ointment of henbane. They charge out as a disorganised rabble, but are defeated by a disciplined shield wall. Then, something unexpected happens. Berg becomes separated from the rest of Uhtred's men during the fighting. He finds his two older brothers in Sköll's fortress and persuades them to switch sides. With their help, Uhtred and Sigtryggr's warriors force their way inside, and Sköll's men either die or surrender. Sköll himself pretends to surrender, then tries to kill Sigtryggr, but Uhtred saves his son-in-law. Uhtred disables Sköll in single combat, then invites Sigtyrggr to avenge his wife, but not before he disarms Sköll, thus ensuring that Sköll will not go to Valhalla.

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Uhtred learns that Edward has called a Witan at Tamweorthin, summoning Sigtryggr, but not him. He goes anyway. Eadgifu, Edward's wife, tries subtly enlisting his support against their mutual enemy, Æthelhelm, who is there. Æthelhelm tries to have him killed, but fails. Sigtryggr agrees to a treaty with Edward so that he can turn his full attention to avenging his wife. Then Æthelstan swears an oath to never fight against Uhtred or invade Northumbria (if he becomes king of Wessex) while Uhtred lives; in exchange, he gets Uhtred to swear to try to kill Æthelhelm. Eleven books into the trials and tribulations of Uhtred of Bebbanburg and its still as fresh and exciting as book one. It has been no easy road to for Uhtred to achieve his life’s ambition and I have fought by his side from day one. When tragedy strikes after Uhtred is lured away from Bebbanburg with a false summons, the stage is set for an epic journey of revenge. Strong narrative, vigourous action and striking characterisation, Cornwell remains king of the territory he has staked out as his own' SUNDAY TIMES