the last warrior

4 stars

Wow. This is a great second book in the series about King Coelwulf and his courageous band of men’s fight to save Mercia from the invasion of Norse raiders. The action starts immediately after the battle at Repton and doesn’t let up until the devastating cliffhanger.

King Coelwulf and his men are bloodied after they beat back the raiders at Repton, but far too many of them made it to their boats and fled north to safety. Determined to extinguish the scourge from Mercia completely, King Coelwulf’s depleted war band sets off in hot pursuit of the invaders.

Setting a plan in motion that required his men split into two groups on opposite sides of a river, Coelwulf is worried when the second group of men don’t show up at the predetermined rally point. With no other option but to forge ahead in pursuit of the fleeing foe, he and his smaller band fight their way north to the raider’s next stronghold. Along the way Coelwulf deals with divided loyalties, traitors and a seemingly endless army of Norsemen.

This book has just as much blood, guts and gore as the first book, with plenty of fight scenes and cursing. The descriptive fight scenes are almost non-stop and the book is a fast, quick read. The author does a fantastic job of conveying the pain, exhaustion and despair the courageous men are feeling as they fight their way through the country. I can’t wait for the next installment to see what happens next!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.