Sounds like the plan is for 3 more books, he is working on book 12 now and plans to do 2 more before ending the story. Hopefully we get all 7 seasons then or at least if it looks like they aren’t going to get 7 then they are given the opportunity to finish the story in less. This might be difficult to do though as putting more than 2 books into 1 season would probably require them to really skip key parts of the story
That’s one hell of a long term plan. Looking at the stuff he’s written he really is the output meister. Iread the Sharpes. I didn’t know about all this other stuff.
He is the Anti-Martin! If Cornwell had written Game of Thrones it would have been done a decade ago, been 10 books total, and yet somehow still have been a tighter, more condensed and entertaining story. ;-)
Cornwell just loves to write, has some very set methodology, and doens’t let himself get bogged down too much. He loves his characters but also knows that stories have an end and eventually gets there. And he loves history.
— Alan
Watched the end. The setup with Alfred/Uthred was a bit annoying but it delived in the end.
I really like the bro’ing out between Alfred and Uthred.
The Brida changes are interesting, she probably no longer hates him. It worked as a story.
Uthred got to kill asshole King’s nephew which was satisfying.
That last ambush was well-done. Hit the rear of the column from both sides. The will-Uthred-die-or-get-reinforced thing was a bit old but they didn’t drag it out too much.
Finished this over the weekend. So good. Hopefully Netflix will see it through to end.
(One of these days I’m gonna have to read the books).
I recently finished it as well. Loved it, think it is even better than previous seasons and am recommending it to others. Looking forward to a next season from Netflix.
The prequel series is very good too. It’s basically the same character, but the setting is intriguing.
The protagonists are the British people who are getting pushed off their lands by these invading people called the Angles and the Saxons. They have a warlord named Arthur who helps win many victories.
Hmm. Is that a real thing?
Awesome :)
Yeah and by Arthur I mean Arthur ducking Pendragon. Other favorite friends will show up, but spoilers!
The Warlord Trilogy is perhaps Cornwell’s best overall work. It’s self-contained, doesn’t need any other introduction, and has a fairly definite ending. He still winds it up in history but has a lot more wiggle room to have fun with.
— Alan
I’ve recommended it to NYPL. Top men will be on it shortly.
I’ve watched through episode 7 (Season 3) now and I’m bummed that I only have 3 more episodes left. This season has been even better than the first two, with a tight plotline, interesting developments and a pacing that never lets up. I also really like that it diverges pretty dramatically from the books in terms of details and events, but still keeps the framework of the novels together so that we will essentially be at the end of Book 6 by the end of this season. It’s like I know what is going to happen without actually knowing how we’re going to get there…and it’s awesome.
Best season yet, and we certainly liked the previous ones as well. Really going to miss the weasel though.
Can’t help but compare it to the last half of this Vikings season which does not compare well.
So after binging on the Last Kingdom over the past month the Mrs and I are now watching Vikings and enjoying the level of connection that exists between the two series even though there is no formal links between the two.
So a question to you guys - are there additional series that you’d recommend to watch afterwards that fills in the blanks of events that happen either before/after Vikings/Last Kingdom? I’m curious if there’s enough to put together a loose timeline of European history.
I don’t know any tv but if you want a fun book read the warlock series. It is a prequel of sorts for the events in the last kingdom. The good guys are the Britons who are invaded by Alfred’s ancestors. King Arthur, Merlin, lady of the lake all reimagined.
Finished Season 3 before the holidays. As @Gendal said, best season yet. I think the extra couple of episodes (10 vs. 8) of this season gave them some room to expand on the character dynamics a bit while still being able to tell the full story, and the result was excellent. There may have been some dust in my eye during the last couple of episodes as Uhtred and Alfred finally had the conversation they have needed to have for so long, and during the events that followed. Lots of people got what was coming to them as well, so that was very satisfying.
ALSO - Attention Arselings! (This was a great way to announce Season Four.)
That’s perfect. :)
Reign!
Just kidding.
I ended up watching a bunch of YouTube history videos to familiarize myself with the era.
For TV series, I can’t think of any that leave off with Alfred.
There’s Knighfall - which I found terrible and only watched a couple episodes (that and I know it doesn’t end well for the Templars), or Brittania (I think that’s what it’s called, Amazon series on the Celts at the time of the initial Roman invasion, but I could only make it through half a episode, that and I know it doesn’t end well for the Celts, either. By the way the BBC has a fantastic eight part series on the Celts, catch that on Amazon or YouTube if you can, it is quite good.)
There’s the Hollow Crown, which I haven’t seen and set in a much later period (15th century War of the Roses.) There’s also a mini series based on Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth, which if nothing else is entertaining.