The Burning Land is told in the first person by a bad ass Viking who was fighting for an English lord. While the author does use a healthy dose of letters that don't exist in our language along with names that you can't pronounce, he writes the piece in current English, which is a bonus, because if he wrote it in 9th century English we wouldn't be able to read any of it.
Our hero, Lord Uhtred, kicks ass and takes names throughout the ancient English countryside in a series of bloody, gore strewn battles. There is a little sex, a sadistic villainess, a sprinkling of profanity, and a bunch of pain in the butt monks and priests thrown in for good measure. All of this makes for a very entertaining look at the life of an early European warlord.
I found my thoughts turning to how filthy and foul smelling the combatants would have to have been back then during the battle sequences and what unkempt, furry messes the women must have been during the sex scenes. Yes, it did take away a little from my enjoyment of the work (which, of course, is no fault of the author's) but as long as I kept those thoughts at bay, this was a thoroughly satisfying read. I give it a long sword up the arse of a filthy, heathen Dane (our hero would approve). Enjoy....
Nats
