Hello Bernard,

Can I start by saying I am a big fan of all your work, especially the warlord series. I love reading about Saxon history and your stories bring them to life. I have been watching the series the last kingdom, and was wondering what your thoughts of it are? To be honest I’m not impressed I feel they have changed too much, from the fight with Ubba to the shields the Saxons use, even Beocca isn’t the same. I feel the BBC want to make the Saxons look weak in history and make it look as if the Danes and Saxons were alien races when in reality we were similar in many ways as you well know. I don’t mean to moan because the books are brilliant I’m just disappointed with the BBC and the programme. What are you thoughts on the show are you happy with how it’s turned out?

Kind regards,

Bradley

Hello Bernard

I am a big fan; the first book I ever read from start to finish was Sword song and couldn’t put it down. My reading skills were terrible but thanks mainly to your books and not wanting to stop reading them; my ability has vastly improved over the years.I am pretty sure I have read everything of yours predating hand held fire arms. They are all brilliant books, Uhtred’s story of the birth of England is still my favourite, the whole era intrigues me.

So when I heard the last kingdom was to be televised I was quite excited. Now I understand that the story in a book doesn’t necessarily work on screen and they have to cut sections to accommodate the budget. However I have one major gripe that I just can’t let go. Uhtred’s sword is completely wrong, the one in the series isn’t even from the right era it looks more medieval and is two handed. Also I imagine a decorative amber pommel would make it quite difficult to wield, without a weighted pommel the blade would be completely out of balance. I think serpent breath is as much a part of the story as some of the characters and this small detail has made me a little worried of what they are going to change next.

Have you seen the series and what do you think about it so far? If so would you change anything if you could?

Ash