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    The Last Kingdom
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    The Last Kingdom
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    The Last Kingdom
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Last Kingdom

    Written by Bernard Cornwell

    Narrated by Jonathan Keeble

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The first book in the epic and bestselling series that has gripped millions.

    A hero will be forged from this broken land.

    As seen on Netflix and BBC around the world.

    In a land torn apart by conflict, an orphan boy has come of age. Raised by the Vikings, deadly enemies of his own Saxon people, Uhtred is a fierce and skilled warrior who kneels to no-one.

    Alfred – Saxon, king, man of god – fights to hold the throne of the only land still resisting the pagan northerners.

    Uhtred and Alfred’s fates are tangled, soaked in blood and blackened by the flames of war. Together they will change history.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateMay 1, 2014
    ISBN9780007582785
    Author

    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.

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    Reviews for The Last Kingdom

    4.5/5

    154 ratings81 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I absolutely LOVE anything to do with history. Especially books. So anybody who knows me will not be surprised that I found The Last Kingdom really interesting. This book is the first in a series that tells of the exciting (yes it is exciting, - sword fights and all!) of the making of England during the 9th and 10th centuries. This was a period that the Danish Vikings were attacking the English and had captured most of their kingdoms.The author, Bernard Cornwell, was able to get the information for this series of books through his own family records. Seriously... how cool is that?!?! Netflix even made a series based on the books back in 2016! Of course I'm one of those people that has to read all the books before I can watch the show so it'll be a while before I can watch it. I can't wait though, so now I have to hurry and read the rest of the series!If you enjoy history then I'd recommend reading this book. Cornwell does an incredible job of making what could be a dry subject (since it's from such a long time ago) be super interesting. There's sword fights, kidnappings, murders, and definitely wars - the whole book is talking about wars . During the narrative, everything is explained from the perspective of a young man (he grows from a boy to a teenager in the book) named Uhtred, who is fictional.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The story opens in 866 and continues through to 877. Uhtred, the main character, is captured by a Danish invader called Ragnar. Ragnar is impressed by Uhtred's bravery, as Ragnar was a great warrior, whereas Uhtred was a ten-year-old boy who took him on in battle. Thus the English boy is raised by a Dane. He grows to love Ragnar as a father and he is in turn loved as a son.As Uhtred grows up he learns the Danish ways and Danish language whilst remaining on occupied English soil. But as he nears manhood his natural affection for his own country becomes more prominent. He ends up torn between fighting for the Danes and fighting for the English. He appears confused as to what and who he actually is, stating at one point that he feels loyal to the last person he converses with.This was my first sample of a Bernard Cornwell novel and I must admit I'm impressed with his writing style. He has done a great amount of research for this tome. He includes a note at the end detailing which characters were real and which events actually took place. This is the first in a series of novels and I will definitely read book two.
    • 4/5
      I love the TV-show and really wanted to give the books a go. I’m glad I did because I had lots of fun reading/listening to this book. I had the audio-book and I found the narrator to be really good and it made the experience better. I found that having watched the first season of the show, it made it easier for me to keep track of all the different characters, I think it would’ve been harder if I didn’t already have that context from the show.

      It was a really fast paced plot, moving quickly through the story. I didn’t think it moved too fast though, which can be an issue with some stories like this.
      Followed Uhtred from a boy, captured by the Danes, till he became a man. Going with him through his struggles to find who he is; a Saxon or a Dane, his struggles to get back his birthright and keep Wessex from falling into the hand of the wrong people.
      There is so much negotiating and politics which I was here for. So much backstabbing, secret plots and two faced people. Just never knew who was going to betray whom, or if plans made were really going to come about. Kept me guessing which I love in a book, especially a historical fiction.
      I adored the story of this part of history that isn’t heard that much, well not over here in Australia. It was so interesting and I’m excited to continue the series and learn more.

      I thought the characters we so well done and they have so much room for growth and character development.
      Uhtred was a great character to be narrating this story; strong, determined and flawed. It was interesting seeing it all through his eyes and seeing a different side to these leaders that the history books paint as good men/leaders. And yes, some of them are, but then some are brutal. Obviously I realise there is fiction to this but it was still super interesting.
      I hate the characters I’m meant to and love the ones I should. Guthrum, one of the Danes and meant to be a ‘bad guy’, I loved! He is a fantastic character and I just have such strong feelings that he isn’t as bad as he seems to be, like he is going to surprise everyone and turn out to be a decent man.
      I loved the relationships that Uhtred has with the people around him; his adoptive brother Ragnar, his lover Breda, and his best friend Leofric. I’m just such a fan.

