--- product_id: 99625593 title: "The Empty Throne: A Novel (Saxon Tales Book 8) Kindle Edition" brand: "bernard cornwell" price: "€ 23.37" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.it/products/99625593-the-empty-throne-a-novel-saxon-tales-book-8-kindle store_origin: IT region: Italy --- # The Empty Throne: A Novel (Saxon Tales Book 8) Kindle Edition **Brand:** bernard cornwell **Price:** € 23.37 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Empty Throne: A Novel (Saxon Tales Book 8) Kindle Edition by bernard cornwell - **How much does it cost?** € 23.37 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.it](https://www.desertcart.it/products/99625593-the-empty-throne-a-novel-saxon-tales-book-8-kindle) ## Best For - bernard cornwell enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted bernard cornwell brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![The Empty Throne: A Novel (Saxon Tales Book 8) Kindle Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51UWgMvjimL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of Bernard Cornwell's Best! *by J***Y on Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2016* When I saw the book’s title, I had assumed the “empty throne” would concern Wessex, the English kingdom around which most of the “Last Kingdom” series has centered. After the death of King Alfred the Great in “Death of Kings,” I had no idea how long his heir, Edward, would survive. But Edward isn’t the subject of this tale. No, the “empty throne” belongs to the former kingdom of Mercia, and this time around Cornwell delivers his own version of a “game of thrones.”At the end of “The Pagan Lord,” both Uhtred and his hated cousin Æthelred, the Lord of Merica, suffered terrible wounds at the battle of Teotanheale. Uhtred was stabbed in the side by Cnut Ranulfson, with his legendary sword Ice-Spite, and it’s unclear by the end of “The Pagan Lord” if Uhtred will survive. Of course, we learn in this novel the he lived, though he remains weak and wounded and spends much of the novel with one foot inside death’s door. That said, however, he ends up doing far better than Æthelred.It turns out that Æthelred is dying without a male heir, so the nobles have summoned a Witan to decide Mercia’s future. Æthelred leaves behind only his teenage daughter and his estranged wife, the Lady Æthelflaed, one of the heroines of the last several novels and Uhtred’s former lover. Uhtred wants Æthelflaed on the throne, but the thought of a woman ruling Merica does not sit well with many of the nobles, especially the Ealdorman Æthelhelm of Wessex.Æthelhelm is not only King Edward’s father-in-law and the second richest man in Wessex, but he also has designs on controlling Mercia’s throne. His pawn in the game is Eardulf, the slick and mischievous commander of Æthelred’s household guards, but Eardulf isn’t noble, and the only way he can claim the throne is to marry a woman of royal blood. Uhtred is prepared to ensure that never happens, and his attempts to prevent the marriage propels the novel into a thrilling adventure, with plenty of intrigue and battles of the kind that Cornwell so masterfully writes.This novel is a bit unique among the series because Uhtred is basically too injured to fight, forcing one of the great warriors in fiction to rely even more on his mind than his battle prowess. But it also forces him to rely more on others, which makes “The Empty Throne” a family affair, Uhtred style. In the last book, we got to know Uhtred’s son Uhtred, who has grown in a warrior like his father. And in this book we’re introduced to his resourceful daughter Stiorra, a spitting image of Uhtred’s late wife Gisela, who has inherited some of her mother’s gift for prophecy. Stiorra is quietly pagan, genially natured, and fierce when crossed, which quickly made her one of my favorite characters in the series.In addition to its game of thrones intrigue, the novel offers plenty more, including a new and unexpected love interest for Uhtred, a new and dangerous Viking threat, and even a quest to find Ice-Spite after a priest tells Uhtred that if he finds the sword, the wounds it caused will finally be healed. Overall, “The Empty Throne” turned out to be one of my favorite books in Cornwell’s series. My only hope is that “The Last Kingdom” on BBC America lasts long enough to bring this book to life. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8th book of Saxon Tales series *by P***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015* What more can hero Uhtred of Bebbanburg suffer? How many more Saxon lives can he save? How many more Danes will fall to his sword? Well, perhaps as this 9th century warrior has reached his mid-forties and is still recovering from the grievous wound he suffered from Cnut Cnutson’s sword Ice-Spite, we can expect his feet to move less swiftly, his sword to parry a bit more slowly, and his luck (wyrd bith ful arawd!) finally to run out. Yes, those things happen, and he even makes tactical mistakes now! (Double wyrd!) But after all, he still has Finan and company to ride with, and now his son Uhtred Uhtredson and daughter Stiorra give him a better chance of surviving the betrayals and schemes of the ‘Christian’ nobles, priests, and bishops out to exert their will over the kingdom (almost) of Mercia. Wessex’s King Edward, son of Alfred, wants to unite the two kingdoms over the reluctance of the Mercian nobles to yield any of their power to the men of Wessex, and the whole thing gets super-complicated as a Wessex noble attempts a scheme to discredit and kill Edward’s son Aethelstan, to kill Uhtred’s lover Aethelflaed (the wife of Mercia’s ruler Aethelred), and place his grandson, eventually, on the throne of Wessex. It’s complicated, but the solution involves hero Uhtred’s clever political savvy, as well as plenty of those excellent battles we found in the previous seven of Cornwell’s Saxon Tales. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The Last Kingdom" is an outstanding historical fiction series *by C***M on Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2021* When I first started reading this series, my idea was that I would wait until the end to review it -- a plan I have since abandoned for other series. That, however, left these 13 excellent books by Bernard Cornwell unreviewed, so having finished "War Lord," the final volume, I will use this review for all of the books.------------Uhtred is a pagan on the isle of Britain in the 10th century. At the time, there is no such thing as England or Great Britain, and the battle between Christianity and the Norse pantheon is still in full swing.The Last Kingdom series covers all of Uhtred's long life, which spans a key period in British history: The beginnings of the idea of England. Uhtred is a fictional character, more or less, whose home is Bebbanburg, on the east coast of Great Britain north of York. He is carefully crafted by Cornwell as a fully believable warrior of the Middle Ages, bound by warrior codes but still cruel, ruthless and bloodthirsty as the occasion demands.Over the course of the series, Uhtred's maturity changes his outlook, but the shape of the books remains the same. There are battles, of varying sizes, political maneuverings, religious issues and Uhtred's changing relationships with his sons, various women and the rulers around him.Though of course some volumes were better than others, on the whole this is one of the most consistent, and consistently enjoyable, series I have read. Uhtred is a complex, intelligent protagonist thrust into the maelstrom of Dark Ages' England, and his adventures have the ring of truth -- for example, there is no glorification of battle or hero-worship.If you like historical fiction and 10th century England holds any interest, The Last Kingdom is for you. I'm just sorry it finally ended. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.it/products/99625593-the-empty-throne-a-novel-saxon-tales-book-8-kindle](https://www.desertcart.it/products/99625593-the-empty-throne-a-novel-saxon-tales-book-8-kindle) --- *Product available on Desertcart Italy* *Store origin: IT* *Last updated: 2026-05-15*