Review: The Last Kingdom
/2019 CHALLENGE: 1 RE-READ PER MONTH 11 / 12
5 stars. I'm taking some time off from work to travel, and my latest trip was to Denmark. Boy, is that place very epic and very awesome. Copenhagen was cozy AF; they really embrace the hygge there. It got me thinking about one of my favorite books, The Last Kingdom, which features some wonderfully savage viking Danes. And because in the winter time all I want to read is old school stuff about food halls and clanging swords, I thought it'd be perfect for my reading challenge.
This time, as opposed to the first time I read it (and the first time I watched the adaptation series), I really got this. It's about a man named Uhtred, a young English nobleman kidnapped and raised quite happily by the Danish warriors raiding his homeland. Throughout the story, the Danes successfully invade three of England's four kingdoms and are left facing Wessex, ruled by the pious King Alfred. Uhtred, with English blood and Danish loyalties, is caught in the middle.
It's the type of book that begs to be read aloud by a crackling fire under a cozy blanket, with a cup of ale or mulled wine in your hand, maybe with a plate of bread and cheese. Uhtred tells his story with incredible clarity and breathtaking action - the battle sequences are among the best I've ever read. This is perhaps cliche, but you will feel as though you are there. It feels so real.
History basically blows my mind, so I loved the level of detail as well. I learned so much about life back then - the little things, like basic traditions and habits of daily life - and the big things, like how people considered power and religion and family and identity. It is cinematic and sweeping with a lot of (excellent) characters yet Uhtred allows us a focused gaze, which is helpful.
I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on religion. The clash of the two religions (England's Christianity and Danish paganism) is paid a great deal of attention, and I found the conflict, despite knowing its deep and profound significance, kind of amusing. The scene (I'm being intentionally vague here) involving Saint Sebastian and the arrows is one of the best scenes of literature I've ever encountered. Entertaining, brutal, and funny.
Keep in mind that, as other readers have mentioned, The Last Kingdom employs a writing style that may not appeal to everyone. It's brittle, it's detail-heavy, and it almost appears at first glance emotionless. This worked for me, but I'm sure it was boring for others. I'm just really attracted to that sort of smooth, cut-and-dry, concise, unapologetic writing and find it cleanly captivating.
I have this weird thing where I start series and never finish them, so one of my challenges next year will be to fix that. I'M STARTING HERE. I really love this book.