Rating: 
Summary: The Beginnings of theHundred Years War
Review: Having read the excellent Warlord Chronicles, a three book epic of Arthur, written by the same author, I eagerly looked forward to his latest work. Set in the mid-14th century, it is the tale of Thomas of Hookton, the illegimate son of the local priest. His village on the coast of England is sacked by French pirates, who seem to have a particular goal in mind, of stealing a relic, a lance, which hangs in the local church. Angered at the loss of his family, Thomas enlist in the army as an archer. The remainder of the tale takes place in France, where Thomas is involved in some of the major skirmishes and battles which begin the Hundred Year Wars. There is a very interesting sub-plot involving a young widowed noblewoman and the search by Thomas for the family which his father shunned years ago. The characters are memorable and well drawn out. The battle scenes are easy to follow and yet convey what it must have been like in such primitive conditions. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to what surely must be a sequel since while some loose ends were tied up, others remain open.
Rating: 
Summary: Cornwell does It again
Review: The Archer's Tale begins in the British coastal village of Hookton. The year is 1343, around the beginning of The Hundred Years War. Thomas, the young son of the richest man in town, is making his way in the world and learning to use a bow and arrow. Then Frenchmen come and steal a holy relic -the lance of Saint George- and also leave Thomas' father wounded. As Thomas sits by his dying father, he is told of who took the lance and he makes a vow that he will retake the lance and kill the man who took it. But to accomplish this he must go to France. So Thomas leaves what is left of Hookton and joins the English army as an archer. The English Army was about to invade France. So Thomas goes to France and helps the Earl of Northampton take the town of La Roche Darien. In La Roche Darien, a knight named Simon Jekyll, who is dirt poor but skilled with a sword, finds a huge mansion to plunder. Inside the mansion Simon meets a woman named Jeannette and falls in love with her, but Jeannette has other plans. She runs away from Sir Simon and gets to safety. However Sir Simon continues to harass Jeanette. When Jeanette asks Thomas to help her get rid of Sir Simon, their plot fails and Thomas can't go back to the army. So Thomas runs away and with the help of the army priest gets Jeannette out of there with him. But the army's priest, Father Hobbe, gives Thomas penance for killing Sir Simon's friend. The penance is to fulfill the vow he made to his father. So Thomas and Jeanette wander and eventually meet up with the English army again. By good grace and a debt owed to Thomas, Thomas is let back into the army and Jeannette is given sanctuary. In an attack on a French city, Thomas sees the man he thought had killed his father. While raiding the town Thomas saves a woman from a bad fate and her father, Sir Guilliame de Eveque saves his life. Sir Simon tries to hang Thomas and Sir Guilliame saves him. Later, Thomas finds out that the girl he saved was the daughter of Sir Guilliame and that Sir Guilliame is the man who killed his father. Then Sir Guilliame tells Thomas that it wasn't him, it was Satan's child and that Sir Guilliame had only sent his men. Will Thomas ever get the lance back and complete his vow? Thomas is the obvious main character, and there are lots of small supporting characters who help Thomas progress through the story. The main conflict of the story is that the lance seems so close and then it moves somewhere else and Thomas has to start over again. There are other conflicts, such as the one with Sir Simon. Some of the conflicts don't even involve Thomas, such as the one between Jeanette and Sir Simon and Jeanette and the Duke of Blois. Some of the themes in the book are conflicts and challenges, and a search for self. During the whole book Thomas is growing and maturing finding out who he is. This book was wonderful. It was just my kind of book. It had action, it was written well, and you could understand what the author meant. It is probably the best medieval novel I have ever read. The action was at a perfect level; it was frequent but not gory and bloody. There is blood and some strong language but overall it was well balanced. The book is written in a narrative way. It has a lot of valuable components that make up a great book. This book is incredibly unique and it was unlike any other story I have ever read. Those who enjoy reading medieval war novels with a hidden plot - read this. WARNING: IF YOU ARE SQEAMISH DO NOT READ THIS BOOK! IF DISEMBOWLED HORSES ARE NOT YOUR THING - DON'T READ THIS.
Rating:
Summary: More Medieval Cornwell!
Review: Bernard Cornwell does it again! This was a sweeping medieval story of an archer, Thomas of Hookton's vast, fascinating journey of discovery, love, and revenge. Cornwell does an exceptional job of getting his story across, however, he tends to be a little wordy with descriptions. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys medieval historical ficiton. It is a very worthwhile read!
