tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post4041729588682270748..comments2023-11-29T07:39:34.401+00:00Comments on Carla Nayland Historical Fiction: Sword Song, by Bernard Cornwell. Book reviewCarlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-67776201976307533342009-11-05T09:25:13.177+00:002009-11-05T09:25:13.177+00:00Annis - that's a pretty good summary :-)Annis - that's a pretty good summary :-)Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-64951445130720182922009-11-05T08:29:57.852+00:002009-11-05T08:29:57.852+00:00"Wicked" is an Uhtred judgement. Perhaps..."Wicked" is an Uhtred judgement. Perhaps Uhtred finds fraticide particularly repellent, but you get the feeling that he wouldn't have been so judgemental if Erik had killed Siegfrid instead. Uhtred's attitude is rather hypocritical anyway, given that he'd have no compunction himself about killing his own uncle and cousins at Bebbanburg if he ever got the chance. The Uhtred approach to moral issues is pretty straightforward and flexible- what Uhtred approves of is good, what he doesn't like is bad! He certainly doesn't make a reliable arbiter when it comes to deciding where others should spend their after-life :)Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367569632016734415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-9933858186808771102009-11-04T15:55:12.645+00:002009-11-04T15:55:12.645+00:00Annis - Yes, that does seem to be an emerging them...Annis - Yes, that does seem to be an emerging theme. Must be great for Uhtred to be able to dictate who gets to go to the afterlife! I admit I find that idea faintly creepy, if I think about it :-)<br /><br />By the way, I may be being very dim here, but what exactly had Sigefrid done that was so wicked? He captured London and fought unsuccessfully to keep it; he captured Aethelflaed and wanted a ransom for her; and when his brother attacked him on the ship he fought back despite being crippled and killed him. None of that seems particularly to deserve being locked out of Valhalla and relegated to Hel. Nothing like as bad as Haesten's oath-breaking. What did I miss?Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-8388818008275059022009-11-04T05:16:42.465+00:002009-11-04T05:16:42.465+00:00That's right, Carla- I'd forgotten about t...That's right, Carla- I'd forgotten about the wicked brother. Maybe we're seeing the addition of a new Bernard Cornwell Standard Rule to the list - any opponents Uhtred thinks would make worthy corpse-hall companions get the sword, those who've acted dishonourably don't.Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367569632016734415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-48392123687136510512009-11-03T12:17:45.125+00:002009-11-03T12:17:45.125+00:00Steven - glad you found the post interesting. Let...Steven - glad you found the post interesting. Let me know what you think of Lords of the North and Sword Song when you read them!<br /><br />Alianore - you're welcome. If/when you get round to reading the series I'll be interested to hear what you think.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-61633601430559083032009-11-03T09:32:14.905+00:002009-11-03T09:32:14.905+00:00Thanks for putting in a link to the Support Group!...Thanks for putting in a link to the Support Group! I really must get round to reading this series sometime; they've been sitting on the bookshelf for far too long.<br /><br />Maybe someone could compile a list of Bernard Cornwell Standard Rules? Sounds like they'd be fun to read. :-)Kathryn Warnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397714441908100576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-73698911953609923332009-11-02T15:35:58.126+00:002009-11-02T15:35:58.126+00:00I'd love to read your review but I still haven...I'd love to read your review but I still haven't read Lords of the North yet, and I'm afraid it will spoil things for me. Also, I just read your post on inter-marriage between Britons and Saxons. It was very interesting.Steven Tillhttp://steventill.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-35136289445061757542009-11-01T12:13:02.354+00:002009-11-01T12:13:02.354+00:00Elizabeth - if the review was useful to you, I'...Elizabeth - if the review was useful to you, I'm glad. It's a tricky one; we don't know Aethelred <i>wasn't</i> a snake. I think if he'd been quite as stupid Alfred would have seen through him, but on the other hand he might have been the only senior Mercian nobleman left by then. Didn't you say about the first book in the series that you enjoyed it as bordering on fantasy? That approach probably suits the others in the series as well; an entertaining read but not to be taken too seriously, like an action film.<br /><br />Kailana - which of his books do you have? I think the first series of Sharpe novels are still his best. <br /><br />Gabriele - yes, a fun action romp is a good description.<br /><br />Annis - didn't he do something similar to Sigefrid in Sword Song? I haven't got the book to hand now, but I'm sure I remember Uhtred saying to Sigefrid that his (Sigefrid's) brother Erik was already in Valhalla, that Uhtred was going to join him there in due time, and neither of them wanted Sigefrid's company. Right at the end, almost on the last page.