The Burning Land – Bernard Cornwell

AKA Uhtred and Alfred versus various Viking raiders, Danelaw invaders and would be kings of Wessex and Mercia.

There are other battles going on too: Norse paganism versus Christianity; Pictish tribes led by King Constantine versus the Jarls of the Danelaw; Uhtred versus his uncle, usurper and occupier of the family fortress at Bebbanburg; and learned Alfred versus soldier Uhtred.

En route we meet Frisian pirates, killer bees and two very different powerful women: curse-invoking Skade and Alfred’s eldest daugher, Æthelflæd.

Amazon.co.uk link: The Burning Land (Alfred the Great 5) – Bernard Cornwell