Sword Song

The Battle for London

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In the exhilarating Saxon Tales series, Bernard Cornwell reimagines one of the most fascinating tales in all of history - the birth of England - and breathes life into the brilliant king who made it possible: Alfred the Great.

Alfred of Wessex has survived the Danish invasions, but though he now has an uneasy truce with his enemies, fresh Viking ships are arriving to plunder and enslave the Saxons. Those Vikings must be defeated, and Alfred's first move is to deny them their fortress on the Thames, the decayed Roman city of London. His weapon is Uhtred, a warrior of formidable reputation. But neither Alfred's wisdom, not Uhtred's prowess, might be enough to save Wessex when a Viking lord captures a prize of inestimable value.

©2008 Bernard Cornwell (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

5 stars

Another great book by Bernard Cornwell! I only wish Jonathan Keeble narrated all books in this series.
Job well done

great story

Jonathan Keeble is the only narrator fitting for this series. I will not buy the next book in the series until Keeble narrates it. For now I will buy the paper copy. Harper Audio what happened to Keeble?

Utrid for President

Another enjoyable tale with riveting combat scenes! The weave of competing loyalties and interesting history make this a great story - the rich voice of the reader makes for compelling entertainment

yesssss

Jonathan Keeble doesn't just read a story, he tells a story! i wish he would have narrated the whole series!

Thank the gods we have Utred back!

I was worried after the awful narration of book three that I'd regret getting this one, but I am so pleased to have gotten this audiobook! back to powerful narrator, a book of battles and Utred's tale.

sad there aren't more with Jonathan Keeble!

I love these books, can't get enough! enthralling story, fantastic action, masterful narration, I look forward to my commute now!

When Keeble reads Cornwell: perfect combination

Would you consider the audio edition of Sword Song to be better than the print version?

This has become my favorite new series of author and narrator. So entertaining, but there's a catch; it's Jonathan Keeble. I highly recommend starting with the first book of the series,The Last Kingdom. it took a l bit for me to get used to his voice and now he is my favorite and the only Utrid. the other characters..such a differentiation., what a great Alfred. You really visualize the person because of the way Jonathan Keeble creates his voice. I'm addicted to historical fiction and this is a wonderful series about England before it was called England. It'll take a little getting used to the battle Gore but i now find it almost humorous... I love the humor in Cornwell's writing. I am really disappointed that publishers of audible versions of book series do not hire the same narrator for all the books. kill the basxxxds!! It almost destroys it for me. Angrily, I returned one of the books of the series it was so disappointing that Jonathan Keeble did not narrate. it was upsetting to break up the succession of the series. The narration was a whimpy attempt by someone else. At that point, yes, I'd turn to the print version instead of listening to the audio version.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sword Song?

Many memorable because the whole story is very good. I have to say I think this is my favorite so far of the series or maybe it's just that I've grown to love this series more and more with each book.

What about Jonathan Keeble’s performance did you like?

Think I may have mentioned a bit about that in the first paragraph, but given new space here I just don't understand why the same narrator is not used.? anybody in this business listening? I see many other reviews with this complaint. we pay for these books because they offer great entertainment in the audible version by great narrators selected particularly for their talents of that book series. Otherwise we would just buy the print version.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

One I can think of is when Utrid describes love and admiration for his children and his wife.

A man and his oaths

Keeble is fantastic. And Cornwell's fight scenes are as clear as they are brutal.

I have learned much of England's historic geography through this series.

Another great listen of Bernard Cornell's series.

Another great listen in the Bernard Cromwell Chronicle series. Gives nice fictional context to portion of the BBC English Monarchy series.

Ghisela is pronounced GEE-sa-La

I hate when the reader say Jee-sla. a lil professnalism yo! The story is Frigg'n great. Cornwell is cool. he could chill on the religion hate, we get it