War of the wolf : a novel / Bernard Cornwell ; map by John Gilkes.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Bernard Cornwell's epic story of the making of England continues in this eleventh installment in the bestselling Saxon Tales series--"like Game of Thrones, but real" (The Observer)--the basis of the hit Netflix television series The Last Kingdom.

His blood is Saxon

His heart is Viking

His battleground is England

"Perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today" (Washington Post), Bernard Cornwell has dazzled and entertained readers and critics with his page-turning bestsellers. Of all his protagonists, however, none is as beloved as Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

And while Uhtred might have regained his family's fortress, it seems that a peaceful life is not to be - as he is under threat from both an old enemy and a new foe. The old enemy comes from Wessex where a dynastic struggle will determine who will be the next king. And the new foe is Sköll, a Norseman, whose ambition is to be King of Northumbria and who leads a frightening army of wolf-warriors, men who fight half-crazed in the belief that they are indeed wolves. Uhtred, believing he is cursed, must fend off one enemy while he tries to destroy the other. In this new chapter of the Saxon Tales series--a rousing adventure of courage, treachery, duty, devotion, majesty, love and battle, as seen through the eyes of a warrior straddling two worlds--Uhtred returns to fight once again for the destiny of England.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Still snarling after all these years, Uhtred Uhtredson of Bebbanburg charges again across the Northumbrian landscape in this 11th installment of Cornwell's "Saxon Tales" series (The Flame Bearer; Warriors of the Storm). Haunted by the murder of his daughter and an opponent's blind sorcerer, the intrepid swordsman is at first perplexed by the depradations of Norse refugees from Ireland. The political intrigue of early tenth-century England and its many power centers is equally as vexing. As he chases down his elusive foe, Uhtred detours to the councils of King Edward, before heading off to the ultimate battle. At the end, he finds himself aging, weary, wounded, and facing an impregnable fortress. Yet he lives to tell the tale. Once again, Cornwell has placed his irascible and cunning hero in the midst of personal and political conflict and provided another exciting story. VERDICT For those who enjoy their historical fiction told with verve and imagination. [See -Prepub Alert, 4/9/18.]-W. Keith McCoy, Somerset Cty. Lib. Syst., Bridgewater, NJ © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

The prolific Cornwell and his indefatigable protagonist, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, reunite for the eleventh installment, following The Flame Bearer (2016), of the Saxon Tales, a series that never seems to run out of blood, gore, and glory. Though he has finally achieved his goal of reclaiming Bebbanburg, his ancestral fortress, Uhtred is besieged by external enemies and plagued by internal turmoil grounded in his conflicting Saxon and Viking roots. As the kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex struggle with questions of dynastic succession, he faces a brutal new enemy determined to gain control of his beloved Northumbria. Sköll, a cunning and ruthless Norseman leading an army of "wolf-warriors," wages brutal war on Uhtred and King Sigtryggr. Political, spiritual, and military battles abound as the future of England hangs in the balance. Expect great demand from both veteran devotees and new fans generated by the popularity of the Netflix TV series, The Last Kingdom.--Margaret Flanagan Copyright 2018 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

This 11th entry in Cornwell's Saxon Tales series (The Flame Bearer, 2016, etc.) is a rousing, bloodthirsty tale of tumult in early-days Britain.Uhtred, the powerful 10th-century Lord of Bebbanburg, sets out with less than a hundred men to relieve the siege of Ceaster and rescue Prince thelstan, King Edward's son. But someone has tricked Uhtred, who has been lured across Britain "to rescue a man who did not need rescuing." Someone has drawn him away from defense of his native Northumbria, and he determines to "discover the name of an enemy." Around the year 920, Britain is still a jumble of small kingdoms. Edward is the self-appointed Anglorum Saxonum Rex, the first king of the Angles and the Saxons. He wants to annex Northumbria, but Uhtred will not swear loyalty to him. For one thing, Uhtred's son-in-law Sigtryggr is already king there. Meanwhile, Christianity is beginning to spread, but the 60-something pagan Uhtred wants none of thathis gods can walk on water too, if they want to. Although the plot is complicated, it boils down to this: Uhtred wants to kill the Norseman who wants to kill him and conquer Northumbria. The story has marvelous details, such as the fierce warrior Svart who has a beard with bones woven into it. Swords have names like Serpent-Breath, Soul-Stealer, and Wasp-Sting. And be they Saxon, Angle, Dane, or Norse, everyone is enamored of wolves, especially the "wolf-warriors" who use henbane ointment to make them crazy before battle. Uhtred observes that King Edward is caught in "a tangle of love, loyalties and hate, mostly hate.The only thing that was simple was war." And war there certainly is. Serpent-Breath and his many murderous cousins inflict bloody butchery in spectacular hand-to-hand combat. A Christian man laments that "my god weeps for Englalandmy god wants peace." Alas, that god gets no satisfaction in this grand adventure.Great entertainment for fans of historical epics. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.