VIKING warriors from JORVIK Viking Centre joined bestselling author Bernard Cornwell for the launch of his new book at Waterstones in York.

Fans of the author queued in Coney Street on Friday to get signed copies of his new book The Empty Throne, the latest in the author's Warrior Chronicles series is set in 9th century England and tells the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg, the greatest warrior of Mercia, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom, who is fighting to protect his homeland from the Viking Raiders and from political threats from within.

Sarah Maltby, director of attractions at York Archaeological Trust, the owners of JORVIK Viking Centre, which transports visitors back in time to explore the Viking-Age, said: “A lot of our visitors read Bernard Cornwall’s work, especially the ‘Warrior Chronicles’ series and are inspired to learn more about Viking and Anglo-Saxon England as a result. So when we heard that Bernard Cornwell was visiting York to sign his new book we wanted to make sure that we gave him a great JORVIK welcome to the city of Vikings

The Empty Throne, published by Harper Collins is on sale at Waterstones now.

The JORVIK Viking Centre, lin Coppergate, is celebrating its 30th anniversary and has welcomed over 17 million people back to Viking-Age York in the past three decades.