Reviewed by OHS Substitute, Chase C.
Andrew Varga’s The Last Saxon King features a fast-paced quest through medieval England in the 11th century, during which the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, defends his rule from invading Viking armies. Varga takes the reader through this journey in the eyes of Dan Renfew, a homeschooled 16-year-old who spends his days haunting the local mall and being taught by his father, a professor of history at a local university. Unbeknownst to him, Dan and his father come from a line of time travelers whose job is to correct “glitches” in history that threaten the present and future. Reminiscent of Mary Pope Osbourne’s The Magic Treehouse series, following a fateful confrontation between a mysterious man and his father, Dan is sent back in time to medieval England to correct changes in history caused by rogue time travelers who seek to use time travel for their own selfish ends. Varga excels at bringing this era of history to life in The Last Saxon King in a way that engages young and adult readers alike. While he takes some liberties in his novel for readability in exchange for historical accuracy, he uses clever workarounds (the time travel device acts as a sort of “universal translator” from English into Old English a la Star Trek) to maintain internal continuity. Ultimately, this novel can be enjoyed by hobbyist historians and sci-fi nerds alike.