Rating: 
Summary: One of Bernard Cornwell's Best
Review: I bought this book, which clearly set itself up for a sequel, at the same time as "Gallows Thief". I loved "Archer's Tale" but can't recommend the other, which was not one of Bernard Cornwell's better books.
Rating:
Summary: An Arrow to my Heart
Review: Having just spent the first six hours of this Saturday morning finishing this incredibly riveting book, ignoring my cats pawing at the bedroom door and my own growling stomach, I am now adding Bernard Cornwell to my list of favorite authors! In the historical note at the end of the tale, Cornwell states that all of the battles and skirmishes came from actual history (with a couple of twists), and as I believe him, I have just learned a lot about the art of archery, the English reliance of the longbow to disastrously defeat their enemies, and the enmity between the French and English that led to years of tortuous death and destruction. The battle scenes in this book formed a cinematic image in my mind, and I will never forget the Battle of Crecy, or the battle on the Ile St. John. As I "watch" the horror of these battles, I wonder again at the need for humans to slaughter one another, and am hearbroken for the suffering of the horses that are innocent victims of human brutality in war. Contrary to other reviewers' comments, I found the book to have qualities of medieval times aplenty. Events were certainly affected by chivalry, superstition, and piousness. Christian French and Christian English alike sought victory over one another in the name of God and the saints, and claimed that God was on their side when they won. As I read the book, I really didnÕt care which side won, but I did care about the characters that I got to know, mostly who are English, and a couple of French. Although the battles form the backbone of the book, it's the characters that bring it to life, and I enthusiastically followed the main character, Thomas of Hookton, from the time his village was slaughtered through all his twisted entanglements with war, romance and danger. In his desire to please people he cares about, he makes promises to help them that are difficult to fulfill. He tries his darndest though, and keeps encountering obstacles that twist his life in new directions. Of course, he is the hero, and he manages to overcome them all. Thomas succeeds in fulfilling at least one of his major promises, which was to retrieve a holy relic, but not having fulfilled them all, the end of the book leaves us ripe for continuing his saga in a sequel that must surely be on its way.
Rating:
Summary: Old School Adventure At Its Best
Review: I am a Cornwell fan, and unlike most others, who were converted by the Sharpe books, this tale was the one that snared me. I first read this book in the English edition, titled "Harlequin." The American version is nearly identical but the title is more direct and true. This is an "archer's tale." Thomas of Hookton is a brash, tough warrior in the Sharpe tradition, and his old school tale of good captains, errant knights and complicated women will entertain you for hours or days (depending on how fast you read). Along the way you'll learn why the long bow was so important to the success of English armies and how England used it to win the Battle of Crecy and others. It's the classic Cornwell mix of fact and fiction that he does better than most contemporary writers. Highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book for enjoyment, not accuracy
Review: I liked this book--not because I was looking for historical accuracy, but because I like the sense of things. In this story, things just seem to fall into Thomas' lap. He really is just too good to be true. Thomas acknowledges to himself that he promises things too easily, and that is his problem throughout the book. That, and the fact that it is hard for him to follow through on those promises. I liked how the reader doesn't find out until after the massacre who Thomas' father is. I liked how Thomas wised up to Jeannette and realized she really was a conniving social climber. I liked how Sir Guillaume's relationship with Eleanor was simple and true, and not distorted by class. Most of all, I liked this book because I was constantly being surprised by new information. You can read history, and you can read fiction. If you choose to read historical fiction, know that information is going to be played with to suit the plot. Personally, I thought that the author did a good job in presenting the battles--chivalry has no place in battle. I thought that he did a good job presenting the characters--you have all types in this book, which makes it enjoyable. I would recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Anachronistic Archer
