End of Days

February 15, 2015

Two mighty warriors play an uncharacteristic cat-and-mouse game in Norman England in this third volume (after The Winter Warrior and The Time of the Wolf) of Wilde's saga about the legendary English insurgent, Hereward. William the Conqueror (or the Bastard as the locals call him) has spent the four years since his arrival in 1066 from Normandy putting down Saxon resistance to his taking of the crown. Only Hereward, cornered in Ely in the fen country, remains. Well matched in ferocity and cruelty, the king and the rebel feint and probe each other's forces, while Hereward simultaneously ponders getting revenge on his treacherous brother Redwald. The battle scenes are just as gory as in the earlier books; however, there is also a sly gamesmanship this time, with the fate of the nation hanging in the balance. VERDICT This is the equally vivid yet alternate viewpoint to James Aitcheson's series (Sworn Sword; The Splintered Kingdom) about the Norman conquest of England, which covers the same place and time period from the Norman perspective. Those who read novels for the history and the battle action will want to be familiar with both authors in order to judge which side to root for.--W. Keith McCoy, Somerset Cty. Lib. Syst., Bridgewater, NJ

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