The Empty Throne is the 8th book in The Last Kingdom series, it was first published in October 2014 and got good reviews, in the book we see Uhtred in a different situation after his last battle.

Events

The book begins with Uhtred the Younger patrolling Mercian territory and ambushing a group of Norse raiders. He captures the raiders and is instructed by Aethelflaed to go to Gloucester, where a council (Witan) is about to be convened.

Uhtred is severely wounded after the last battle, but he is not the only one, Aethelred, the lord of Mercia and husband of Aethelflaed, is dying from a wound sustained in battle, so the council must decide Aethelred’s successor. There is no clear line of succession, thus opening even more room for political maneuvering, and in between, there are two strong candidates: Eardwulf who commands Aethelred’s household warriors, and whose sister became Aethelred’s lover, and the other is Edward, king of Wessex that has great power and influence but is not the preferable choice because he is not Mercian.

Even wounded, Uhtred needs to act. He knows that Aethelflaed is the best choice; she has shown herself to be a strong woman and has conquered the Mercians. However, Uhtred knows that the council would not choose a woman to rule, and it would be more likely that she would be send to a convent after becoming a widow.

Uhtred is, to his surprise, summoned to the Witan. But he discovers that Aethelhelm, the most powerful ealdorman in Wessex, has planned to get him there. The reason is that Uhtred protects Aethelstan, son of King Edward’s first wife and an obstacle to Aethelhelm’s grandson reaching the throne of Wessex.

The Witan proceeds without having an easy choice, Eardwulf is not considered highborn, and to legitimize him they decide that he must marry Aethelred’s daughter. Uhtred wants to get out of there, and to that end, he pretends to be dying. He hastily returns home in search of Aethelstan, after a battle with Aethelhelm’s troops, Uhtred sends most of his men, including Aethelstan, to Chester, while he returns to Gloucester, now accompanied by his daughter, Stiorra, to avoid Eardwulf’s marriage.

Uhtred creates a plan to stop the wedding and Stiorra is key part of the plan, his idea proves successful and Uhtred along with his men takes refuge in an abandoned fort. Eardwulf arrives with his men and demands that Uhtred surrender Aethelstan, Uhtred refuses and a battle is about to begin when Aethelflaed arrives with a few hundred warriors and orders Eardwulf to return to Gloucester.

Eardwulf leaves, but Uhtred knows this is not over yet, Eardwulf’s only chance to ascend to the throne is to kill Uhtred and Aethelflaed. Uhtred then prepares a trap and thus overcomes Eardwulf who flees with few men, but Edith, Eardwulf’s sister is captured.

Uhtred returns to Gloucester and learns that Eardwulf has stolen Aethelred’s wealth. With Eardwulf dead, Uhtred reminds the Witan that his mother was a Mercian and that he is Aethelred’s closest male kin. To appease the priests, he also “converts” to Christianity. He is chosen, probably in part because they don’t expect him to live long. He then promptly abdicates and names his successor: Aethelflaed.

Uhtred believes he can only be healed if he possesses Ice-Spite, the sword Cnut used to inflict his wound. Edith becomes Uhtred’s lover and reveals to him that she knows Ice-Spite’s location. Asser, a monk who hates Uhtred, took the sword to Wales, where he died. Uhtred makes his way to Wales and meets the Welsh King Hywel. They join forces and defeat a group of Norse invaders who have burned down a monastery, tortured and killed the monks, and taken over Ice-Spite. They recover the sword, and Edith uses it to drain the pus from Uhtred’s body. His pain stops immediately.

Uhtred notices that the exiled Eardwulf has joined a Norse fleet from Ireland, led by Sigtryggr. Uhtred correctly guesses that they are going to attack Ceaster. Uhtred rushes there and, realizing that some of Eardwulf’s men have infiltrated the fort, he arrests them. He discovers that they plan to open one of the gates for Sigtryggr upon seeing a prearranged signal. He sets his own trap. When the Norse army attacks, their mounted warriors ride through the open gate, but are trapped inside (Uhtred ordered fortifications built around the gate) and are slaughtered. Sigtryggr and a handful of his men manage to flee the killing field. He then attacks Uhtred but is distracted by Stiorra and loses an eye to Uhtred before escaping.

The two sides negotiate an agreement. The Northmen will abandon another unfinished fort they had already captured, hand over half their weapons, and leave the next day, as neither army have enough men to secure victory. As part of the bargain, Sigtryggr offers himself as a hostage for the night. Furthermore, Eardwulf and his few remaining followers are handed over to Uhtred; as part of Aethelstan’s training to be king, Uhtred has the boy Aethelstan executed. As Sigtryggr and his fleet prepare to leave, Stiorra reveals that she and Sigtryggr fell in love at first sight, and she is going with him. Uhtred, seeing the similarities between himself and Gisela, gives her his approval (thwarting Aethelflaed’s marriage plan for her).