      Would recommend to anyone who likes Game of Thrones and Vikings. It’s a great mixture of politics, history and battles.
      Strong story line, characters and the history aspects of this are fantastic. Just read it, and watch the TV-show.
    • 4/5
      Uhtred, second born son of Uhtred, was to inherit the title of Ealdorman (or Earl); lord of everything south of the Tuede and North of the Tine but the Viking invasion by the Danes changed all that. Was he being punished by God or were the pagan gods on his side?During the attack, Uhtred is taken alive by Ragnar the Fearless, who instead of ransoming the boy intends to raise him as a Dane, as a mighty Viking. Uhtred reaches manhood living among the Vikings and becomes like a son to Ragnar, but where do his loyalties lie? When Alfred the Great, King of England calls on him for help which side will he choose? Is he a Dane or is he English? The choice he must make is not an easy one.Overall a detailed story of the Viking attacks on England in the 9th century; pillaging villages and monasteries along the English coast, taking up arms against the English and the eventual rise of Alfred the Great. This is book one of a series and started out a bit slow at times for me but have high hopes for the rest of the series. Great read for history buffs interested in the Viking invasions.
    • 5/5
      My first audio book and it proved very exciting and entertaining.
    • 4/5
      First class historical fiction about 9th Century England during the early days of Alfred the Great. Exceptional descriptive writing in the battle scenes.
    • 4/5
      As action historical fiction, Cornwell delivers with The last kingdom, the first volume of his series on King Alfred and the war between Saxons and Danes for England. The narrative carries you forward as told by the main character, Uhtred, a Saxon ealdorman, who grows from the age of ten to adulthood against the background of the Danish conquest. Cornwell writes vivid characters here as well as vivid action. Cornwell is good at setting the scenes and making the time seem alive. In particular, one feels what it meant to fight on the shield wall. Enjoyed it a lot and probably going to get the next volume.
    • 4/5
      Good yarn, based apparently reasonably accurately on history. Easy reading (except for some of the historic placenames.)
    • 5/5
      Sometimes you just want to pull a book off the shelf and disappear into it for a weekend, and this is definitely such a book. A gripping and engagingly told tale of great historical events that forged a nation, interwoven with personal insights and relatable characters. Historical fiction at its best.
    • 3/5
      Easy to read in spite of the constant warfare.
      Hero is a smartass in the best way.
      Humanizes the great Alfred the Great. Who knew he was so annoyingly pious?

      Uhtred's defection from Dane to English wasn't smoothly written for me. He did an awkward 180 degree turn in loyalty when Ragnor died. Still, I enjoyed the book (and the Netflix series) and will keep reading.

    • 5/5
      Wow, just wow. Bernard Cornwell continues to impress me not just with his characterization and prose, but with his attention to time-setting and historical accuracy. In any case, this is one rowdy story filled with passion, honor, personal truth and lots of blood. :) Can't wait to pick up the next installment.
    • 5/5
      Awesome! Vicious battles, intertwined politics, friendship, glory. It's all here. A great story rooted in history.
    • 3/5
      Lot's of action, however the story is told in first person and that limits the development of the other characters. It is a page turner and I pushed to the ending.
    • 1/5
      How frustrating! After having suffered from insomnia for years I now discover that all along there was a big selection of turgid tomes by Bernard Cornwell to choose from!I have had more fun watching wood warp!
    • 5/5
      A fantastic book of historical fiction that doubles as a fast-paced thriller. The author does a great job putting the reader right in the middle of 9th century England through various characters. The fact that most of the people in the book were major players in the actual history make this book even greater. I am not doing a great job putting into words how much I enjoyed reading this book. I had been in a rut of late trying to find a book of fiction that excited me, but this first book of a four part series has me once again enthusiastic about reading. I have never read anything by Cornwell and am looking forward to the rest of this series and perhaps other books by him as he has written dozens.
    • 2/5
      I’ve heard much good about Bernard Cornwell’s historical fiction, but I’ll have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this book. Although I find the history and the details interesting, the story is about as dry as dust. The characters are so poorly developed that I don't care about any them. Uhtred, aside from achieving heroic status while he was yet a teenager, is most impressed by whoever he’s standing next to. He goes whichever way the wind blows him—and who does he worship and adore? The man who slaughtered his family.

