Sorry I've been a bit absent; I decided to embark upon reading A Song of Ice and Fire
, and somehow conceived the idea that I should read them all before commenting. However, I'd put this book on hold, and so when it came in, I put aside Storm of Swords
and started in on this one.I do love the Uthred series. Uthred is a somewhat heartless bastard to his enemies; cunning, unrepentantly pagan (even when getting publicly baptized as part of a plot), but who fiercely defends his friends and loved ones. Cornwell writes amusingly and well; the cover blurb from George R.R. Martin says he writes the best battle scenes, and I don't argue too hard with it. The recent books, however, had fallen into a bit of a pattern. Uthred loses everything. He goes viking. He comes back and wins a victory, usually through cunning, ruthlessness, and sword skill. Somewhere along the way, he gets laid.
While this book followed that broad pattern, it felt different; it felt like less of the same, partially because it started in his low point, and let him slowly climb out of it, rather than beginning with him comfortable. His political wranglings had me literally laughing out loud... drawing odd looks in Boston Market and everything. It also helps that the book is a fairly quick read; 320 pages, with the occasional lingual gymnastics of Welsh or Norse names.
One bit that interests me about the Saxon Tales is that, though they're not strictly fantasy, they embrace the level of superstition that would be common at the time. Uthred isn't just injured with an infection; he's cursed, and he firmly believes that the curse will only be healed through a specific means. Earlier, he's dealt with faux necromancers, the false summoning of goddesses, and himself falsified miracles that were then wholly embraced by the people around him. They feel fantasy, not just by being set in the same technological era, but by partaking of the superstitions of the era. (Maybe that's why I always want to read more Ars Magica
books when I'm reading the Saxon Tales)I've enjoyed all of the Saxon Tales
, but I'll admit to being a sucker for a well-told viking story. Uthred is the kind of lovable irascability that, as Aethelflaed comments in this book, "At his best when he's being disobedient." They're genuinely fun to read, and I've looked forward to the installments as they come out. I'm glad Empty Throne rescued it from the rather sameness that the previous few had suffered through. It's got my medieval war porn, and gives me a bit of fun as I devour it and its preceding books.
