The Pale Horseman starts where The Last Kingdom ended. It follows the story of Alfred, King of Wessex as told by Uhtred, one of his warriors who was born a Saxon but raised throughout the last book by the Vikings. Fate being inexorable has lead Uhtred from the relative safety of the Viking Ragnar, to being a killer of Vikings who has been brought to the attention of the king of the only remaining Saxon Kingdom which itself is now under threat of Viking invasion.
Now I know at the time I write this, the book has not been published (I read the advanced readers edition) so I won't give anything away here, but suffice it to say that any of Bernard Cornwell's fans won't be disappointed, the story is as good as the first and almost as good as his Arthurian trilogy. If you loved his Arthurian trilogy and wanted more, I'm afraid Mr Cornwell has said he will not write any more, but believe me this new series will make up for that as it is the next best thing to an actual Arthur/Derfel story.
The characters are good, even the minor ones, and the plot line is from history but with a few minor adjustments to suit the narrative of the plot. The battles are vivid and you are really put into the thick of it yourself. There's something for everyone; history, romance, action, adventure, intrigue... need I say more?
There are some (I know from reading other peoples reviews of Cornwell's books) who say the plot lines to all his books are similar and the characters all the same etc. Does it matter? You know where you are with his books, they are well crafted and extremely enjoyable, in fact some history teachers are now recommending them to their students as they bring history to life and not just give the boring facts! If you haven't read a Bernard Cornwell novel before, then this series is as good a place as any to start, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you have, you know what to expect and get this one, you'll love it, I did.
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