My Latest Obsession: The Last Kingdom

It's been awhile since I last shared My Latest Obsession. So, what has been soaking up a lot of my reading time and my attention? The BBC's The Last Kingdom, which is now on Netflix.  

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It's based on a series of books by Bernard Cornwell called The Saxon Stories. Have any of you read it?  Here's my top five reasons why you should check out The Last Kingdom on Netflix.

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1.  Uhtred of Bebbanburg - If you like your heroes very Jamie Fraser-esque, he fits the bill. While he isn't a perfect hero by any means, he is tough, impulsive, loyal to family, fierce and a heck of a lot of fun. His character is played by Alexander Dreymon, and well, he's pretty hot.  

2.  The Time Period - The setting of 9th century AD when England is broken down into various kingdoms is a really interesting time and dangerous too.  The Anglo-Saxons are attacked the Danes (Vikings), but the Kingdom of Wessex remains steadfast.  There's a lot of violence, but also politics. If you enjoy British history or the TV show Vikings, you will enjoy this time period.

3.  Loyalties Are Tested - While I mentioned that Uhtred is loyal, his loyalties are constantly being tested. You see he is a Saxon nobleman, but as a child he was kidnapped by the Danes. As time goes by, he essentially becomes one of them, so now he is really part of two words. Does he care about his ancestry or does he care about the people who have become like family to him? What is his true identity? Is he a pagan or a Christian? All of these questions come into play in The Last Kingdom.

4.  King Alfred - The King of Wessex is a very compelling character and has some of the best lines.  “When a man dies,” he says, “if nothing is written, he is soon forgotten.”   He is juxtaposed by the Danes way of life where people don't know how to read or write and die by their sword.

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5.  No Fantasy - I think that many people might watch the first two episodes and think that it is very similar to Game of Thrones, but there are no fantasy elements in The Last Kingdom. It's all about England's history and life before it was unified. I love that it bring history to life so well and makes it so very compelling without dragons and zombies.

My only wish for the show is that there were more strong females. There are a few, but none that get a lot of focus.  I wish some of the more powerful women had more screen time!

Are you a fan of this show? Have you heard of the books? Let me know what you think and if you'll check out this show on Netflix. Season three will come out next year!