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-501152212666597322009-10-31T19:32:51.970+00:002009-10-31T19:32:51.970+00:00In a shocking breach of the Bernard Cornwell Stand...In a shocking breach of the Bernard Cornwell Standard Rules, in "Burning Land" Uhtred at one stage actually kicks a sword away from a dying opponent's reach to make sure that he doesn't get to Valhalla :)Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367569632016734415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-67260159489648808502009-10-31T15:18:59.145+00:002009-10-31T15:18:59.145+00:00I enjoy these books as what they are: a fun action...I enjoy these books as what they are: a fun action romp. <br /><br />Since I'm pretty anti-Church myself, I don't mind the church pummeling. ;)Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-49826354147002941282009-10-31T03:55:50.787+00:002009-10-31T03:55:50.787+00:00I really need to read Bernard Cornwell. I have sev...I really need to read Bernard Cornwell. I have several books by him on my TBR pile, but it takes me forever to read himKailanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-7144240287479863762009-10-30T17:22:16.015+00:002009-10-30T17:22:16.015+00:00Many thanks for the review Carla. I'm not sur...Many thanks for the review Carla. I'm not sure if I'll get as far as reading this one. I've read and quite enjoyed the first in the series and we have the others on the bookshelf, but if I'm reading about real people, even if their history is shadowy and little known, I hate it when they are given characteristics just for the convenience of the plot. Of late it has become one of my see-red complaints! Suspect I am on the cusp of grumpy old womanhood!<br />Good to know what you and Annis think. Thank you!Elizabeth Chadwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16911841862257909703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-22687137209897328912009-10-30T12:45:09.897+00:002009-10-30T12:45:09.897+00:00Tegels - thanks for the link :-)
Annis - Glad it&...Tegels - thanks for the link :-)<br /><br />Annis - Glad it's not just me who thinks the Uhtred series is getting increasingly like Sharpe! It makes perfect sense; the Sharpe formula has been immensely successful, and Bernard Cornwell is a master at it.<br /><br />The extreme 'cuddly teddy bear' stereotype is probably just as daft as the previous extreme 'bloodthirsty savages' stereotype. Extremes usually are... <br /><br />In the absence of detailed historical records there's no alternative but to make things up to fill in the gaps, and it's greatly to his credit that he says so in the author's note and doesn't try to claim otherwise. I can't help feeling sorry for Aethelred, though!Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-87813129916629521302009-10-29T19:37:04.533+00:002009-10-29T19:37:04.533+00:00Having just finished "Burning Land", I n...Having just finished "Burning Land", I notice a pattern starting to show up with the "Saxon Stories" - they seem to be developing along the lines of the Sharpe books, shorter, and with each episode based around a particular significant battle. In "Sword Song" it was the battle for London, in "Burning Land" it’s the battle of South Benfleet.<br /><br />In his author’s note at the end of "Burning Land" BC has some derisory comments to make about current revisionist theories which would have us see the Vikings as big cuddly blond bears just in need of a bit of land to farm and a good Saxon woman to set them straight, rather than savage warriors :) He also admits to playing fast and loose with the characters of King Alfred’s daughter, Aethelflaed, and her husband, Aethelred of Mercia. Cornwell cheerfully confesses that there is absolutely no evidence that Aethelred was the weak and devious snake depicted in "Sword Song" and "Burning Land", and that he is taking shameless advantage of the fact that setting his stories in a relatively obscure period igives him the opportunity to use some artistic licence!Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367569632016734415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-57818344982652771142009-10-29T15:13:27.550+00:002009-10-29T15:13:27.550+00:00Carla, thought you might like Anglo-Saxon Archers:...Carla, thought you might like Anglo-Saxon Archers:<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbarchers/F2693941?thread=6951670tegelsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-63461360573703964572009-10-28T16:08:36.074+00:002009-10-28T16:08:36.074+00:00It certainly seems to be a Standard Rule for Berna...It certainly seems to be a Standard Rule for Bernard Cornwell popular fiction :-) Given his childhood, you can understand why. It's such a fixture it gets quite endearing, like counting all the times Uhtred gives a sword to an enemy he's slaughtering so they can drink together in the corpse-hall.Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19922276.post-80499217554485026482009-10-28T15:34:30.491+00:002009-10-28T15:34:30.491+00:00Of course the Church takes a pummeling here. Isn&#...Of course the Church takes a pummeling here. Isn't that pretty much one of the Standard Rules for popular historical fiction set between Constantine and the French Revolution?Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932015378213238346noreply@blogger.com