Mr. Cornwell, Just finished ‘The Burning Land’. The best yet! It was a long wait after ‘Sword Song’, but well worth that wait! Uhtred remains a fictional hero of mine (as was Derfel in the Warlord series. Very alike really). Your battle scenes in all of your historical novels (but especially this latest novel) take you to places where we can only imagine the terror, with your words bringing that sense of horror and excitement to our minds so much so that we can almost hear the noise and smell the smells of axe-play and shield wall in our comfortable chairs. No other author does this. You excel at bringing historical warfare to the reader, and long may you continue to do so. One can only surmise that you yourself were an early medieval Warlord in a past life! Can’t wait for your next book.

Gary Poyner