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: I must admit that I don't read a lot of historical fiction,
but on a friend's advice, I picked up this book and found it
to be an interesting read. As a writer, I always am amazed when
an author can reconstruct a past world and set a story in motion
which draws the reader into it. Armed with only word, there are
some very talented authors of this genre. Cornwell certainly is one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: The Archer's Tale
Review: Someone should have edited this latest Cornwell novel, set in the mid-14th century. It contains some amazingly clumsy prose, and much of what isn't outright dreadful is pedestrian. The maladroitness of the writing got in the way of the story for me. Cornwell has never been a fantastic stylist, but this is ridiculous. Characterization is another weakness here. Strangely, secondary characters, such as the hysterical Frenchwoman Jeanette and the cynical Jewish doctor Mordecai, are stronger than the main character, the emotionless archer Thomas of Hookton. His father has been slaughtered, along with most of his village, by French raiders? Hookton shrugs, half-heartedly vows vengeance, and becomes an archer. A boyhood lover dies, possibly while giving birth to Thomas' own child? Shrug. And so on. Thomas is one of Cornwell's super-good-at-war characters, like Sharpe, but his lack of normal human reactions makes him impossible to sympathize with. I suppose the intent is to create a gritty, "life is cheap" tone, but I don't find it believable. Despite these problems, The Archer's Tale moves along quickly with an exciting plot. There's plenty of fighting, and lots of attention to the longbow, as one would expect. It's not a deep or especially scholarly portrayal of medieval life as a whole, but I didn't find anything glaringly wrong. The book concludes with a retelling of the Battle of Crecy which is worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Are you kidding? Feh.
Review: Well, firstly the packaging should have BOLDLY stated that the book was abridged. Secondly, the title should have concluded with "PART 1" to let the buyer know that it was incomplete. Why do all the French sound like pip-squeaks? It was like Peter and the Wolf with Smith using a reedy flute to do all the French voices. I wanted to bite off my own ear. And what happended to the character development of the Black Bird? She goes from deadly enigma to whimpering twit in a heartbeat. I could go on, but why throw good verbage after bad. I find that I don't care about the characters at all. Kris
Rating:
Summary: Cornwell is one of the best......
Review: This novel is just another in a long line of excellent books written bu Bernard Cornwell. In the last three years, I have read all of the Sharpe books, the Starbuck Chronicles, Stonehenge, and the King Arthur trilogy. Archer's Tale better be the beginnig of a series, because the story is that good. I'm an aspiring writer, and I think I can be successful as long as I can write at 50% of Mr. Cornwell's talent.
Rating:
Summary: Harlequin (aka An Archer's tale)
Review: I believe that Harlequin was released in the USA as "An Archer's Tale". As with most of Cornwell's tales it has been well researched and does give a brief insight into life and war in Medieval Britain and Northern France. Of particular interest is the details of the construction of the English Longbow, a formidable weapon in terms of range, accuracy, rate of fire and power, (it could put an arrow through a 3 inch oak wood door at 50 yards) As a novel it follows the life of a young archer in the army of the one of the Dukes fighting for the King of England who gets his woman (several times, like Sharpe)and oscillates between despair and poverty to grace and favour, again like Sharpe. Really enjoyed it and recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Sharpe plus
Review: This is the beginning of a new series by Bernard Cornwell, author of the popular Sharpe series. This book is set during the Hundred Years war between the English and French monarchies. The hero is a bowman, essentially a mercenary in the service of the English King, though with a better educational background. This is actually a better book than many of the Sharpe novels. The background detail in greater and Cornwell makes a real attempt to display the reality of medieval warfare, as opposed to the silly romantic accretions found in most novels about this period. Despite Cornwell's best intentions, the book does not really describe key elements of Medieval life. Essential features such as the feudal bond as the basis for society and the penetration of religion into all aspects of life are not dealt with.
Rating:
Summary: Job well done!
Review: Another excellent work done by Cornwell. This book literally kept me staying awake all night! The characters have a realistic personality to them and really draws the reader's interest. Overall it is another superb work done by Cornwell. He truly is one of the best historical fiction authors out there! Recommended highly!
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