Hi Bernard,

I’ve just finished reading the Pagan Lord (which was excellent, as always) and I’m curious where the series is going to go from here (I appreciate you’re not going to want to give too much away). If the death of seven kings refers to the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 as you’ve already suggested previously, then presumably this is where you intend to end the series? If so, wouldn’t Uhtred be around 81 by then? Assuming he was was born in 856 as implied in The Last Kingdom. This seems rather old for him to be directly involved in the battle, so I wonder if Uhtred is going to have more or a backseat role in future books, with Uhtred the Younger doing more of the actual fighting?

Also, my understanding is that, until a few years before Brunanburh a certain Ealdred, son of Eadwulf, ruled in Bamburgh who was “a friend of King Edward the Elder” and whose father had been “a favourite of King Alfred the Great”. Is your intention to replace Eadwulf and Ealdred with Uhtred and Uhtred the Younger? Or are you going to weave Eadwulf and Ealdred into the story somehow?

I’ll obviously understand if you don’t want to answer either of these questions for the sake of avoiding spoilers.

Thanks for your time,
Ed Prior