or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
29 used & new from £7.00
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5)
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images

Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5) (Hardcover)

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
Price: £9.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £9.51 (50%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, February 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
20 new from £9.48 4 used from £7.00 5 collectible from £15.25
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 8 used & new from £13.38
Paperback £6.99 £5.24
Audio Download (Unabridged) £14.99 £7.87
or £3.99 with new Audible.co.uk membership.
Paperback (Large Print) £16.23 £13.77 13 used & new from £10.98
Audio CD (Audiobook,CD,Unabridged) £14.67 £9.97 16 used & new from £8.11
Audio Cassette (Audiobook,Unabridged) £50.60 £50.60 Order it used

Watch a Related Video
04:27

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Click here to read an extract from The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell.

Frequently Bought Together

The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5) + Sword Song (Alfred the Great 4) + The Lords of the North (Alfred the Great 3)
Total RRP: £34.97
Price For All Three: £20.07

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Gladiator (Roman Legion 9)

The Gladiator (Roman Legion 9)

by Simon Scarrow
4.3 out of 5 stars (35)  £3.86
Sword Song (Alfred the Great 4)

Sword Song (Alfred the Great 4)

by Bernard Cornwell
3.9 out of 5 stars (27)  £5.99
Lustrum

Lustrum

by Robert Harris
4.5 out of 5 stars (36)  £10.99
The Lords of the North (Alfred the Great 3)

The Lords of the North (Alfred the Great 3)

by Bernard Cornwell
4.4 out of 5 stars (48)  £4.60
The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2)

The Pale Horseman (Alfred the Great 2)

by Bernard Cornwell
4.3 out of 5 stars (41)  £5.46
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1st Edition edition (1 Oct 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007219741
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007219742
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 450 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > C > Cornwell, Bernard > Sharpe Novels
    #9 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > Historical
    #12 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > Adventure Stories

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Review

Praise for The Burning Land: 'Cornwell draws a fascinating picture of England as it might have been before anything like England existed' The Times Praise for AZINCOURT: 'This is a magnificent and gory work' Daily Mail 'The historical blockbuster of the year' Evening Standard 'If Bernard Cornwell was born to write one book, this is it. No other historical novelist has acquired such a mastery of the minutiae of warfare in centuries past.' Daily Telegraph 'A runaway success' Observer Praise for Bernard Cornwell: 'The characterisation, as ever, is excellent!And one can only admire the little touches that bring the period to life. He can also claim to be a true poet of both the horror and the glory of war.' Sunday Telegraph This is typical Cornwell, meticulously researched, massive in scope, brilliant in execution'. News of the World 'He's called a master story-teller. Really he's cleverer than that.' Telegraph

Product Description

The latest in the bestselling Alfred series from number one historical novelist, Bernard Cornwell. In the last years of the ninth century, King Alfred of Wessex is in failing health, and his heir is an untested youth. The Danes, who have failed so many times to conquer Wessex, smell opportunity! First comes Harald Bloodhair, a savage warrior leading a Viking horde, who is encouraged to cruelty by his woman, Skade. But Alfred still has the services of Uhtred, his unwilling warlord, who leads Harald into a trap and, at Farnham in Surrey, inflicts one of the greatest defeats the Vikings were ever to suffer. This novel, the fifth in the magnificent series of England's history tells of the final assaults on Alfred's Wessex, that Wessex survived to become England is because men like Uhtred defeated an enemy feared throughout Christendom.
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(18)
(18)
(15)
(15)
(8)
(7)
(4)
(3)
(2)
(2)
Agree with these tags?
See all 11 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5)
76% buy the item featured on this page:
The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5) 4.5 out of 5 stars (62)
£9.48
The Gladiator (Roman Legion 9)
10% buy
The Gladiator (Roman Legion 9) 4.3 out of 5 stars (35)
£3.86
Sword Song (Alfred the Great 4)
6% buy
Sword Song (Alfred the Great 4) 3.9 out of 5 stars (27)
£5.99
The Last Kingdom (Alfred the Great 1)
4% buy
The Last Kingdom (Alfred the Great 1) 4.5 out of 5 stars (67)
£4.96
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

62 Reviews
5 star:
 (43)
4 star:
 (12)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (62 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent novel which reaffirms my allegiance to the series, 6 Oct 2009
By J. Cooper (Sheffield, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
What a fabulous novel which breathes energy, new life and excitement back into a series which was beginning to feel a tad tired at the end of the last book.

At the end of book four, I felt as if the Uhtred saga was being drawn out too far and whilst I enjoyed the book I hoped Mr Cornwell would divert his skills to developing a new and original story. I was a little hesitant when beginning this book, I really wanted to like it as Bernard Cornwell is my favourite author and I didn't want to give any negative criticism to his latest work.

The Burning Land is truly excellent and the book allows Uhtred to taste some of the independence away from King Alfred which he has been craving for so long. This freedom has allowed the author to experiment and throw Uhtred into new plots and adventures. The pace is relentless and Uhtred is swiftly covering most of the Isle in search of a purpose, allegiance and identity. However, it is not long before old oaths and promises are called upon and the Norns which have always governed Uhtred's life laugh in his face when he establishes his independent purpose in life.

