Sorry kids, no feet.

I love Uhtred. Really. I do. However, he's getting old. He's getting predictable. I'm ready to say goodbye. As much as Cornwell argues that's not the case, I think we are closer to the end than some of us care to admit.

Cornwell still writes a battle scene that is second to none. That alone makes Uhtred appointment reading. My biggest problem with the books (especially the last two) is that they have become so formulaic. Uhtred makes a stupid decision. He is backed into a corner and then spends the rest of the book literally fighting his way out. At this point, I would think Uhtred is a little too old to be making such stupid decisions. Maybe he's been hit in the head one too many times so he forgets what hasn't worked in the past. 

I was hoping as the series continued on we were going to get more of Uhtred Jr. That doesn't seem to be the case. Uhtred Jr. seems to have been forgotten about. Every once in a while the reader is reminded he exists but we don't get to see him any more. Some of my favorite elements in the previous three (maybe four) novels were Uhtred's interactions with his children. I would really like to see Jr. make a comeback.

A final thing that bothered me about this book was the abrupt ending. It's like Cornwell realized he reached the end but he forgot to tie up the loose ends. Suddenly in the last paragraph the readers is given the fate of about six or seven different characters in two sentences. I understand those outcomes were necessary to maintain the historical accuracy going forward. It doesn't mean I have to like the way things were just haphazardly thrown in. A few of those characters deserved better than what they were given. 

Read 1/25/2020 - 1/27/2020