This is Book 8 in the Warrior Chronicles set in Anglo Saxon England, featuring our hero Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
The historical context is the death of the Mercian ruler, with no legitimate heir. His wife is the obvious choice, but women rulers were rare, to put it mildly. Uhtred is wounded and a sub plot is his journey to recover the sword that wounded him. While the 'English' are divided the Vikings step up their raids on the west coast from Ireland. As usual the book ends with a grand battle, this time on the walls of Chester.
I am frankly running out of superlatives to describe Bernard Cornwell's writing. It is simply a book that you can't put down - the very best in historical fiction.
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