The Flame Bearer

📘 About This Book

The tenth installment of Bernard Cornwell’s New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, “like Game of Thrones, but real” (The Observer, London)—the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit television series. Britain is in a state of uneasy peace. Northumbria’s Viking ruler, Sigtryggr, and Mercia’s Saxon Queen Aethelflaed have agreed 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 conspire to distract him from his dream of recapturing his home. 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. Yet Uhtred is determined that nothing—neither the new adversaries nor the old foes who combine against him—will keep him from his birthright. “Historical novels stand or fall on detail, and Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back.” —Wall Street Journal

📖 Summary

The Flame Bearer stands as the tenth installment in Bernard Cornwell’s critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling series that chronicles the epic saga of the making of England. Published in 2016 across 304 pages, this historical fiction masterpiece serves as the literary foundation for portions of the hit television series The Last Kingdom. The narrative plunges readers back into the turbulent and violent world of early medieval Britain, a landscape fractured by relentless power struggles between Saxons and Vikings. At the heart of this sweeping tale is Uhtred of Bebbanburg, recognized widely as England’s greatest warrior, whose life has been defined by a singular, burning ambition: to reclaim the ancestral fortress and home that was stolen from him by a traitorous uncle and is now occupied by a scheming cousin. As the novel opens, Britain finds itself in a state of fragile and uneasy peace. A semblance of stability has been forged through an agreement between Northumbria’s Viking ruler, Sigtryggr, and Mercia’s Saxon Queen Aethelflaed. For Uhtred, this temporary quietude finally presents the golden opportunity he has chased for decades to march north, strike down his cousin, and take back Bebbanburg. However, in the unforgiving universe crafted by Cornwell, fate is relentless and unyielding. The multitude of enemies Uhtred has accumulated throughout his long, bloody career, combined with the heavy, binding oaths he has sworn to various lords and factions, continually conspire to pull him away from his lifelong dream. Complicating matters further, the geopolitical chessboard of Britain shifts dramatically with the arrival of dangerous new adversaries who enter the violent fray for control of the fractured English kingdoms. These threats force Uhtred to balance his personal desires against the broader, chaotic destiny of a nation struggling to be born. Through vivid battle sequences, complex political machinations, and deeply flawed, fiercely human characters, Cornwell paints a gritty and authentic portrait of a dark era. The Flame Bearer weaves together themes of loyalty, vengeance, destiny, and identity, offering a visceral historical journey that appeals deeply to fans of immersive fiction and sweeping historical epics.

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Bernard CornwellView all books →

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