The second installment of Bernard Cornwell's New York Times bestselling series chronicling the epic saga of the making of England, ""like Game of Thrones, but real"" (The Observer, London)-the basis for The Last Kingdom, the hit television series. As the last unvanquished piece of England, Wessex is eyed hungrily by the fearsome Viking conquerors. Uhtred, a dispossessed young nobleman, is tied to the imperiled land by birth and marriage but was raised by the Danish invaders-and he questions where his allegiance must lie. But blood is his destiny, and when the overwhelming Viking horde attacks out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred must put aside all hatred and distrust and stand beside his embattled country's staunch defender-the fugitive King Alfred. The Pale Horseman is a gripping, monumental adventure that gives breathtaking life to one of the most important epochs in English history-yet another masterwork from New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell.