Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell

The twelfth installment of Bernard Cornwell's New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England--"superior entertainment that is both engaging and enlightening" (Washington Post), and  the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit Netflix series.

It is a time of political turmoil once more in the 10th century
as the fading King Edward begins to lose control over his successors and their
supporters. There are two potential heirs--possibly more--and doubt over whether
the once separate states of Wessex and Mercia will hold together. Despite
attempts at pulling him into the political fray, Uhtred of Bebbanburg cares
solely about his beloved Northumbria and its continuing independence from
southern control.

But an oath is a strong, almost sacred commitment and
such a promise had been exchanged between Uhtred and Aethelstan, his onetime
companion in arms and now a potential king. Uhtred was tempted to ignore the
demands of the oath and stay in his northern fastness, leaving the quarrelling
Anglo-Saxons to sort out their own issues.  But an attack on him by a
leading supporter of one of the candidates and an unexpected appeal for help
from another, drives Uhtred with a small band of warriors south, into the battle
for kingship--and England's fate.