Review: If you're looking for a pretty good adventure tale and don't really care about historical detail or learning anything new about the middle ages, you'll probaby enjoy this book. But if you like your historical fiction with a little depth, a little insight, or that which causes you to rethink your assumptions having to do with the long-ago time you are reading about, stay away from this one. Stay away from this one like the plague. It is the story of Thomas, an English archer, and his involvement with the English army in France during the several months leading up to and then at the famous battle of Crecy in 1346. Based on what I know, it is historically accurate. The campaign and the battle took place pretty much as the author describes it. Historically, the battle was significant because it proved that infantry could be used, in combination with archers, to defeat disciplined cavalry units. The battle scenes themselves are terrific. There is a load of graphic blood and gore, and the author is very knowledgable about weapons and tactics and armor and that sort of thing. The last thirty or forty pages of the book, the battle itself, are very exciting. But it is the leading-up-to which leaves a lot to be desired. People in the middle-ages were very poorly educated. Only a very few could read or write, and all were riddled with superstition, fear and stupidity. There is no sense of that in this book. The Catholic church was dominant, and most men were in dreadful fear of it. There is no sense of that in this book either. The nobility portrayed here are venal and vicious. There is no sense anywhere of the chivalraic code. Now, the author does comment in his afterward that there was no nobility in the fighting of a desperate battle, and he is right, but what about the rest of the time? Did the nobility really take advantage of women--and I mean take advantage in the most thorough sense--at every opportunity? Isn't this exactly the opposite of what the chivalraic code stood for in the first place? Here is Sir Simon, when asked why he is in the French camp. "Money, food, land, women," he says. Well, the author makes it clear that Sir Simon is a bad, bad man, but still, not ONE of these nobles ever talks of honor, which is, after all, what the nobility is supposed to be about. Our hero, separated from the army, meets, then rescues a French countess. They spend an idyllic month or two wandering around the French countryside, sleeping in abandoned huts and having sex. Yes, they are lovers. Their religion doesn't seem to get in the way of this, nor does the fact that she might, you know, get pregnant, nor does the fact that they are both acting dishonorably, nor does the fact that he is from a social class which is significantly inferior to hers. Is this really the 14th century? It sure doesn't look like it to me. Look, if you like Clive Cussler, Jeffrey Archer, or Ken Follett, by all means, read this. I'm sure you'll be enthralled. But if you really want to know about the Middle Ages, forget this junk. For realistic adventure, read Doyle's White Company, or Sir Nigel, or The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. If you're looking for strict realism, read Zoe Oldenbourg. But this thing, bleeeeeaackhh.
Rating:
Summary: Flacid at Best
Review: Having read all of the Sharpe's series, as well as the Winter King trilogy, I was keenly disappointed by this Cornwell offering. I cannot dispute Cornwell's command of historical facts, and his abilty to render the times in which his characters live with clarity, dexterity, and color is, in my opinion, outstanding. Unfortunately good research and a colorful rendering of times and places do not a good novel maketh! In the other books I have read, it is Cornwell's command of his characters and his ability to weave a complex story, combined with his historical accuracy that set his works apart from others of the genre. I think Archer's Tale is, as a novel, albiet not a gross failure, a failure none the less. I found his characters lacked sufficient motive force, and I found myself almost irritated as Cornwell uses facile devices and contrivence in his narrative in order to propell his characters forward. Character motivations are checkered, and indistinct, leaving the reader struggling to find some level of solidity with which to identify with the characters. In his other works, I found it easy to empathize with his characters, which is, I think, the key to a good historical novel (or any well told story) whether it was Sharpe's shame, or Arthur's hubris. In Archer's Tale, I found it almost impossible to relate to the characters on any level. It felt like Cornwell left us to fill in the blanks, and provide our own motivations for his characters. The redeeming factor of the book is it's historical detail. I would recommend this book to affecianados of the era, as the period and battle detail is outstanding. I especially enjoyed Cornwell's descriptions of some of the first uses of primitve firearms, the advent of which tolled the death knell of the longbow. I feel that Cornwell fails with Archer's Tale to write a good novel, but succeeds in writing a passable "histafiction". Unfortunately, I read Cornwell for his talant at writing novels, and although his rendering of history is rich, detailed, and engaging, I found this book to be a "loaner", not an "owner". I wish I had spent the money on a pizza and checked it out from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Stick to Sharp
