Product Description

Continuing the outstanding success of "The Last Kingdom", "The Pale Horseman" is the second installment of Bernard Cornwell's fantastic series, following the fate of Alfred the Great, and the forging of Britain. It is the lowest time for the Saxons. Defeated comprehensively by the Vikings who now occupy most of England, Alfred and his very small group of surviving followers retreat to the trackless marshlands of Somerset. There, forced to move restlessly to escape betrayal or detection, using the marsh mists for cover, they travel by small boats from one island refuge to another, hoping that they can regroup and find some more strength and support. Only Uhtred remains resolute. Determined to discover the enemy's strategies, he draws once again on his Viking upbringing, and attempts to enter the Viking camps. His plan is to become accepted by their leaders, and to sit in their councils and uncover their plans. But once there, the attractions of his many friends among the Vikings coupled with his disillusion with the Saxons' leadership and anger at Alfred's criticism of his own conduct, draws him back again to his allegiance to the Vikings. "The Pale Horseman", an even more powerful and dramatic book than "The Last Kingdom", brings both Uhtred and the Saxons' dilemmas vividly to life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1038 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Barry Forshaw
The Pale Horseman is the second book in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest sequence, and this highly experienced author will be well aware of the pitfalls awaiting the creator of any second book in a series -- particularly when its predecessor, The Last Kingdom, was so enthusiastically received. The fact that Cornwell's Sharpe books are so beloved (for their immense colour and vivid recreation of a very lively period of history) was not a guarantee that this latest venture for the author would succeed. But succeed it did, and The Last Kingdom conjured an era of Vikings and massacres, with a brilliantly drawn (and complex) King Alfred at the centre of the narrative. So -- does Cornwell bring off this second book with equal panache?

No need for suspense -- The Pale Horseman is just as exhilarating a recreation of an age of heroes as its predecessor, delivered with the brio that is the author's trademark. Uhtred was born in Northumbria but rais! ed as a Viking. Married to a Saxon, he has achieved fame as a doughty warrior. But the more reflective Alfred has problems with the aggressive, self-serving manner of his young friend. An alliance, though, is necessary: these two are the sole remnants of those who commanded Wessex, after ill-judged bargains have destroyed the union. The Vikings now reign over most of England, and Alfred and his company are obliged to hide in the swampy netherland of Athelney, trying to regain the support they once enjoyed. Uhtred cannot shake off his Viking training, but finds himself acquiring an admiration for Alfred, who he comes to sense is a great man. As the narrative progresses, the conflict between the two men must be resolved before bloody battles will change the fate of England.

One expects the heroic endeavours of Bernard Cornwell's novels to be dispatched with panache, but there is another element which his admirers rely on: the conflict between his strongly drawn characters,! exemplified here by the two proud leaders. It'll take a while! before this new sequence achieves the immense popularity of the Sharpe novels, but the auguries are good. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for The Pale Horseman: 'Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation.' Daily Mail 'Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched.' Observer 'It is stirring stuff, and few writers are better qualified than Cornwell to do justice to the excitement of the times...Ninth-century Britain and a master of storytelling -- it is a marriage made in heaven.' Sunday Telegraph 'Cornwell's mastery of historical sources and his aptitude for battle scenes is well established...the language, and particularly the dialogue, is raw and unarchaic, rich in insults and Anglo-Saxon expletives.' Times Literary Supplement More praise for 'The Pale Horseman': '!as an unsentimental, psychologically astute portrait of fighting men, it has all his old verve and polish.' The Sunday Telegraph 'This is sweeping, atmospheric, old-fashioned story telling' The Times 'It is a compelling yarn, cleverly suffused with period detail, which evokes the brutality and earthiness of medieval life, and leaves you hungry for more.' Mail on Sunday

About the Author
Bernard Cornwell worked for BBC Television for seven years, mostly as a producer on the Nationwide programme, before taking charge of the Current Affairs department in Northern Ireland. In 1978 he became editor of Thames Television's Thames at Six. Married to an American, he now lives in the United States.

Customer Reviews

Cornwell's best book in years
This is one of Mr Cornwell's best books of recent years. Quite simply, it is an excellent story, very well told. It continues the tale of Uhtred from last year's "The Last Kingdom" (so new readers should start there), who once again finds himself torn between fighting for the Vikings, who he feels are his natural brothers, and the Saxons, who are his blood brothers. This inner conflict provides the impetus behind non-stop action as Uhtred's adventures range from raiding in Cornwall to fighting the Danes for King Alfred. Uhtred's allegiance swerves more than once during the novel, so ensuring that the reader keeps guessing where he will go next.

Cornwell clearly loves the Dark Age world that he has created in this series and his evocation of 9th century England, whose inhabitants are violent and God-fearing in equal measure, is very believable. Particularly convincing is the portrayal of the almost crippling effect on the Saxon war effort of King Alfred's belief that God alone will rescue England from the Danes. That contrasts and conflicts with Uhtred's warrior's instincts and the tension between Uhtred and his king is cleverly written. Just as Uhtred slowly resolves his conflict of loyalty, so Alfred gradually changes from a king who refuses to do anything other than pray to a warrior who might be able to save his people. Even the supporting cast, notably the priest Asser (who wrote a life of Alfred), is well characterised.

By the end of this book you can almost smell the Dark Ages, so convincing are Cornwell's powers of description and the skill with which he draws his characters. He has spoken of wanting to write one Uhtred novel a year for the foreseable future; I hope he manages to maintain this high standard.

Fun read from the Cornwell-Identikit (tm)
Bernard Cornwell is a prolific writer of historic action books. He is most famous for his Sharpe novels but he has also written books set in the historic periods of King Arthur, the American Civil War, the 100 years war and Stonehenge.

'The Pale Horseman' is the second in a trilogy of books set in the dark ages of Alfred the Great as he fights against the invading forces of the Danes. We follow one of his fighters Ulthred as he works to become rich and powerful enough so that he can take back the land he had stolen from him as a child.

'The Pale Horseman' has some great battle scenes and the characters are quite well written (but not to the standard of other books by the same author). However, I can not get the feeling that the story is VERY similar to other books written by Cornwell. Essentially, since the excellent Grail trilogy (a career high point), Cornwell has written the same three books over and over again but set them in a different time period.

I enjoyed the Harlequin trilogy, as I am enjoying the Viking trilogy, but due to feeling like I have read similar too often, this book can only be deemed average.

A good read for a Cornwell fan but he seriously needs to consider reviewing his writing style soon before everyone grows bored.

It just keeps getting better...
I was looking forward to this book ever since the closing moments of 'The Last Kingdom' and when I received it Monday morning I sat down and started to read...

And I couldn't stop! I won't give away any of the story to people reading the review because that would spoil it but Cornwell again makes you feel you know the people he is writing about and, damn it, you begin to care about them. Uhtred is, without a doubt, a bit of a rogue but he insistently worms his way into your affections.

The atmosphere was superb - there is a thick mist hanging around saxon times but Mr. Cornwell seems to offer us a set of foglights. Yes, some bits are not strictly bound to the historical record but it is downright believeable. His chracters are not bound to some higher cause, they are just normal people who make normal mistakes and have normal emotions.

This book feels like a time machine for your imagination, taking you back onto the bloody battlefields of the time - buy it and enjoy the experience!