The master of historical fiction presents the iconic story of King Alfred and the founding of a nation. Alfred, the great king, is said to be on his deathbed. Rivals for his succession are ready to tear the kingdom apart. The land that Alfred has worked for thirty years to build is on the brink of collapse. Uhtred, the king's warrior, born a Viking but raised as a Saxon, longs to fight to reclaim his stolen Northumbrian heritage. Yet he knows that if he abandons the king's cause, Alfred's dream—and indeed the entire future of the English nation—will likely vanish. "Death of Kings" is an outstanding novel by a master storyteller about how England was created—and almost lost.