The Last Kingdom

Book review, Title The Last Kingdom Series, Author Bernard Cornwell, Rating 3.5,

The Last Kingdom Series Bernard Cornwell Book review

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Bernard Cornwell's The Last Kingdom series, ever growing, takes place around the reign of King Alfred the Great of England, and describes the forging of Saxon and Norse territories into the the fledgling nation of England. It is generally solid historical fiction, in that it fleshes out a historical era with care, and adds a somewhat plausible adventure story to liven up the slow turn of historical events. The main character, Uhtred of Babbenburg, like, say, Little Big Man of the Wild West, experiences and absorbs all of the main cultures of the time, providing a sturdy historical vehicle for Cornwell's tales.

Carrying a story through nine-plus books is a nearly impossible task in some ways, though; it is difficult to avoid some repetition of character traits and themes.  Cornwell’s effort was good enough to keep me interested in following the ongoing series, and gave me overall what I was seeking:  some extended understanding of the role of Germanic tribes in English history, and an amusing distraction.

Recommended by my brother Craig, who also loves historical fiction that is reasonably rooted in history.

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Pocket Review, Title The Last Kingdom, Studio Carnival Film & Television, Rating 4.0,

	The Last Kingdom (2015) Director: Pocket Review

BBC has started to dramatize this series of novels, with it’s excellent The Last Kingdom production. They have distilled the story to its most dramatic elements without sacrificing the underlying history.