      The priests are all milksops and weasels.

      King Alfred the Great (who the author took care to reduce from a status of inherent nobility to one of sinful degradation) acted whiney and arrogant in the meetings Uhtred had with him, but seemed fairly intelligent at a distance.

      The women in Uhtred’s life get scant mention, which makes it unconvincing when he puts on his battle gear to go rescue one of them. He has no principles to support his action. In fact, his entire purpose for existence seems to be centered on hacking people to death.

      There is plenty of action, almost entirely centered around gory battles, and lots of description about the countryside. The conflict—Danes taking over England—takes the center stage. Minor conflicts, such as that of King Egbert in Wessex, exist only to showcase the might of the Danes, and don’t carry much emotional weight either way. Uhtred’s personal conflict, which might be his inability to make his own decisions, gains some ground in the final chapters, but doesn’t offer much satisfaction. Granted, this is the first book in a series and one can hope that the reader will eventually be brought to care one way or the other...

      After an uninspiring beginning, the writing style was good enough to keep me turning the pages (if you don’t mind run-on sentences), but when I had to put the book down it was some time before I picked it up again. Idle curiosity prompted me to discover how it ended—which was exactly how it began: uninspiring.
    • 4/5
      Violent but vivid. Cornwell does his research and produces historical novels that offer a plausible glimpse inside the heads of, in this case, leading warriors in the age of Alfred the Great.
    • 4/5
      I've found myself a new favourite author. I've found myself a 13 part series to read! The author can trace his ancestry back through his father to Uhtred the Bold, Earl of Northumbria and Lord of Bamburgh, the main character in The Last Kingdom - imagine that! Story takes place in 9th and 10th centuries England when the Danes are invading, the English are learning to unite, life is short and men are considered old in their 40s. Once again I found the writing exceptional although, to be honest I did stumble on some of the - olde English place names but I didn't let that ruin the narrative.
    • 5/5
      I listened to this to and from my drive to NYC a few weeks ago. Needless, to say the drive seemed shorter than usual. Cornwell did not disappoint me with this book. The subject is the Dane's invasion of England, the last kingdom being that of Alfred, in Wessex. Definitely 5 stars.
    • 5/5
      Very good - enjoyed historical aspect and a good way to learn about some of these past events. TV series was good but this is much, much better. So many constant themes through history - we might consistently increase our knowledge but with each generation having to relearn the emotional side of things, we repeat the same mistakes and suffer the same consequences and horrors.
    • 4/5
      The Last Kingdom is an amazing story telling the tales of ancient England being plighted by the Danes, otherwise known as the Vikings. The storyline is brilliant and remarkably told, with truth mixed in with artistic licence. The language used i fresh and full, mixing description with feeling and speech really well.
      My own personal feeling on this is that it should not have been written in first person, although I have a personal biased against that kind of narrative telling. The reasons for this feeling is that the story in first person is very often either very thin because of the narrative techniques when using first person (i.e. third person would be omniscent, to whit a lot more story can be given because of such a wide variety of ability in getting characters perspectives etc). Despite this, the story was well told with only a few minor aspects of the first person narrative making it seem a little forced (an example being the narrator knowing such things that you'd think they couldn't and only an omniscent narrator could).
      The plot and storyline were invaluable and the characters were fiercely likable in most cases, and enjoyably dislikable in others, also being believable for the time and setting. The Historical content was also amazing, the place names and information given was a great insight to a period of England's life that is little talked about.
      The only reason this book has not been given 5-stars is because of my own personal preference for a third person narrative, that is all.
    • 4/5
      I wanted to say that I didn't like this book. Really, I did want to say that. But I can't. Yet, at the same time, I can't say I loved the book. It gave me so many mixed feelings that I ended up giving it four stars when I originally wanted to give it three stars.

      I wish I could say the overall story was boring and nothing interesting seemed to happen, but I can't. At first you even think that the story never goes forward and all you read is what's going on with the world. It's a world in war and a boy is telling you what he sees and boy, that is annoying. But then one completely unexpected event happens. And the another. And another. And another. And another. That's when you realize that you're halfway through the book and you're... actually enjoying what's going on. Boy, you'll soon notice that you're actually curious to know what's about to happen, even if the story seems to get stuck in the description of the scenarios.

