I had pre-ordered The Empty Throne months ago, so as 1/6/15 approached, I pulled up my trusty ebook copy of The Pagan Lord. I always re-read the last book before starting a new one. After enjoying the book, I sat down and prepared to thoroughly savor every word of the new sequel. I found myself distressed at the opening. I knew that Uhtred wasn’t dead. We all knew that, but the first 10% of the book was just entirely depressing. It made me contemplate that someday there will be no more Uhtred tales. I was miserable.
When I got to “Father?” after the false start, I was utterly amazed at the thrill I got. I knew he’d be there somewhere, but still you got me. I’ve never read anything that pulls me in like Saxon Tales. It’s not just the characters, which are rich and full of so many complex emotions. It’s the writing.
I’ve read almost all of your books, usually the day they’re published. None of them seem to affect me like Uhtred. The driving nature of the sentences are so unique to this tale. It’s almost a form of poetry. There was something similar when you wrote about Dervel, but he was really the opposite of Uhtred, so it did not come across in the same way.
While I want to thank you for another fantastic tale, I am still a bit snarky over the beginning. I’m mostly surprised at myself for knowing what was happening, yet being unable to keep myself from having those feelings. Well played, sir.
Tim Dixon