Review: A Must Read!!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 4, 2013
Nathaniel Burns' Pride And Honor, The Battle for Saxony, is an important piece in the puzzle of 8th century history. Once it was simply called the Dark Ages. Now we better know this thousand year gap between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance as the Viking Age. This novel follows the rule of the Frankish king Charles, better known as Charlemagne 742-814. The novel focuses on his efforts to conquer his northern neighbor Saxony, defend the faith of the Roman church, expand his empire, and convert the Saxons to Christianity. Heavy cavalry was the method closer to the bone than the supplications of black-robed priests.We participate in repeated pitched battles, raids, burnings, and meandering politics as Charles duels with populist Duke Widukind of the Saxons. This novel telling is more accurate history than fictional imaging. Although somewhat dry and lacking the Blood-letting detail of Bernard Cornwell, Lincoln's novel is well-written, well researched and a thorough account of events that shaped the birth of Europe.Here we find the early rise of the Norse raiders better known as Vikings. Here we see how disparate tribes unite to battle the most powerful king to a standstill and then find a strategy to merge into a single people. If you descend from a German, French or Scandinavian Prideline, this book honors your ancestors and gives memory to your lineage.Cultures collide; here's the why behind the old ways being set aside. New ideas and ways of governance bend and shape our collective future, making way for the unity of new nations. Thor and the Norse gods are honored, debated and overturned in the steady march of Christianity that made salvation a personal experience for noble, freedmen or surfs.This was a time in which a man's pride and honor were all important. Warning, a thorough reading may awaken the Saxon in you. Remember, it is important to honor our history so that we are not compelled to repeat it. Five stars.