      Next, I wanted to say that the characters are plain and not well developed. But then, I started to like the briefness and subtlety of their actions and words. They're not ones to talk too much, but they're actually very easy to like. They are somewhat predictable, yet there is "something" in them that makes you like them, be it Ragnar's fatherly words or Brida's wise-ass replies. After a while, even Uhtred's naïvety started to look kinda charming.

      This is a confusing book. So hard and, at the same time, so easy to like. Maybe not something I look forward to re-read, but definitely something that gave me a hell of a good time while it lasted.
    • 4/5
      I confess to knowing nothing whatsoever about this period in Britian’s history so I have no idea how accurate the historical details are, although Cornwell does say something with regard to that in the afterward. The action takes place when the Danes were overrunning England and had captured essentially most of it with the exception of West Sussex where Alfred, to be called Alfred the Great, is keeping them at bay. The tale is told by a young man whose family is killed in a Danish attack. The boy attempts to kill one of the Danish leaders, Ragnar, and is subsequently adopted by the same fellow. He finds the young boy’s spirit that of a Dane and a Viking, and so the boy grows up as a Dane, learning how they fight, how they believe and how they think. He still dreams of his home though, and secretly wants the Danes out and the English to regain their homeland.

      The story follows the boy’s life up until he is grown and finds himself torn between the two worlds.

      Intriguing character development and interesting to me as I knew nothing about the Vikings nearly conquering England.

    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book, to a point, but I didn't particularly enjoy the bloody and repeated battle scenes. This is the beginning of the history of Alfred the Great and early English history, and I know the era was a bloody one with a lot of fighting as the English battled the Danish invaders. I appreciate tremendously the scholarship and research that went into the writing of this novel, because it is intense. My gut feeling tells me this is very realistic historic fiction. It was just a bit too realistic, I guess!
    • 5/5
      A strong introduction into Cornwell's Viking series, where the Saxon kingdoms of Britain are at the mercy of a growing Viking onslaught. The main character ('Uhtred') smacks of past Cornwell character Derfel Cadarn, yet is unique in his complexity and willingness to be mischievous.

