Mr. Cornwell is the master of the historical adventure novel. He is the author of several series, all featuring a great, honorable warrior as his lead. In all his books, the historical detail is accurate, his plotting is amazing and his characters are developed in great detail. Many of the characters are the real people of history, such as Stonewall Jackson being part of his American Civil War series.

The Last Kingdom is the first of the Saxon Tales, a series set in England in the late ninth century during King Alfred's reign. Uhtred, a great Pagan warrior, is loyal to Alfred as the British Saxons fight the invading Danes(Vikings). These books are some of my personal favorites, the fifth in the series will be out later this year. The Last Kingdom is the historical novel as modern literature and a great place to start reading Mr. Cornwell.

Richard