War Lord

Written by Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by Matt Bates

The No.1 Sunday Times bestseller IN THE FINAL RECKONING, CHOOSE YOUR SIDE CAREFULLY… The epic conclusion to the globally bestselling historical series.

After years fighting to reclaim his rightful home, Uhtred of Bebbanburg has returned to Northumbria. With his loyal band of warriors and a new woman by his side, his household is secure – yet Uhtred is far from safe. Beyond the walls of his impregnable fortress, a battle for power rages.

To the south, King Æthelstan has unified the three kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia – and now eyes a bigger prize. To the north, King Constantine and other Scottish and Irish leaders seek to extend their borders and expand their dominion.

Caught in the eye of the storm is Uhtred. Threatened and bribed by all sides, he faces an impossible choice: stay out of the struggle, risking his freedom, or throw himself into the cauldron of war and the most terrible battle Britain has ever experienced. Only fate can decide the outcome.

The epic story of how England was made concludes in WAR LORD, the magnificent finale to the Last Kingdom series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9780008184001

Bernard Cornwell

BERNARD CORNWELL is the author of over fifty novels, including the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales, which serve as the basis for the hit Netflix series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.

Reviews for War Lord

[Danny Rowan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fitting and very satisfying end to a wonderful tale.

[nwharris · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent history lesson. Looking for more of his other work in audio format.

[Jani Verster · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this series of books and the research and thought that went into the story lines. An epic adventure!

[thegeneral_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think this was a fitting end to the Saxon Series. It was also pacier than some of the recent books with a mixture of political intrigue, cunning and skirmishes and battles thrown in. Happy I read all 13.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After years of fighting, Uhtred has finally been able to reclai,m his rightful home of Bebbanburg. Uhtred is caught between King Ethelstan ruler of Wessex, Mercia, and East Anglia, and the ruler of the Scots, king Constantine and Irish and the Scottish who want the Lands he loves. The epic story of how England was made concludes in this finale to the Last Kingdom series.

[philsyphe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“War Lord” is a fitting end to the series. Uhtred is a great character. He’s an old man in this story, but still as hard as nails.I like the author’s portrayal of King Athelstan. It’s more or less how I would envision this glorious king who should be more well-known to history than he is.As for the plot, there’re some tense scenes, touched with humour, and some quality fights. I do feel, however, that the final battle was somewhat anti-climatic. It had an exciting build-up, but didn’t turn out to be as gripping as I hoped.On the downside, the author – great storyteller that he is – neglects essential creative writing elements, in particular the ‘show, don’t tell’ rule. For example: “Anlaf looked surprised, then suspicious.” Don’t tell the reader that a character “was surprised” – show his emotion with action, body language, a facial expression, etc.Mr Cornwell is notably good at humorous insults. The one I liked best was a female character described as having “a face like an indignant piglet”. Now this is "showing", not "telling". Brilliant.Well, I’m sad to see Uhtred hang up his sword. I only found out after finishing the previous novel that there’s a TV series based on Uhtred’s saga called “The Last Kingdom”, so I’ll be seeking that out in the near future.

[amkitty-511462 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The worst thing about this book is that it marks the series’ end. The thirteen volumes begin when Uhtred is about ten years old and loses his father in a shield-wall against Danes and his home to the conniving thievery of his uncle. Each book follows Uhtred’s quest to reclaim his home even as he is drawn in by his oaths to the birth of the country we know as England. He saves the life of Alfred of Wessex, becomes his liegeman, and follows his fate through a life of chaos, war, and viking. Uhtred is enslaved, embattled, feared and loved. By the end of the series, he is an old man in his 50’s or 60’s and witness to the final fight between Saxons and Danes that marks a critical time in world history. At the end, I am left wondering how different this world would be if Alfred or Edward or Athelstan had failed in their efforts to unite England. Beyond the “what if” questions, the books move quickly with fight scenes and battlegrounds described so well that readers will find themselves smelling blood and hearing screams of victors and vanquished, alike. Cornwell has obviously done incredible amounts of research to get right the details we know. To flesh out his tale, he has a bard’s gift for painting word pictures. There are a few points where he exercises poetic license, but readers are told of this in the author’s note. All in all, a beautifully rendered mix of history and fancy to give readers a glimpse into a world so foreign to what we know today; and yet is the place where much of our western history was born.

[jercox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reasonably satisfying end to the series. If you have read the other 12 books and are still here, you will like this one also.

[dinadansfriend · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well here we are, at the end of sulky Uhtred lord of Bebbanburg. The novel is a good read with a fine description of a battle at the end of the book. The battle is so intense that Bernard Cornwell sees a character he killed in the previous book in the series, fighting on the side of his lord, for Engaland!. There is another flaw in that the Penguin translation of the Egil's saga i have on my shelves has Thorulf Skallagrimson as Egil's older brother, not as a younger sibling. These tiny flaws aside, our hero ends as he began, happily living on his ancestral turf, equipped with a legal wife and a hot Italian girlfriend! The ale is also good. I heartily recommend the series as fine "Viking noir" entertainment. Hail and Farewell.

[norinrad10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was beyond thrilled to receive the latest installment in Bernard Cornwell's long running Uther of Beddanburg series, though I was disappointed to learn it would be the concluding chapter. The series is a historical fiction depicting the birth and unification of England. As this chapter unfolds, Uther is stuck between the ambitions of the Irish and Welsh Kings, and those of his own liege. Though he has grown older, he is no less formidable a warrior. To survive current circumstances, he will need to call on those formidable skills and draw from a life time of lessons. Cornwell, per usual, does a fantastic job of drawing the reader in by making his characters come alive. While the events of his books take place centuries ago, the lessons embedded remain relevant today. This is book who's ending was bitter sweet.