Advantages: there are two more books! If you like Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe you will love this. Disadvantages: the excess use of Saints, the complicated vocabulary
The first book in BernardCornwell's Grail Quest, with Thomas of Hookton replacing Richard Sharpe as the hero, is magical. In my opinion Cornwell is the one of, if not the best writers of historical fiction out there and he has excelled himself with this book. His portrayal of England and France in the 1300s (the run up to the Battle of Crecy) is such that you actually feel you are there but it is his characters which show him for the master that he undoubtably is.
Thomas just wants his bow and his women and this is something which not change throughout the novel as we see him change from sallow youth lucky to kill several of those who have pillaged his village into a fully fledged longbow man, a true master of the medieval battlefield. Cornwell's overall grasp of medieval life is stunning with everyone from the Kings ...
Advantages: Superb Story telling Disadvantages: The end of the series (sob)
Just for a change with a book review I would like to start with something written after the story has finished. BernardCornwell often adds some historical information as an epilogue and also some of his personal feelings, in this case he mentions that he spent along time trying to come up with an exciting story for 'Waterloo' and in the end settled on the obvious - that the thrilling few days in June 1815 was enough of a story in itself and all he needed to do was insert his trusty characters.
The novel was the original ending to the 'Sharpe' series (another book has subsequently been added) and was the natural destination of a narrative that has taken our favourite swashbuckling rouge through every major battlefield of the Penninsular War.
The book is only set over 3 or 4 days and starts with the French push into Belgian lands ...
Advantages: Great battle scenes, historical accuracy. Disadvantages: Slightly week protagonist, although this is just a minor quibble.
I hadn't read any BernardCornwell before I picked this up, but it was only £3 from Tesco, and struck a chord after I'd recently looked into the life and times of Henry V - the last proper monarch we've had (i.e. one who wanders around picking fights with anyone who looks at him a bit funny). I was also quite keen to learn why Cornwell had conspired to misspell the title (it turns out his is the French spelling, as opposed to the English 'Agincourt').
Azincourt focuses primarily on the famous battle and events leading up to it as seen through the eyes of one William Hook, an outlaw turned archer in the English army. It?s an interesting perspective owing to the central role of archers in the English campaign against the French, although as protagonists go, he is at times somewhat difficult to warm to, and frankly doesn?t talk enough ...
Wandering sea gypsy Johnny Rossendale is caught up in a series of violent events as he investigates the strange history of a painting, the most treasured part of his family's inheritance. But Johnny, Earl of Stowey, has eight centuries of robber-baron blood in his veins, all boiling for revenge.
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