Thanks to Granta Publications and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'll admit I was caught off guard with this one, it was not what I thought it would be. It's not really the story of an Anglo Saxon warrior, more the story about the archaeological digs related to the discovery of the Warrior's skeleton and the history of archaeology in the UK.

Yeah... it didn't set my world on fire either. The book is incredibly detailed and I thought the prose quite dense and difficult to engage with. The more interesting and quirky part of the story (the warrior's story) was just a bit boring.

I think anyone very interested in the archaeology of the Anglo-Saxon time period would really enjoy this but I just couldn't get into it.

But, for those new to the study of Anglo-Saxon England, this book will provide an excellent starting point, placing the skeleton in a 'possible' historical setting.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.

Warrior is the story of a skeleton unearthed during an archaeological dig at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. When the bones were subjected to analysis they were found to belong to someone from an island off the west coast of Scotland. That discovery and the obvious high status of the burial was the start of a process of detection and speculation in which the authors sought to reconstruct the social and political world the deceased individual inhabited and follow the trail of events that led to his death. In describing all this, the book also reveals a good deal about the world of archaeology, and some of its more colourful personalities. A fascinating read that underlines how little we know about this early period of British history and how much still remains to be uncovered.

This book weaves the story of the excavations of the Bamburgh Research Group and the warrior grave discovered there into the wider context of Anglo Saxon Britain. For me the background to the excavation and the personalities involved were some of the best sections as they gave an insight into the world of archaeology and how the history can be used to inform that. Where the sections went into some of the seemingly less relevant areas I found that much like the book itself I lost focus.
That said the book is well written, there is much to capture the specialist and general reader alike, a few diagrams or photographs would have enhanced the experience and perhaps made some things clearer as a picture is worth many words.

#Warrior #NetGalley

An interesting and well written book, well researched and engrossing.
You will learn a lot reading this book and I was fascinated by the description and liked the style of writing.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine.

Warrior is an extremely well-written book. But it is not at all what I thought it would be. It is not so much the story of the warrior whose skeleton was discovered in the Bowl Hole at Bamburgh, as the story of the archaeological digs that have taken place at Bamburgh Castle, and the personalities involved, the 'history' (bizarre as it sounds) of the development of archaeology as a science throughout the twentieth century and a snapshot of events that occurred in Northumberland from about AD599-635, mixed in with the history of the Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, which were taking place at the same time. (On another note, I have been on the beach at Bamburgh when a random storm has blown in - on this occasion hail on a summer's day. It does happen).

As such, this short book attempts to accomplish a great deal, in only very few words, and for those new to the time period, or with a passing interest in all things archaeological, or for those fans of Bernard Cornwell's Uhtred and the TV series, The Last Kingdom with its 'hero's' focus on Bebbanburg, this will be a real treat.

The story takes the reader from Kent to Iona and many, many places in between. The research and attention to details can't be faulted, and neither can the fact that the author admits that much of his story will be 'made up' and probably inaccurate, and yet, the 'fiction' of the warrior's story is maintained, along with the desire to make the archaeology 'fit the 'facts'' of the 'history' and it is here that the book falters for anyone who has more than a passing interest in the period, and who will understand all the speech marks in that last sentence.

But, for those new to the study of Anglo-Saxon England, this book will provide an excellent starting point, placing the skeleton in a 'possible' historical setting.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy.