Harlequin: Book 1 (The Grail Quest)

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Sir William Douglas - uncle of Robbie Douglas, captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross by Lord Outhwaite 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. Este libro es un homenaje al arquero inglés. Pocas veces un arma ha marcado tanto la diferencia como lo hicieron los arqueros ingleses durante el siglo XIV. Ninguna defensa o armadura podía proteger al soldado o jinete enemigo. Ningún estado europeo podía oponer un cuerpo militar semejante, ya que sólo en Inglaterra y Gales se formaban los arqueros desde los 7-10 años de edad, condición necesaria para poder manejar un arco con solvencia. Las tristes ballestas no les llegaban a la suela del zapato, ni en alcance, ni en cadencia de tiro (7 flechas por cada dardo de ballesta). Tras el primer tiro, todos los ballesteros estaban muertos. Cuanto les costó aprender la lección a los franceses, casi les costó su propio país. Los arqueros eran odiados de tal modo que cuando uno de ellos caía prisionero, sus dedos eran cortados y eran torturados hasta la muerte, no había rescate posible. Harlequin moves into its conclusion after the siege of Caen with the English army successfully crossing the ford at Blanchetaque after a fierce fight, and then fighting the decisive battle at Crécy when the English longbow causes such devastation. As it descends into hand-to-hand fighting Thomas encounters Jekyll and The Harlequin on the battlefield and kills neither; Sir Guillaume tries to do the same and only manages to kill Jekyll, and The Harlequin escapes. Thomas manages to recover the Lance of St. George on the body strewn battlefield. 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.

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). Well, the giants may be a stretch and the miracles are a bit few and far between...but it's definitely sort of like a very (very) dark Princess Bride...like I said, "sort of". Es curioso como la nobleza inglesa, descendiente de los normandos que conquisThat being said, the character development wasn't great, but the battle scenes were epic. This is the way History class should have been taught! 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. 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. 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.

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. The answer: a fair bit, Keeble is amazing - but Cornwell knows how to write an entertaining, well-written and engaging tale, regardless of narrator. 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. 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.

Read this book in 2005, and its the 1st volume of the "Thomas pf Hookton" series, from Bernard Cornwell. 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. Thomas just wants to shoot a bow for the English, and lead English archers into battle. Those are his dreams. But a few years ago, he promised his dying father he would avenge him, and he would find the lance of St. George, a holy relic and a holy saint to the archers and the English, which was stolen by the man that killed his father. He tells this story to Father Hobbe, who acts as a sort of fatherly figure to Thomas and holds him to this promise which was made in a church. So off Thomas goes, and finds both enemies and unlikely allies along the way. 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.

Many battles have been fought, people slaughtered, churches robbed, souls destroyed, young women and virgins deflowered, respectable wives and widows dishonored; towns, manors and buildings burned, and robberies, cruelties and ambushes committed on the highways. 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.This book's greatest strength was undoubtedly the battle scenes which were typical of Cornwell in that they were brutal and engaging. These scenes are often high points of the early parts of the book and a brilliant battle set-piece keeps the book interesting when it starts to flag in the middle. The ending of the book was dominated by the iconic battle of Crecy. Cornwell's visceral' compelling account brought the famous battle to life and even knowing how it would end it was gripping reading. Despite some small discrepancies from historical accounts I've read the battle was mostly accurate and completely awesome. Sir Guillaume d'Evecque - a French knight who, being outlawed, has no choice but to fight for the English 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. Okay, so it's a good book but you need to be aware that this is not a happy fantasy. It's a book about war and all the pain that goes with that, especially when it's a war fought with pointy and edged things some of sharp steel either wielded by hand or attached to a yard long shaft of wood. 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.