Death of Kings

Style and format

The novel is written as a first person narrative told by Uhtred as a reflection. The novel was also published with a family tree of Alfred the Great, a historical note, a list of Anglo-Saxon placenames and their modern day equivalent and a map depicting Anglo-Saxon Britain and the Southern coast of the English Channel and North Sea.

Plot summary

Alfred the Great is said to be dying. Rivals for his succession are poised to tear the kingdom apart. The country that Alfred has worked for thirty years to build is likely to disintegrate. Uhtred, a Saxon born warrior, who has been raised by the Danes, wants more than anything else to go and fight to reclaim his stolen Northumbrian inheritance. But he knows that if he deserts the King's cause, Alfred's dream - and the very future of the English nation - would vanish immediately.

The beginning of the book finds Father Willibald visiting Uhtred on his small estate at Buckingham, loaned by Aethelflaed. A gang of outlaws has been paid to kill Uhtred, but they are no match for the shepherd and his dogs. Willibald tells Uhtred that King Alfred of Wessex has requested that he broker a deal between Eohric, King of East Anglia and Alfred. Uhtred reluctantly agrees but is wary, with good reason. Sigurd, one of the Danish lords with an eye for Wessex is nearby for the Yule. Uhtred first visits a nearby estate to scout the Danish lands in Mercia. He discovers halls with very few warriors left, but the women still there. It lets him know something is not right considering it is the depths of winter. He then discovers tracks beaten into the ground by a large group of horses headed east toward East Anglia, not toward Sigurds hall. Uhtred returns home and prepares to leave, but first has Sihtric, the bastard son of Kjarten, find a man who knows the way to East Anglia. Ludda is found, he advises Uhtred on how to arrive at the meeting place with Eohric's men at Huntandon. Uhtred, suspecting a trap learns the key choke points that an ambush could happen between his home and Huntandon. Uhtred's worries turnout to be correct as his caution allows him to surprise a force of 40-East Anglia warriors waiting on the river Use. They capture them with any deaths and burn the ships. Uhtred then gathers his men at one of the bridges crossing the Use river and fight a battle against Sigurd and his men.

Critical reception

A reviewer for National Public Radio said, "His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as the swords, and the action is non-stop." In the New York Times, a reviewer wrote that Cornwell "writes morally complicated and intricate stories, and he’s won a following not just among readers but also among fellow writers." A reviewer for The Guardian wrote, "There are moments of terror, including one particularly striking episode when Uhtred goes to visit a witch and is drugged, bound and gagged while the naked, shrivelled crone cackles madness. Cornwell's plot is enlivened by passages of clear beauty as he describes the natural world in which such horrors take place".