      A unique and thoroughly detailed fiction in a dark period of Western history.
    • 4/5
      About ten years ago, I read Stonehenge by Cornwell, and loved it. So, I was very excited to read this book. This is everything I like! The Anglo-Saxon period England and the Vikings/Danes are very fun to read about. And it is a good book with an interesting storyline, but I found myself flagging in the middle, and put it down for a while to read other things, until I told myself I could not read another book until I finished it. I was disappointed by the lack of detail. If you are going to write a series, you might as well put a lot of detail in it! I also felt like there was not a lot of character development. Brida had the potential to be a really interesting character, but then Cornwell all but wrote her out of the story! Also Uhtred bouncing back and forth, am Danish, no I’m British, but I’m still good friends with the Danes, was confusing.When I finished to book, however, and read Cornwall’s Historical note at the end about how his ancestors held Bebbanburg and how he was trying to keep it as historically accurate as possible while still being interesting, I liked it more. I feel like he was sort of hemmed in for his story telling by the historical accuracy he has, while still being creative. I’m not sure why we don’t just have the book from Alfred’s point of view, except that having Uhtred gives us the background of the Danes invading England from a first-person perspective.Late in the book, and Englishman asks Uhtred why he fought with the Danes, and Uhtred replies “I fought to survive” So maybe him fighting with the Danes, and then siding with the British but still being friendly with the Danes is not that he has no character development, or that he is not loyal, but he is just doing what he needs to for survival. I think real people are more likely to switch sides and be unsure of their loyalties that is sometimes portrayed in books.
    • 5/5
      A definite winner. This series was excellent. Being involved in Saxon/Viking re-enactment may slew my opinion but I liked the dark and sinister side to these stories. I think this is better than the Sharp series, which I also enjoyed.
    • 5/5
      I received a free copy of this book, upon completion of a survey, for my honest review.I always enjoy reading a good historical fiction novel. I like that you learn something while reading and yet you did not have to read a boring, dry text book. This is the first book I have read from Bernard Cornwell and it will not be my last. The Last Kingdom, is the story of Uhtred, the son of a Saxon lord who is killed by a host of invading Danes. Uhtred is captured, as a young boy, by Ragner a Danish war lord. Ragnar raises Uhtred as his son and teaches him the ways of the Danes. Treachery among the Danes and Ragnar is killed. Uhtred now a young man, by fate or chance, rediscovers his English heritage. Now he must fight against the Danes. The story is powerful and gritty. A tale not easily forgotten.
    • 4/5
      Where I got the book: audiobook on Audible.I decided I should listen to a Bernard Cornwell series as an attempt to gain a better understanding of the non-romantic, battle-based side of historical fiction. I knew I liked Cornwell as I’d randomly read a couple of his novels, and I picked this Saxon series because I find that whole period of history fascinating—I’ve read Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, and 1066 and all that make much more sense seen in the light of what went before, so I was ready to have the period rendered into living color by Cornwell.And colorful it is. This is the story of the time when the Danes, or Vikings as they’re called when in raiding mode, are getting serious about plundering and occupying as much of the British Isles as possible, to the dismay of the various tribes that had settled in after the Roman period—Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Picts, Britons and others usually represented by big colored splashes and arrows on the history maps. Interestingly—and Cornwell demonstrates this rather nicely—those tribes had been pagans, but had been converted to Christianity by monks from the European mainland some time in the 600s, so what we now have is the Christian English fighting against the pagan Danes, with a few English holdouts for the old gods.Given this patchwork of origins and allegiances, it would hardly be surprising if the real picture wasn’t that of every man for himself. Cornwell embodies this concept in Uhtred, son of Uhtred, who begins the novel as a child, a younger son named Osbert. The day his brother’s killed by the Danes, his father tells him “your name is now Uhtred” and he inherits a lordship he doesn’t get a chance to enjoy, since he’s taken prisoner by the Danes.Uhtred survives, always a good idea when you’re the series’ main character, and grows up more Danish than English. It’s tremendously useful, when you’re telling a story about two opposing forces, to have a character who can move easily between those forces, and Uhtred is a marvelous invention, able to become English or Danish at will. He becomes reluctantly entangled with King Alfred, the king of Wessex—the last kingdom left to fight against the Danes—but at heart his real interests are his own interests, namely to get his Northumbrian fiefdom of Bebbanburg back from his uncle.Uhtred’s a canny warrior, but he’s easily outmaneuvered by the cunning Alfred, whom Uhtred despises for his piety but who constantly manages to either outflank him or win his help by doing something stupidly brave in the name of kingship. It’s very clever of Cornwell to write this story from the viewpoint of this straightforward fighter, who has plenty of battlefield intelligence but little subtlety.Absolutely NO romance in this novel (even when Uhtred’s with a woman) although there’s a certain level of warrior bromance of the name-calling and hitting-each-other sort. Fights are described with glee, because Uhtred loves fighting, but descriptions of just about everything else only happen when they have relevance to the fight, as in Uhtred might describe a bright, clear day not because it’s pretty but because it allows him to see the enemy well. It’s a masterful example of keeping the point of view tight. Being Cornwell, the novel moves along at a cracking pace, and in fact I was shocked to discover it was over when the audiobook ended (after Outlander and Game of Thrones, any audiobook that doesn’t run into 30 or 40 hours seems REALLY short).On to the next book! This series should keep me happy for a while, even though there’ll be gaps as I’ll have to wait for my credits to catch up.
    • 3/5
      This is only the second book I've read by this prolific historical fiction
      author. The first, The Winter King, impressed me with its grittily
      believable portrayal of a possible King Arthur.
      The Last Kingdom gives us another Very Manly Man in the person of Uhtred,
      a 9th-century English heir who is captured by Danish Viking invaders and
      raised as one of their own. Conflicted between his own heritage and the
      culture of the Danes, whose warlike, hearty religion and lifestyle appeals
      to him, he grows to become a bold and violent leader of men. But he never
      loses sight of his goal, which is to reclaim the fortress that was to be
      his inheritance, no matter who might stand in his way.
      Uhtred is not a very likable person, but he is believable for his time
      period and background, and the English and Danish cultures and attitudes
      of the time are vividly and believably rendered. Highly recommended for
      any fans of Vikings!
      Uhtred's saga already continues in three more novels (boy, Cornwell writes
      fast - the first one just came out in 2004!)