"Another rollicking Saxon tale.... No lit-fic pretensions here: historical fiction rendered, with little expansion, via battles and royal intrigue and portraits of day-to-day life circa 1000 B.C.E." -- Kirkus

"Vivid, fast-paced.... Treachery and trickery mark the tenth volume in Cornwell's always exciting Saxon Tales." -- Library Journal

"Rousing...will not disappoint." -- Margaret Flanagan, Booklist

"The final battle is one for the ages, bursting with gory detail and flush with savage death as the wolves of the shield wall smite his enemies." -- Lee Scott, Florida Times-Union

"As with all his previous books Cornwell grabs your attention right off the bat. His masterful style pulls you right in." -- New York Journal of Books

"Fascinating.... Blends historic fact with fiction seamlessly." -- Glen Seeber, The Oklahoman

"The battle description might well be Cornwell's best yet, which is saying something. Fans do not want to miss this episode." -- Bookloons.com

"Bernard Cornwell ranks as the current alpha male of testosterone-enriched historical fiction.... Cornwell offers dramatic battle scenes with big swinging swords. There is also treachery, male bonding, plenty of historical nuggets and a skillful examination of the powerful role played by religion in the Dark Ages." -- USA Today

"The most prolific and successful historical novelist in the world today.... Mr. Cornwell writes as if he has been to ninth-century Wessex and back. . . . Much has changed since the ninth century, but some things, and some feelings, are timeless." -- Wall Street Journal

"Our hero is Uhtred, a good-hearted lout with a pleasantly sour disposition; he's like a 9th century Han Solo." -- Time