The second installment of Bernard Cornwell's bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England-"like Game of Thrones, but real" (The Observer, London)-the basis for The Last Kingdom, a major television series airing in Fall 2015. In a clash of heroes, the kingdom is born..As the last unvanquished piece of England, Wessex is eyed hungrily by the fearsome Viking conquerors. Uhtred, a dispossessed young nobleman, is tied to the imperiled land by birth and marriage but was raised by the Danish invaders-and he questions where his allegiance must lie. But blood is his destiny, and when the overwhelming Viking horde attacks out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred must put aside all hatred and distrust and stand beside his embattled country's staunch defender-the fugitive King Alfred.