#38 in Historical fiction
The Pale Horseman
- 400
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 0 weeks on the list
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Our view
“The Pale Horseman” is muscular historical fiction, the second Saxon Stories novel and proof of Cornwell’s command of the battle scene. Set in ninth-century Wessex and Cornwall, it gives readers who come for warfare and Vikings exactly that, with a cinematic sweep. Some readers find Uhtred harder to like here than elsewhere in the series and regret that favourite side characters appear only briefly, yet rank it barely below the first book.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Pale Horseman is the second historical novel in The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell, published in 2005. It is set in 9th century Wessex and Cornwall.
Reading order · The Saxon Stories
Full order & progress →- The Last KingdomStart here
8.28.2 / 10 - The Pale HorsemanThis book
8.28.2 / 10 - The Lords of the North
–Not ranked yet - Sword Song
8.28.2 / 10 - The Burning Land
8.18.1 / 10 - Death of Kings
8.18.1 / 10 - The Pagan Lord
8.28.2 / 10 - The Empty Throne
8.28.2 / 10 - Warriors of the Storm
8.28.2 / 10 - The Flame Bearer
8.18.1 / 10 - War of the Wolf
8.18.1 / 10 - Sword of Kings
8.08.0 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 210 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 59% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 8.2 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 13 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 197 | 94% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Pale Horseman?
It has 400 pages — shorter than 57% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Historical fiction — and a score of 8.2, the closest to this book.
