Warriors of the Storm (The Saxon Stories #9) by Bernard Cornwell

Warriors of the Storm (The Saxon Stories #9) 

by Bernard Cornwell 

Blurb: 

The new novel in Bernard Cornwell’s number one bestselling series The Saxon Tales, on the making of England and the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

A fragile peace governs the kingdoms of Wessex, East Anglia, under the rule of the late King Alfred’s son, King Edward, and Mercia, under his daughter Aethelflaed.

Uhtred, her formidable champion and greatest warrior, controls the northern parts from the strongly fortified city of Chester. But no one can prepare them for the storm that is about to descend…

The Northmen, allied to the Irish, come in force under the cover of night, up the Mersey, perhaps to attack Chester, perhaps to rage and pillage through Mercia, perhaps to take the troubled kingdom of Northumbria. They are led by the terrifying Viking warrior, Ragnall Iverson, a fierce fighter and ruthless leader.

He and his army are formidable enough but worse still, his brother is married to Uhtred’s daughter. With his passionate determination, Uhtred will stop at nothing to take back his corner of Northumbria and secure the future of Bebbanburg. But for Aethelflaed and the Mercians, doubt must arise to where his loyalty lies.

In the struggle between family and loyalty, between oaths given and political demands, there is no easy solution. And the clash between the Vikings and the Saxons will resound across the land. MY

REVIEW:  

Uhtred is the Ultimate Warrior! 

Uhtred is still my hero and with each installment, I’ve come to terms that no one can match the heart of his passion, the determination and dedication to live up to his oaths, and his desire with a fierceness of wanting to take back his own country from his cousin.

This installment was complete satisfaction. I couldn’t read the pages fast enough. The meat of the story is completely visionary and keeps the reader wrapped up in the characters personal stories. I’m glad the author wrote this book, he gives a completion to some of the characters that we’ve come to love and know such as Uhtred’s faithful oath man and friend Finan. We’ve hung on to Uhtred’s goal to conquer his enemy and look forward to his reclaiming of his heritage but we also know Finan’s goal to reach as well with his Irish Kinsmen and this book gives us that satisfaction.

The book is constant fast pace action. Just when you think Uhtred can now concentrate on the goal of regaining his ancestral lands of Bebbanburg after warring and gaining an enemy as an ally (Sigtryggr (one eye) Ivarson) who ends up with his daughter Stiorra at the end of book 8, the tides turn and his children and Mercia are threatened once again, only this time it’s his son-in-laws elder brother Ragnall Ivarson, a Danish warlord who shows up with an army after being forced out of Ireland. 

Brutal nerve ravaging battles from Sea-Crossings, fortress sieges, and Christian or Pagan sorcery magic make the twist and turn story irresistible.

“Oh the madness of battle! We fear it, we celebrate it, the poets sing of it, and when it fills the blood like fire it is a real madness.”

Finan finally gets his day of revenge against his brother by using a little sorcery of his own – dressing the part and casting a spell towards his kinsmen, then killing the Irish warrior’s best fighter and putting his brother in his place on the battlefield. This act alone aids in the conquer of Ragnall by turning the Irishmen against Ragnall before the battle even begins, but the most amazing accomplishment before that was the fact that Uhtred rescues his daughter and son-in-law, granddaughter, and all of Sigtryggr Ivarson people who had been held captive on their own lands and turns the men who had sworn Oaths to Ragnall to his side by agreeing to free them from their oaths to Ragnall by rescuing their wives and love ones from being Ragnall’s hostages.

I also have to note that it was nice to see Uhtred get to do what he wanted to do. Yes he kept his Oath to Aethelflaed, Queen of Mercia to make sure the lands were safe, but he ignored her request to wait for her brother King Edward’s joint forces to conquer Bebbanburg and instead had his way by fooling her and her priest with a misguided perception of his will. With his determination to save his daughter, Uhtred is the Ultimate Warrior to the rescue . I have to throw in that I still despise the Christian priest and love the fact that Uhtred refuses to give up his Viking Gods for the Nailed God. But it irritates me that he still fights for the Saxons.

As the author brings these novels closer to seeing an ending, the characters become more endearing and how the war becomes more personal. Even Uhtred becomes more forgiving after his son, the one he had disowned whom he had named Judas had been returned to him by Ragnall gelded. That was a turning point for Uhtred and it was good to see his tenderness but thrilling to feel his rage and revengefulness through his actions.

Overall, this intriguing story is pure satisfaction with a glorified win, Ragnall is destroyed, good ole Haesten, the one who always seemed to escape the battled slaughters is sent to hell instead of Vahalla, The Irish return to their homeland, Sigtryggr Ivarson becomes King of Northumbria, and a peace treaty is formed between Mercia and Northumbria. Most importantly Uhtred is one step closer to having a better chance of gaining his goal of conquering Bebbanburg. I cannot express this enough - I highly recommend this whole series and look forward to the next installment.

Enjoyable!