Part of The Last Kingdom, book 1
First published 2009
The Danish longships beach on English shores in the ninth century, bringing fire and steel to a fractured land. A young warrior finds himself torn between two worlds as the fierce Norsemen sweep across kingdom after kingdom. The invaders hunger for gold and territory, crushing resistance wherever they find it. Only one English realm still stands against the storm from across the sea. The fate of an entire people now rests with a single king who must unite what remains of his divided land. The young man watches kingdoms burn and sees brothers turn against each other in desperate times. He witnesses acts of courage and betrayal as two cultures clash in a struggle that will determine whether English civilization survives. Through his eyes, the brutal reality of conquest unfolds. Love and loyalty war with duty and survival as he navigates between Danish camps and English halls, never fully belonging to either world yet shaped by both.
Genres: historical-fiction, military-fiction, adventure, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Denmark, England
Period: 9th Century
384 pages · Kindle Edition · HarperCollins e-books
Content warnings: violence