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The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2)
 
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The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2) (Hardcover)

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1st Edition edition (3 Oct 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007149921
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007149926
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 83,742 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #74 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Bernard > Sharpe Novels

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Product Description

Barry Forshaw
The Pale Horseman is the second book in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest sequence, and this highly experienced author will be well aware of the pitfalls awaiting the creator of any second book in a series -- particularly when its predecessor, The Last Kingdom, was so enthusiastically received. The fact that Cornwell's Sharpe books are so beloved (for their immense colour and vivid recreation of a very lively period of history) was not a guarantee that this latest venture for the author would succeed. But succeed it did, and The Last Kingdom conjured an era of Vikings and massacres, with a brilliantly drawn (and complex) King Alfred at the centre of the narrative. So -- does Cornwell bring off this second book with equal panache?

No need for suspense -- The Pale Horseman is just as exhilarating a recreation of an age of heroes as its predecessor, delivered with the brio that is the author's trademark. Uhtred was born in Northumbria but rais! ed as a Viking. Married to a Saxon, he has achieved fame as a doughty warrior. But the more reflective Alfred has problems with the aggressive, self-serving manner of his young friend. An alliance, though, is necessary: these two are the sole remnants of those who commanded Wessex, after ill-judged bargains have destroyed the union. The Vikings now reign over most of England, and Alfred and his company are obliged to hide in the swampy netherland of Athelney, trying to regain the support they once enjoyed. Uhtred cannot shake off his Viking training, but finds himself acquiring an admiration for Alfred, who he comes to sense is a great man. As the narrative progresses, the conflict between the two men must be resolved before bloody battles will change the fate of England.

One expects the heroic endeavours of Bernard Cornwell's novels to be dispatched with panache, but there is another element which his admirers rely on: the conflict between his strongly drawn characters,! exemplified here by the two proud leaders. It'll take a while! before this new sequence achieves the immense popularity of the Sharpe novels, but the auguries are good. --Barry Forshaw

Review
'Cornwell is a virtuoso of historical fiction.' Sunday Telegraph 'Bernard Cornwell is a literary miracle. Year after year, hail, rain, snow, war and political upheavals fail to prevent him from producing the most entertaining and readable historical novels of his generation.' Daily Mail 'Cornwell's narration is quite masterly and supremely well-researched.' Observer

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The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2)
84% buy the item featured on this page:
The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2) 4.4 out of 5 stars (37)
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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
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 (13)
3 star:
 (5)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Fun read from the Cornwell-Identikit (tm), 19 April 2006
By Sam "samueltyler" (Reading, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Pale Horseman (Paperback)
Bernard Cornwell is a prolific writer of historic action books. He is most famous for his Sharpe novels but he has also written books set in the historic periods of King Arthur, the American Civil War, the 100 years war and Stonehenge.

'The Pale Horseman' is the second in a trilogy of books set in the dark ages of Alfred the Great as he fights against the invading forces of the Danes. We follow one of his fighters Ulthred as he works to become rich and powerful enough so that he can take back the land he had stolen from him as a child.

'The Pale Horseman' has some great battle scenes and the characters are quite well written (but not to the standard of other books by the same author). However, I can not get the feeling that the story is VERY similar to other books written by Cornwell. Essentially, since the excellent Grail trilogy (a career high point), Cornwell has written the same three books over and over again but set them in a different time period.

I enjoyed the Harlequin trilogy, as I am enjoying the Viking trilogy, but due to feeling like I have read similar too often, this book can only be deemed average.

A good read for a Cornwell fan but he seriously needs to consider reviewing his writing style soon before everyone grows bored.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Cornwell's best book in years, 1 Nov 2005
By Giles Allison (London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is one of Mr Cornwell's best books of recent years. Quite simply, it is an excellent story, very well told. It continues the tale of Uhtred from last year's "The Last Kingdom" (so new readers should start there), who once again finds himself torn between fighting for the Vikings, who he feels are his natural brothers, and the Saxons, who are his blood brothers. This inner conflict provides the impetus behind non-stop action as Uhtred's adventures range from raiding in Cornwall to fighting the Danes for King Alfred. Uhtred's allegiance swerves more than once during the novel, so ensuring that the reader keeps guessing where he will go next.