Review: More like 3 and 1/2 but I couldn't bring myself to give 4. Maybe because th ebook is "The new deal" Anyway Count on Cornwell to give you good battle scenes, other then that don't get this book(Or get it at the Library). The plot can be seen in the much better Warlord trilogy. I don't know the book just seemed to lose something in the translation. Thomas's town is attacked he is (luckily) out of town at the time and is able to kill a few of the attackers with his bow. He learns that the village priest(his dad) who he thought was just nuts was really a noble hiding from his crazy family. Where it goes from there really gets wacky Overall-Read if you are an old hand at this, not a good Cornwell introduction
Rating:
Summary: An excellent historical novel
Review: The initial seizure of the English throne by William I (Duke of Normandy) and later royal marriages left the English crown with various claims to territories in what is now France. That led to warfare over claims and counter-claims. The present novel is set during the time of King Edward III, as English armies are once again on the continent contending with the French. The historical research is good, and the novel is well written. The main character is a fictional English archer, William of Hookton, who joins the English army in France after people in his village are massacred by French raiders. He has two missions, to find and kill his father's murderer and to retrieve a religious relic stolen from his village church. William initially finds himself in Brittany as part of the Earl of Northampton's campaign where he distinguishes himself at La Roche-Derien, but also makes an enemy and finds himself charged with murder. Fleeing his enemy and the murder charge, he eventually rejoins the Earl in Normandy, participates in the battle at Caen, is injured, recovers, rejoins the Earl again, and serves at the Battle of Crécy where the novel concludes. Like Richard Sharpe, in other novels by the author, William has a succession of women in his life. Besides casual romps in the hay, there is a pretty young barmaid in Hookton who is carried off by the French raiders, a Breton girl who dies from a fever (only mentioned in passing), a French countess who throws him back into the pond when she catches a bigger fish, and finally the pretty illegitimate daughter of a French nobleman whose fate is left to a sequel (he still must find the man who killed both his own father and the family of the girl's father). There is ribald humor in the novel. In one scene in a tavern where there are two unattractive women, William tells another man that he is going to drink until one of the women becomes attractive - the other man looks at the women and tells him he will die if he drinks that much. The novel is a good picture of the time period. Common people were sujected to murder, rape, robbery, and arson. The common soldiers considered it among their perquisites to steal valuables and have their way with any women in captured cities (that attitude continued well into the 19th century). It makes one think of modern events in the Balkans. There were similarities between the Battle of Crécy in 1346 and the earlier Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. In both cases, the attacking army lost the battle when mounted knights charged headlong against a strong defensive line. The English lost at Bannockburn, but won at Crécy. Perhaps the English learned something from history. Any ideas of chivalry went out the window at Crécy where enemy knights, barons, etc., had their throats cut rather than being held for ransom. It should be noted that much of the warfare of that time period was between relatives. It did not always result in grudges. The Earl of Northampton's father (who was married to Edward II's sister) had rebelled against Edward II and was killed leading a charge against Harclay's forces at Boroughbridge in 1322, a better fate than that of his co-conspirators. The Earl of Northampton's wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Bartholomew de Badlesmere who was hanged by Edward II after Boroughbridge. The Earl still became a close friend of Edward III and has been described as one of the four leading members of Edward III's household. The Earl's granddaughter Eleanor later married Edward III's younger son Thomas. Another granddaughter, Mary, married King Henry IV.
Rating:
Summary: Historical Fiction at its best
Review: Cornwell's, "The Archer's Tale" is an excellent example of this genre. Historically accurate, but focused on a believable and interesting fictional character. Fascinating information of use of archers in the period preceding the 100 years war.
Rating: 
Summary: More fantastic than many fantasy novels.
Review: THE ARCHER'S TALE is an exciting, action-packed novel with interesting and well-developed characters: Cornwell has done an excellent job of capturing a medieval mind-set, where most people believe in dragons and demons and miracles even though they've never seen any. It's full of fascinating details about the violent and messy reality of medieval combat, but explanations are never allowed to slow down the pace for very long. The plot is fairly simple, with some rather unlikely coincidences, but it builds up to a satisfying crescendo, leaving just enough issues unresolved to whet the appetite for the next book in the series. It's a welcome break from all those fantasy novels where horses are just four-legged jeeps, nothing ever rusts or rots, and magic weapons can solve everything.
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