1081 AD. The young Roman Emperor, Alexios, sits upon an unsteady throne. Threatened on all sides, the Empire is also bitterly divided between pretenders to the imperial throne. As Alexios staggers from one crisis to the next, the very survival of the ancient realm of the Caesars is in doubt.

A new threat arises in the shape of Robert Guiscard, an all-conquering Norman warlord. As Guiscard's unstoppable armies smash their way into the empire, destroying cities and slaughtering entire armies, Alexios has only hope left. He turns to his feared English mercenaries, the Varangian Guard. The fate of the empire rests on their broad shoulders...

The tale of this bloody and brutal time is written by Thorkell Skaldsson, once a bard in the service of Waltheof, the last English earl. In old age, thousands of miles from England, he still mourns the conquest of his homeland. Before he dies, Thorkell has vowed to write the truth...of Duke William, Harold Hardrada and Sweyn of Denmark, of the Emperor Alexios and the mighty city of Micklegarth...of the fall and rise of the English.

The Northman has one last saga to tell...

THE CONQUEROR (THE BLOODY HAND SAGA BOOK 5) is by David Pilling, author of The Champion series, Longsword, Leader of Battles, Reiver, Caesar's Sword, Edward I and Wales, and many other fiction and nonfiction works.