The Pale Horseman

November 14, 2005
Outnumbered Saxon forces continue battling Danish invaders in this rousing sequel to the bestselling The Last Kingdom
. It's A.D. 877, and the dispossessed Northumbrian noble Uhtred has just routed the Danes in a battle at Cynuit in southern England. Logically, Uhtred should now ally himself with Alfred, whose Wessex kingdom alone has successfully resisted Danish control. But Uhtred sees a better chance of recovering his lost estate if he finds a way to join the Danes, who raised him and whose simple life of "ale, women, sword, and reputation" he finds more congenial than Alfred's Christian piety and military caution. But when the Danes invade Wessex, Uhtred's loyalties are further divided. His Celtic mistress foretells victory for Alfred, but Uhtred can scarcely believe that the bedraggled king, camped in isolated marshes with a handful of supporters, can repel the invaders and unite England. Yet pride grows in Uhtred: "I understood that among the Danes I was as important as my friends, and without friends I was just another landless, masterless warrior. But among the Saxons I was another Saxon, and among the Saxons I did not need another man's generosity." Uhtred demonstrates his newfound patriotism in the book's climactic battle at Edington. Filled with bawdy humor, bloodlust, treachery and valor, this stirring tale will leave readers eager for the next volume in this Alfred the Great series.

Uhtred of Bebbanburg, raised by the Danes who invaded his native England, joins forces with King Alfred to resist the occupation. The unlikely allies face overwhelming odds in war and on the home front. Jamie Glover narrates the historical fiction with solemnity, capturing tones of fear and exhilaration in battle and bedroom. While Glover lightens his voice slightly to indicate female characters, he maintains a sense of distance from all the novel's many and varied personalities. His scholarly British voice fits the text, imparting historical veracity and fictional gravity. Listeners will find the production even more enjoyable if they have listened to THE LAST KINGDOM, the first book in the trilogy. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine