The Last Kingdom: 1 (Saxon Stories, 1) - Softcover

"Masterful....[An]irresistible epic adventure....Cornwell deserves praise for his mesmerizing narrative finesse and his authentic historical detailing."--Booklist

"Cornwell .... makes the usually gloomy ninth century sound like a hell of a lot of fun."--Kirkus Reviews

"A crackling good storyteller."--Publishers Weekly

"Highly recommended ... another great historical series in the making."--Library Journal (starred review)

"History comes alive."--Boston Globe

"Enter Cornwell's vividly drawn ninth-century Kingdom ... after this dip into the Dark Ages, we want to go back."--Entertainment Weekly

"Enthralling ... the desperate, heroic struggle of Alfred "the Great" ... against the seemingly invincible Vikings.--Wall Street Journal

"Intoxicating....Thrilling....Cornwell conveys the disquiet of change and the melancholy of extinction as few historical novelists manage to."--Washington Post Book World

Captured and raised by Danes in the ninth century, dispossessed nobleman Uhtred witnesses the unexpected defeat of his adoptive Viking clan by Alfred of Wessex and longs to recover his father's land. By the author of The Archer's Tale. Reprint. 100,000 first printing.