The Flame Bearer

Saxon Tales, Book 10

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Matt Bates

The next installment of Bernard Cornwell's best-selling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, "like Game of Thrones, but real" (Observer, London) - the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit television series coming to Netflix in fall 2016.

From the day it was stolen from me, I dreamed of recapturing Bebbanburg. The great fort had been built on a rock that was almost an island. It was massive; it could be approached only on land by a single narrow track; and it was mine.

Britain is in a state of uneasy peace. Northumbria's Viking ruler, Sigtryggr, and Mercia's Saxon queen, Aethelflaed, have agreed to a truce. And so England's greatest warrior, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, at last has the chance to take back the home his traitorous uncle stole from him so many years ago - and which his scheming cousin still occupies.

But fate is inexorable, and the enemies Uhtred has made and the oaths he has sworn combine to distract him from his dream of recapturing Bebbanburg. New enemies enter into the fight for England's kingdoms: the redoubtable Constantin of Scotland seizes an opportunity for conquest and leads his armies south. Britain's precarious peace threatens to turn into a war of annihilation.

But Uhtred is determined that nothing, neither the new enemies nor the old foes who combine against him, will keep him from his birthright. He is the Lord of Bebbanburg, but he will need all the skills he has learned in a lifetime of war to make his dream come true. The latest chapter in Bernard Cornwell's "violent, absorbing historical saga", The Flame Bearer confirms Bernard Cornwell's title as "perhaps the greatest writer of historical adventure novels today" (Washington Post).

©2016 Bernard Cornwell (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

The exciting conclusion to Uhtred's saga.

Riveting.
Fast paced.
The final Uthred novel is bittersweet yet satisfying like good Frankish wine. Old enemies and forgotten rivals stand in the Pagan Lord's path to reclaim his ancestral home. The resulting clash holds your attention to the final second. Bernard Cornwell does what he does best in "The Flame Bearer," penning an excellent work that holds the power to stir the inner warrior in any man. now that the series is concluded, I must admit I will sincerely miss Uhtred's stories. As before, Matt Bates performance is both savagely brutal and emotional. The Saxon Tales is a series worth your attention. Until Valhalla Uhtred.

Excellent narration

Due to diminished vision I am adjusting to audio version of some of my favorite books. I thoroughly enjoy the quality of this audio presentation.

great finish to the saga

lived it as a great finish to Uhtreds saga. But I hope the saga continues.they

Epic story!

keep me entertained throughout the entire story. I will definitely read this series again, wow!

love the story

the story is very good i was reading this since last kingdom and agincort. narrator is very convincing that i forgot about how i have been listening.

Reminiscent of earlier books in the series

I stepped away from this series for a time because the stories were feeling formulaic. However, my curiosity got the better of me because it's still an amazing saga and I want to see where it goes. I am very pleased to have finally purchased this book because the heart is back in it. Any notion that this book would feel the same as the last few quickly vanished. The twists and turns in Uhtred's fortune continue to make me feel everything from dismay, to anger, and then on to deep joy. Congratulations Mr. Cornwell, you have breathed a new life into this amazing work.

Ended

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and this is a good place to leave it. Great job Mr. Cornwell

awesome finish

agian an awesome finish. have heard all 11 and it was worth it. great narration as well. will there be another. I hope so

NEVER dissapoints

On par, as one has come to expect, Bernard Cornwell becomes all things epic and embodies a grandmaster story-teller worthy of epic poems. Crass, barbabaric, and pagan as ever, Cornwell's 'Utred' is the stuff of legends of which the God of Tits and Wine would eagerly sing praises to, and mere mortals can only hope to accolade. No one writes a battle scene like Cornwell. Point. Blank. Period.

To be invested this far (10 books in), you're either very bored, or very intrigued. If you are the former - pissoff you weakling, you have no place in Valhalla. if you are the thoroughly invested latter - I need say no more.

"Wyrd bið ful āræd."

Fate is inexorable.

-Bernard Cornwell

Great Read!

One of the best of the ten volume series! Very enjoyable. Could not put it down, finished it in one sitting.