My only criticism against this book and it is truly out of pure selfishness, is the length. With Mr Cornwell biding his time before releasing a new book, we have an agonising wait before his newest novel is published. With only 336 pages, I soon devoured the book and was lamenting the impending finish which sadly, came too quickly!

Bernard Cornwell fans will definitely not be disappointed with this fifth book of the series. It is a `must read' and certainly sets up sound foundations for the next book of the series. Buy it, enjoy it but be prepared for the torturous wait for the sixth book!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A return to form (of sorts...), 2 Oct 2009
By Mr. Tim D. Patmore "Magic Lemur" (Somewhere in Madagascar) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Men in the modern world are weak and puny compared to their ancient counterparts. Of course, there are exceptions but generally the lack of famine, war, pestilence & death make many men into weak molly-coddled metrosexuals without rough edges or depth of character.

This is why I absolutely LOVE this series - Uhtred is such a remorselessly tough individual & the tales are so raw in their violence that you feel you have had the 'animal spirit' inside of you reawakened! Such is the vividness of the writing that you can easily imagine being a Viking/ Saxon bounding across the plains of Wessex ready to slaughter & rout your enemies!

The 1st three books were great (partly because they followed a well-trodden formula from the Grail quests etc but mostly because they were epic). 'Sword song' was bad though, & I was concerned this book would be equally lacklustre.

Luckily it is powerfully written & Uhtred is no longer a tame, West-Saxon family man but is taken to the pits of despair in as many ways as the author can conjure. He also has a host of warriors, who are well fleshed-out characters & the wide scope of the story mean he has to take on a Witch (in the form of Skade), a den of Pirates in Holland, two Viking warlords and, inevitably, his Uncle (who we finally encounter outside Bebbanburg).

The story has enough twists & turns to keep the reader interested & has a rich variety of places & people that Uhtred meets that make this story interesting & add potential for future books.

Sadly (for those who have read his other books or the 'Sharpe' Novels) the formula of Cornwell novels creeps in a little too often. Uhtred is different to Sharpe as they are good/ evil in different ways. However their similarities are very prominent (e.g. their tactical brilliance yet lack of candour) & this can become nauseous. Furthermore the plot to this book is very similar to 'Sword Song' (big battle, politics and then a battle at Benfleet) and although this could be poetic, I think that Mr Cornwell needs to go back to university & learn some new formula's for his stories!

That said, this book is mostly a return to form & I'd say it was the equal of 'Last Kingdom', but probably not 'Pale Horseman' or 'Lords of the North'. Still, if you want a novel that is easy to read, educational (without being heavyweight) & that will reawaken the spirit of our ancestor's, then this book comes highly recommended.

P.S. Feel free to comment on this review about details I may have missed & I will be happy to fill any gaps.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


 
27 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant author, but one huge complaint!, 11 Oct 2009
This is the first time I have reviewed a book here, but have been driven to it for one reason.

Bernard is, without doubt, quite brilliant and this book is no different. But we are used to the trilogy format and when the Alfred series went to volume 4, I was a liitle surprised and privately queried the lengths of the books. 300 pages for a fifth episode is hugely disappointing and quite honestly, a rip-off. Come on Bernard, you're taking for granted the fans who love you; the Alfred series could have and should have been another trilogy.

For those Bernard Cornwell fans who haven't read them, I must recommend my favourite 2 books ever; Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" and it's sequel, "World Without End", 1000 and 1200 pages repectively.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews  
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Getting The Armour Back On
I read the first books in this series in paperback, one after the other.

It was interesting starting this one some six months after that, and Cornwell quickly makes... Read more
Published 10 hours ago by Filthy Raider

3.0 out of 5 stars it coulb be better
Mr. Cornwell seems to drag on & on the story. I 've bought the book because the first 3 were pretty good , the 4th was a mild disappointment and the 5th seems to pick up the story... Read more
Published 20 hours ago by lenna georgia

1.0 out of 5 stars Long Ago and Far Away
L.P.Hartley famously observed that the 'past is another country - they do things differently there.' I am not sure that this is the case when it comes to Bernard Cornwell, whose... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Eusebius

3.0 out of 5 stars A Step Too Far
Don't get me wrong; I'm a great fan of Bernard Cornwell- have been for years- I do feel however, that he sometimes blows hot and cold. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Mrs. Fiona M. Meyrick

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Strong Book
I got this one for Christmas, and I was glad that I did. Another really strong book from one of the best writers in Britain. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Bruce Farley

5.0 out of 5 stars The best yet
Having read all of Bernard's other books, expectations were high.... and were met!! A truly great book that moves the story of Uhtred further on to his destiny. Read more
Published 25 days ago by Mr. C. Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant!!!
Engalnd's history is pragmatically filled with epic battle cries ,heroism , and legends and in one of its historical prelude episodes, the terror wars with the invading Vikings... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Omar Farid

4.0 out of 5 stars A war that shows no end!
The Saxon series could well turn out to be Cornwell's best. This is the 5th book in the series and each book is an exciting and informative read. Read more
Published 1 month ago by richard Brown

5.0 out of 5 stars Bernard Cornwell
A most readable book as usual from this author based on truth with a bit of fiction to liven it up

The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5)
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. P. M. Payne

4.0 out of 5 stars The burning Land
Bernard Cornwell's historical novels always maintain a very high standard, and this is no exception. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Peter J. Sharpe

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject








i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.