Harlequin: Book 1 (The Grail Quest)

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I find myself in a funny and odd situation as I read this. I’m a big fan of epic fantasy, and yet, for some reason, I have generally ignored regular historical fiction.

The answer: a fair bit, Keeble is amazing - but Cornwell knows how to write an entertaining, well-written and engaging tale, regardless of narrator. Occasionally I come across a book that is so good that I have a hard time deciding if I want to continue reading it or put it down to extend the pleasure of reading it for another day. Bernard Cornwell's Agincourt was such a book and so is this. I haven't gotten deeply into any series by Mr. Cornwell since I went through a lot of the Sharpe books placed in/during the Napoleonic wars. These take place as the 100 Years War is getting under way. While there is no character who could replace Uhtred in my heart, Thomas is special in his own way. He's a reluctant champion for the grail and the lance, and he's mostly a good Christian, though he has some doubts (St. Guinefort is hysterical to me). I adored Skeat and Father Hobbe and Sir Guillaume, and sort of in a strange way, the Prince, though you don't see much of him. I had a hot/cold relationship with Jeanette. I really wanted to love her, but couldn't in the end respect the way she treated Thomas.The one exception to the complaint about characters is how good Cornwell always is at making you hate the antagonist. Sir Simon is a bully, a rapist, and quite stupid to boot.

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. 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. Later that night, Thomas is beaten by Jekyll's men and about to have his own arse put into boiling water, but is rescued by Father Hobbe, a friend who constantly reminds him of his vow of revenge. Thomas enlists Jeanette's help to lure Jekyll into an ambush. Thomas kills Jekyll's squire and injures Jekyll, but Jekyll escapes.Cornwell'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. Harley Quinn (full name: Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel), a fictional villain in the DC Comics universe

In Hookton, Sir Giles Marriott, Father Ralph's old friend, gives Thomas a book that his father wrote which may contain encrypted information about the Grail. A French priest brings word from Sir Guillaume asking for Thomas's help; he has been outlawed (because of his actions in the Battle of Crécy) and his castle is under siege. The plot is mostly just a convoluted series of events to get Thomas of Hookton from one historical battle to another. I’ve praised the battles, and they are indeed excellent - providing both the personal, intimate point of view of a person in battle, while still giving a bird’s-eye-view of the battle overall, so that the reader is kept abreast of the tactics and the general ebb and flow of the battle. Es curioso como la nobleza inglesa, descendiente de los normandos que conquistaron la isla con Guillermo en 1066, hablaba francés como lengua materna. Sin embargo, cuando desembarcaron en Francia se comportaron con un salvajismo absoluto. La destrucción del territorio al paso del ejército era brutal (había que hundir al enemigo económica y moralmente). Los saqueos de las ciudades conquistadas eran brutales: asesinatos, violaciones, incendios, robos...el autor no escatima y nos presenta estos episodios en toda su crudeza. El odio que generaron estos episodios, fueron unas de las causas del enconamiento y de la prolongación del conflicto durante más de 100 años. My Ancient & Medieval History group constantly raves about the works of Bernard Cornwell. Harlequin, or The Archer's Tale, was my first B.C. read and I now understand the reverence and praise the group gives to Mr. Cornwell. He writes historical fiction. One of the most respectful words I can speak when referring to a writer in this genre is Realistic. Harlequin is definitely Realistic. If you like books about Kings and Courtiers, Belles and Balls, Romance and Chivalry this is NOT the book for you.

Further Reading

It’s nothing world-changing, but it’s competent and entertaining and I could probably read all of Cornwell’s oeuvre with nary a complaint. 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. That being said, the character development wasn't great, but the battle scenes were epic. This is the way History class should have been taught! I love Bernard Cornwell and have read this story a few times before, although it has been some years. I needed a book for a road trip and was delighted to find this title in unabridged form for the first time. It is magnificent. Cornwell is unequaled in medieval historical fiction, and this narrator pays it the honor it deserves with an amazing performance. I rate this as one of the top five audio books I've ever listened to.