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Sword Song
Uhtred is ordered to defend Wessex’s frontier and help secure London from Danish occupation. The city’s strategic position on the Thames makes it essential to Alfred’s plan for expanding beyond Wessex, but rival Danish leaders and divided loyalties threaten the campaign.
When Æthelred of Mercia and Alfred’s daughter Æthelflæd become involved, Uhtred must fight both for the city and for the political alliance intended to bind Mercia to Wessex. The novel centres on urban warfare, river fighting and the consolidation of Alfred’s power.
London’s recovery is strategically important because the Thames links Wessex, Mercia and the sea. Holding the city denies Danish fleets an inland base while giving Alfred’s allies a commercial and military centre from which to expand. Uhtred’s campaign therefore contributes to a larger policy of turning defended towns and political marriage into the infrastructure of an emerging English state.
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