Harlequin: Book 1 (The Grail Quest)

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The answer: a fair bit, Keeble is amazing - but Cornwell knows how to write an entertaining, well-written and engaging tale, regardless of narrator. Invigorating, fairly accurate for the times and gritty telling of the life of a medieval archer during the time of the Hundreds Year War (i.e. a name coined by historians much after the era).

Alright...this is painful for me to admit but I have to just get over it and say that this was my first Cornwell disappointment. I initially gave it three stars in a generous spirit but in the cold morning light I see it differently. I've been aware of his tropes, cliches, formulas, repeated phrases and stuff like that since my second book of his ( The Pale Horseman) and it literally either been utterly irrelevant to my enjoyment of his novels so I can't just blame my wishy-washy reception to this book on any of those easy targets. There was something different going on here. Jeanette - the daughter of a rich Breton merchant, widow of the Count of Armorica, Thomas's former loverI don't read Cornwell's Sharpe's series and am only interested in reading books of his such as the Saxon Series, Stonehenge & the Warlord Chronicles. This is the first in the Grail Quest series. The other two are Vagabond and Heretic. Here in Australia, this book is published under the title 'Harlequin', in America, it is published under the title 'The Archer's Tale'. Skeat persuades the earl to try a new plan. Thomas has discovered a weak spot. The earl lets Thomas lead an assault. Things go awry, but Thomas and his men get into the city anyway and open the gates. Then the murdering, pillaging and raping begin. Jekyll attempts to rape Jeanette, but is stopped by the earl. The earl is obliged to give Jekyll Jeanette's property as spoils of war, but he places Jeanette and her young son under royal protection. For let me put this very clearly: all the action, characterization, siege warfare, interpersonal conflicts, lords, ladies, general grunts, and the clergy are all heavily represented in BOTH genres. Indeed, both historical fiction and epic fantasies are separated ONLY by the author’s willingness to add a little magic (not even necessary in most books) or make worldbuilding that is created out of whole cloth. Vagabond is the second novel in The Grail Quest series by English author Bernard Cornwell, first published in 2002. Set during the first stage of the Hundred Years' War, it follows Thomas of Hookton's quest to find the Holy Grail, a relic which will grant decisive victory to the possessor. El desenlace final es insuperable, la batalla de Crecy. El ejército inglés arrinconado, tras un periodo de acoso y de tierra quemada por parte de los franceses, consigue escapar de una última trampa entre los ríos Sena y Somme. Escaso de suministros, escaso de flechas, escaso de hombres, eligen bien el terreno en una colina sobre el pueblo de Crecy y esperan al infinitamente superior ejército francés con miles de caballeros y ballesteros...y pagados de si mismos, sucumben al peor de los pecados, la soberbia. El desastre está muy bien narrado por Cornweel y merece la pena.....leñe, si casi dan pena los pobres gabachos.

Too many to say. All are good, but a few that stand out because they are such fun characters are Will Skeet, Sam, Jake, Father Hobb, Jeanette, the Earl and, of course, Thomas of Hookton. The earl leaves Skeat and his men to garrison the city. They guard Jeanette from Sir Simon, but she remains hostile. A French force based in Lannion under Sir Geoffrey de Pont Blanc presents the only threat, but neither side wants to fight on the other's terms. Jekyll, however, is eager for plunder, so he and his men formally battle Sir Geoffrey's force. After Jekyll loses, Skeat sets a trap, having some of his men pretend to flee in panic; Geoffrey is deceived, and his force is decimated by English longbows. Skeat lets Geoffrey go free, much to Jekyll's fury (at losing a ransom). Thomas tells Jekyll to "go and boil your arse". Tras el primer ejército de Bretaña, el propio rey Eduardo, con su hijo Eduardo (más tarde el Príncipe negro), desembarca en Normandía con un ejército normalito, pero con un contingente de entre 5000 y 10000 arqueros (un arma mortal) y avanza hacia París, retando a la flor y nata del ejército francés. First I'll say this....Bernard Cornwell can really lay out the bloody, cruel, reality of the time. This book isn't for anyone with a weak constitution. Be prepared for the casual cruelty of humans. Rape, pillage, rapine, casual murder....not so casual murder...revenge, "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Cowardly men. weak men. Strong men. Even Stronger men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles." Cornwell was sent away to Monkton Combe School, attended the University of London, and after graduating, worked as a teacher. He attempted to enlist in the British armed services at least three times but was rejected on the grounds of myopia.Turns out, some of the strangest stuff that I’d dismissed, was historically accurate. History is wild, man. Thomas sets out with a small raiding party to retrieve her son, fostered out to be raised by the Lord of Roncelets. However, he is betrayed by some of his own recently recruited men and ends up the Dominican's prisoner. He is tortured for information and eventually breaks, telling most of what he knows. Eventually Thomas is ransomed for his father's book and returned to his friends; Mordecai starts his rehabilitation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I even, after little consideration, went ahead and gave it 4 stars, surprising myself in the process. It wasn't until I sat down to do this review that I actually realised that, yes, I did really like it.

The Grail Quest is a historical fiction novel series written by Bernard Cornwell dealing with a 14th-century search for the Holy Grail, set during the opening stage of the Hundred Years' War. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is a look into the horrors or war and while extremely well written, it was difficult for me at times. Sir William Douglas - uncle of Robbie Douglas, captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross by Lord OuthwaiteCornwell's first book of the trilogy focuses on a young man who is learning to become an archer is a small English village along the coast. His father is the parish priest who has a secret of a long and noble past. Anyway, the village is raided by French raiders and one of them turns out to be his distant cousin who is searching for an old lance supposedly being the lance that was used on Jesus Christ. He then joined BBC's Nationwide and was promoted to become head of current affairs at BBC Northern Ireland. He then joined Thames Television as editor of Thames News. He relocated to the United States in 1980 after marrying an American. Unable to get a green card, he started writing novels, as this did not require a work permit.

Mainly because I couldn't find a character I liked. Both sides, the English and the French were not blameless in this war. Both sides committed atrocities, and yet both sides also had a few "good" people. LA primera escusa para intervenir en Francia se la brinda una disputa por el ducado de Bretaña, en la órbita francesa pero casi independiente. El ejército inglés desembarca en Bretaña y comienza uno de los episodios bélicos más terribles, enconados y destructivos de la Historia, antes de llegar al siglo XX. Además, la guerra en Francia se convirtió en una forma de vida, en la base de la economía de Inglaterra. Cuando se perdieron los últimos territorios en Francia a mediados del XV, la vuelta del ejército y de los colonos crearon tales desmanes, que fueron uno de los desencadenantes de la guerra civil de las 2 rosas. La verdad es que se lleva 4.5 Estrellas. Pero en comparación con la serie de sajones y vikingos, con mi querido Uhtred, creo que está un escalón por debajo.

If you've read Cornwell's Saxon Stories then you're probably familiar with the formula. Intelligent soldier plays the hero, wins lots of battles, schemes, and has a slew of women on the side. The Archer's Tale mostly follows this formula as well.