Cornwell clearly loves the Dark Age world that he has created in this series and his evocation of 9th century England, whose inhabitants are violent and God-fearing in equal measure, is very believable. Particularly convincing is the portrayal of the almost crippling effect on the Saxon war effort of King Alfred's belief that God alone will rescue England from the Danes. That contrasts and conflicts with Uhtred's warrior's instincts and the tension between Uhtred and his king is cleverly written. Just as Uhtred slowly resolves his conflict of loyalty, so Alfred gradually changes from a king who refuses to do anything other than pray to a warrior who might be able to save his people. Even the supporting cast, notably the priest Asser (who wrote a life of Alfred), is well characterised.

By the end of this book you can almost smell the Dark Ages, so convincing are Cornwell's powers of description and the skill with which he draws his characters. He has spoken of wanting to write one Uhtred novel a year for the foreseable future; I hope he manages to maintain this high standard.

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It just keeps getting better..., 6 Oct 2005
I was looking forward to this book ever since the closing moments of 'The Last Kingdom' and when I received it Monday morning I sat down and started to read...

And I couldn't stop! I won't give away any of the story to people reading the review because that would spoil it but Cornwell again makes you feel you know the people he is writing about and, damn it, you begin to care about them. Uhtred is, without a doubt, a bit of a rogue but he insistently worms his way into your affections.

The atmosphere was superb - there is a thick mist hanging around saxon times but Mr. Cornwell seems to offer us a set of foglights. Yes, some bits are not strictly bound to the historical record but it is downright believeable. His chracters are not bound to some higher cause, they are just normal people who make normal mistakes and have normal emotions.

This book feels like a time machine for your imagination, taking you back onto the bloody battlefields of the time - buy it and enjoy the experience!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Saga
The continuation of the story around Alfred the Great and the vikings. A great story that keeps you gripped and at the end of the book you are ready for the next one.
Published 1 month ago by SATTIE

5.0 out of 5 stars Not as bad as the title suggests!
Having heard 'Last Kingdom' on Audio CD, I waited a few months before getting the sequel as it seemed, for one, that it couldn't live up 2 it's predecessor and, for two, like Mr... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mr. Tim D. Patmore

4.0 out of 5 stars More of the same - and that's a good thing
Well what can you say?

Did character's like Uhtred actually exist? - who knows, but i guess probably not. Does that detract from the story? Read more
Published 3 months ago by G. Crosby

4.0 out of 5 stars The Pale Horseman
Having read ALL the Sharpe books by Cornwell it's strange and intriguing how he writes in two completely different styles, both of which run at a pace, I don't want to close the... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Nigel Trevor Bane

5.0 out of 5 stars The second novel in the amazing Alfred The Great series.
This second novel is Cornwell's series is every bit as good as the first, you can feel yourself being sucked into the whole Dark Age period, the war the brutality and the people... Read more
Published 4 months ago by B.K.Price

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent second book
Cornwell follows on from the Last Kingdom with another fantastic historical novel. Our hero Uhtred is a confused and reluctant Saxon saviour. Read more
Published 8 months ago by chuckles

5.0 out of 5 stars The Historyman
Cornwell once again takes us by the hand and leads us through times when our nation was forged on the anvil of battle, and our people were willing to pay with their lives in... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. C. Cocking

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling, dramatic and imaginative - an excellent depiction of Alfredian England
"The Pale Horseman" is the second volume in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories series. Picking up directly from where "The Last Kingdom" left off in the spring of 877, it charts the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. Aitcheson

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Follow-up to 'The Last Kingdom'
The second book of the series continuing the story of Uhtred and like the 1st book it is an exellent read. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr England

4.0 out of 5 stars Alfred Stands Against the Danes

The Pale Horseman is the sequel to the best selling Last Kingdom and continues the the tale of the great warrior Uhtred, born in Northumberland. Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Chippindale

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