The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

I've been distracted by my Doctor Who marathon, so it took me a few weeks to get started on this, but I've been knocking it out during Merchant rehearsal and finally finished it last night.

Reminder: Viking is a profession, not a people, and they didn't wear horns.

I'll be honest: I don't have a lot to say about this one. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I don't know enough about the period it is set in to know how accurate it is, but from what I do know it seems to be pretty realistic. As historical fiction, it has sparked my interest in learning more about the period, as well as learning a little more about my ancestry. That is unusual for me, because I've always valued having an attitude of looking forward. Who my ancestors were doesn't define me. Yes, I enjoy St. Patrick's Day, but mostly for the music and the Guinness. I'd rather look forward to a more peaceful and egalitarian time for the human race as a whole, why should I worry about what my great-great-great-great-great-grandparent's culture was? I'll make my own culture, thank-you-very-much.

Yet I couldn't help but feel stirred by this story which could easily have unfolded to or around my ancestors. There's a scene in which Uhtred (the protagonist) is admonished by his friend Brida about who are truly their gods:

"You think the Christian god is watching us."
"No," I said, wondering how she knew that I had been thinking about that very question.
"He was never our god," she said fiercely. "We worshiped Woden and Thor and Eostre and all the other gods and goddesses, and then the Christians came and we forgot our gods, and now the Danes have come to lead us back to them."

 Now I have no inclination to run off and worship Thor (sorry Ryan), but I couldn't help but feel as though my heritage had been stolen from me by those pesky Christians. It hearkened back to someone I knew once who refused to celebrate St. Patrick's day for this very reason: that the Christian god is not an Irish god. Maybe she's right. I've pondered it many times since, and loved that this book was able to stir those feelings, even if the feelings are nothing more than a flight of romantic fancy.

In any case, the book is the first in a series, so as per the rules of this venture I could choose to continue on through the series before moving on to the next book on my pile, but I have decided to hold off on that. I'm almost through all my borrowed books. However, since I picked up my own copy of The Last Kingdom thanks to Grounds for Thought, I'll probably pick back up with the series when I reach Cornwell in the alphabet. The next book in the series is called The Pale Horseman, so I find it odd that the next book on my pile has a similar title.

Next: On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony