Bernard Cornwell's 13th book in his Saxon Tales series and the finale of the group which is a detailing of the making of England. Mr. Cornwell is a prodigious chronicler of historical detail with hallmarks of deep research and painstaking plotting. As in any great writer's interpretation of history written in the form of a novel his books impart a picture of the period being discussed with literary license to interject supposed conversations between the characters as well as descriptions of major events taking place at the time. This novel can be read as a stand-alone although preceding events may not be alluded to. The lack of preexisting data does not detract from the enjoyment of a well written book. Also, if critical a bit of research should turn up the missing facts. Lord uhtred king of Bebbanburg a city in the province of Northumbria is caught between the quarrels of two men looking to annex the province and seeking him as an ally. Uhtred is getting on in years after a lifetime of war and would like nothing less than to spend his remaining lifetime in the company of his lady and let his son take on the ruling of Bebbanburg as well as its wars., Unfortunately he realizes that if he does not pick the correct side in the intercene battles between the two prospective rulers he could very well lose everything including his life. The reader is taken through the machinations of the opposing sides, including the reactions and plans of Uhtred. The era under review is rife with the growth of the Christian religion and taking the place of the Pagan beliefs of the peoples living than. Uhtred was a pagan but his lady, a former slave was a Christian. The book culminates in the battle of Brunanburh in 973 A.D. a little-known fight but claimed by Mr. Cornwell as the key event in the creation of England. It took place almost a century before the battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. which allowed the Norman French to conquer and become a part of Anglo Saxon England. Based on the long list of historical novels Bernard Cornwell has to his credit it is certain that he will shortly present his next project and allow his readers to continue to enjoy his books.

After such a long series, I was quite expecting this to be a long, possibly boring, slog. How wrong could I be - while maybe not as totally rivetting as earlier volumes, War Lord was interesting and the storyline satisfactorily drew together enough threads to finish the saga. Without giving anything away, I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. Bernard Cornwell does not disappoint.

After 12 previous books we finally came to the penultimate end of the series of the Last Kingdom. Thoroughly enjoyed this last book and thought it was a very fitting and not disappointing end to the story. Thank you Bernard Cornwell for your skill in writing such engaging books and for the effort you put into researching as accurately as possible the historical background to them. Thank you too Waterstones that as a reader living overseas for many years I have been able to order your books to collect when visiting the UK or purchase them very efficiently online in more recent times. Howard R Banks

After finishing the 12th in this series, Sword of Kings, I vowed not to read anymore partly because of the cost (I'd spent over £100 up to then) and frankly the stories were becoming increasingly daft as they veered further from the historical record. Well I'm glad I broke my oath as the latest and the last (we've been promised no more) is well worth reading as it covers the events leading to one of the most important battles in England's history when Athelstan (and of course Uhtred) took on the might of the Vikings and Scots probably in the north west somewhere. This is Cornwell at his best though rather repetitive as usual where issues such as which side should Uhtred fight for are played out ad nauseum- this could have been a much shorter book. Anyway goodbye Uhtred, Uhtred and Uhtred