Absolutely bloody fantastic! Your fusion of historical accuracy and story telling entertainment in its purest (and most enjoyable) form has never failed to thrill me, and the latest addition to the Saxon saga has certainly not been an exception. The end of Alfred almost moved me to tears, whilst the twists in the ending battle were brilliantly fun!
I’m lucky enough to be a reenactor of both the Hundred Years War and the Anglo-Saxon/Viking era, and so I find that your writing about the periods really does speak to me, especially when Uhtred refers to the “battle joy” of the shield wall – which I certainly relate to! Having said that, I also found The Fort to be incredibly enjoyable –  which is unusual as I usually wouldn’t touch that period with a ram rod!
It might please you to know that your enthusiasm seems to have rubbed off on me through your books: whilst I’ve always loved the medieval era, I think that work has played one of the key roles in developing my interest and is probably one of the main reasons for my choice of university course – in the next few months I will be initiating three years of Viking Studies at Nottingham uni – and I can’t wait! In that regard I sort of feel the need to thank you for having such a positive influence on me, although the interviews I’ve seen seem to indicate that you probably enjoy writing these books just as much as I enjoy reading them.
Whilst I’m granted the opportunity to contact you, I feel the need to ask slightly prudent religious questions, if I might do so? Having read (and thoroughly enjoyed) the way you deal with Christianity in the Arthur and Saxon books, would I be correct in guessing that you aren’t conventionally (or even at all) religious? And is your life in the home of the brave, land of the free at all made difficult by the rather damning light in which you paint the Christian Church? Back in Britain of course, religion bashing isn’t unusual at all, but it seems to be considered a far greater offence over there!
To summarise, your writing has been a fantastic part of my life and, someday, I hope to be able to write literature in the same calibre as yours. I vaguely remember writing a narrative of a medieval battle involving an army of zombies back in my early teen years, but I can’t imagine that it read quite as well as your version of the Battle of Ethandun did… Ah well.
Please don’t keep us waiting too long for the next one!
Yours,
Hayden Asbhy – aspiring Viking, and mead drinking Frenchie basher.