The Flame Bearer (The Last Kingdom Series, Book 10)

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The Saxon Chronicles has been a historical fiction series following the story of King Albert the Great of Wessex and his offspring. Unlike the other books in the series, Cornwell does not have to worry about historical accuracy in this book. In this book, he can allow his imagination to run free. Of course, he still stays within the historical parameters of his series. Uhtred recaptures his Babbenberg home, land and titles. Many of the novel’s characters, including King Edward, his sister, Æthelflaed, and his son Æthelstan, the presumptive heir to the throne, Æthelhelm and his grandson (and King Edward’s second son) Ælfweard, (whom Æthelhelm would like to see king), and King Constantin, are all historical figures, but they performed none of the actions attributed to them in the novel. Cornwell is the author of 55 novels — most of which are historical fiction, including 20 books about Richard Sharpe, soldier extraordinare in Wellington’s army in India and the Peninsular Campaign — and one nonfiction work. He provides his fiction with a sound factual foundation and is especially skilled at describing the warrior mentality. His battle scenes are vivid, thrilling, and, at times, quite gruesome. The Flame Bearer is no exception. This book features something unusual. Bernard Cornwell describes what it is like to be in a pitched battle, especially a shield wall. Cornwell portrays how utterly frightful the battles are to individual warriors. Even battle-hardened warriors must prepare themselves psychologically ahead of time, to get up the courage to be in a shield wall. A shield wall is nearly unstoppable, except when two shield walls face each other. The tenth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” ( The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit television series.

I will make this a short review. The Flame Bearer is the tenth book in The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. And I’m genuinely running out of words to say about it in my review. This isn’t because it’s book number 10 in a series; I’ve reviewed each book in The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, The Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb, and Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson, and I always have a LOT of things to say as spoiler-free as possible on each book in these series. However, there’s nothing else to say in The Last Kingdom by this point; the entirety of the past four books have followed the same “strong beginning, then fill the middle with something pointless, and then end the book strongly” method. Seriously, I wouldn’t lose much—except one scene with Aethelflaed—if I just read the first two chapters and then read the last chapter of this book. I had a super long review written for this series but I deleted the document accidentally so let me share with you at least some major points to explain my reasons for loving this series so much:

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At least one of the top three of this series, Cornwell has found "another gear". Loved this episode in one of the best historical fiction series of all time. It has been awesome binging the last few instalments, and The Flame Bearer was a good tale as well. It probably fits into the middle, in regards to my ranking of them, with some awesome moments, but some bits tending to be a bit repetitive as well. He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News. He relocated to the United States in 1980 after marrying an American. Unable to get a green card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit. Unforgettable narrator. Uhtred of Bebbanburg is unapologetic and ruthless yet lovable and admiration worthy character with brilliant military strategic mind. He is a true hero! But fate is inexorable, and the enemies Uhtred has made and the oaths he has sworn combine to distract him from his dream of recapturing Bebbanburg. New enemies enter into the fight for England's kingdoms: the redoubtable Constantin of Scotland seizes an opportunity for conquest and leads his armies south. Britain's precarious peace threatens to turn into a war of annihilation.

The Flame Bearer has a strong start and concluding chapter, but this series has run its course, and I can’t believe there are still 3 books to go. I really enjoyed this read, though not as strong as the last few, but that’s probably because I’ve been binging them. The tension did build excellently however, and the ending is gripping and bloody. Exactly what we love to see in an Uhtred story. But Uhtred is determined that nothing, neither the new enemies nor the old foes who combine against him, will keep him from his birthright. He is the Lord of Bebbanburg, but he will need all the skills he has learned in a lifetime of war to make his dream come true. Earl Haesten– A Danish Jarl (earl), who previously broke a life-oath to Uhtred who is now a dangerous enemy, seemingly based on a Viking leader of the same name recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!

Further Reading

This is the penultimate volume of The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. The first several books of the series have been made into a TV series The Last Kingdom" by BBC and Netflix. The TV series is very good; the books are better. They are better because they portray how the hero of the story, Uhtred, reacts to the Saxons in the south and the Danes to the north. After publishing eight books in his ongoing Sharpe series, Cornwell was approached by a production company interested in adapting them for television. The producers asked him to write a prequel to give them a starting point to the series. They also requested that the story feature a large role for Spanish characters to secure co-funding from Spain. The result was Sharpe’s Rifles, published in 1987, and a series of Sharpe television films staring Sean Bean. The singing grew stronger as the crews of the other three ships joined in, chanting the song of burning triumph in time to their oar strokes as we beat our way northwards along the Northumbrian coast. And as the sun touched the world’s edge with the day’s new fire a small wind ruffled the water, rippling it from the east. They head toward Eoforwik, sneaking in by pretending to bring Stiorra (whom Ragnall wants for his fifth wife) in as a prisoner. They find Brida in charge. She is waging war against Christianity, and they are horrified to see 34 people crucified. Uhtred overthrows her and lets Stiorra kill Brida. They also free hostages Ragnall has taken to ensure allied jarls remain loyal to him.