Heretic

Rating:
Summary: Stale
Review: Recently I have found some of Cornwell's books disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I've read all of his books and buy them as soon as they come out, particularly the Sharpe and Grail series. However, what was original in the first several volumes of either series seems formulaic after a time. Heretic carries the formula to the extreme, almost to the point of being a caricature of Corwell's own style. He continues to be a master of military fiction, and in particular the dramatic battlefield narrative. However, he persists in injecting a romantic aspect into the story which, in Heretic, seems to dictate Thomas' choice of action past the point of reason and credibility. Thomas is, like Sharpe, an individual raised on brutality and military pragmatism. On rare occasion, it would be possible for such an individual to make decisions with the heart rather than the head, but with these characters it has become repetitious. The series is not a romance series, but military historical fiction, and now the main characters have become predictable romantics. When there was a decision to be made by Thomas in this story, I knew what it would be pages before it was made. That is a disappointment.
Such a romantic sideline should not be necessary to effectively tell such a period piece. Neither Thomas' story nor Sharpe's was without apparent inspiration (for Sharpe, The Rifleman by C.S. Forester, and for Thomas, The Bowman of Crecy by Ronald Welch). Those tales did not include romantic distractions, and managed to tell very compelling stories with complete characters.
Cornwell would do well to avoid falling into the trap of always using the same plot complications and devices. Every once in a while, it would be refreshing for Thomas or Sharpe to do something pragmatic and avoid acting like an idiot for every pretty face that comes along. Mix it up a little, Bernie.

Rating:
Summary: 3rd book in the series
Review: Set in 14th century France, where the peasants trying to survive were beset by greedy barons exacting rent and taxes, invading armies that pillaged and burned villages, a corrupt church, bands of unemployed soldiers who occupied areas for their own profit, gangs of bandits who preyed on everyone else, and the plague which appeared and decimated entire towns. Thomas of Hookton returns to France during the last stages of the seige of Calais. He reports to the Earl of Northampton, and leaves on a search for the Holy Grail.

It is an interesting tale, and does raise a question. How would you recognize the Grail if you happened to find it? It was a cup, but there were hundreds of thousands of cups lying about. The quest is joined by various people who have their own interests in finding the Grail, some for personal profit, and some for power. Friendships are uncertain, and people sometimes form unlikely alliances (an enemy of my enemy is my friend). The main criteria for being a hero seems to be the ability to survive, and Thomas survives unusual perils while people around him perish.

The novel has an interesting epilogue about the Grail. Readers are referred to Mercedes Lackey's short story "Once and Future" about a man who wakes up one morning to find himself in possession of Excalibur (it is found in her collection, "Fiddler Fair"). Possibly of interest is the fact that Thomas finds a woman companion who also survives. The author has a habit of disposing of women in his novels, although Sharpe also eventually settled down with a woman who seems to survive.

I originally became interested in the series because the Earl of Northampton was a distant ancestor. The author has done extensive research into the history of time period, and his novels seem a good depiction of conditions.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good as the first two
Review: The concluding part of Cornwell's trilogy, Heretic, promised to provide a fabulously roaring end to the tale of Thomas Hookton, English Archer during the early years of the Hundred Years War. But, unfortunately, it went out with a tired whimper rather than the exciting bangs of the previous two novels.
It opens with Thomas' rescue of the overly adventurous Earl of Northampton at a skirmish at Calais and his subsequent orders to go to Astarac and locate the Grail, ensuring his cousin, Guy de Vexille, is aware of his presence.
So, Thomas takes his new band of archers south and captures the Castillon D'Arbizon in a nighttime raid and manages to avert the superstitious and fear induced heretical burning of the Church-condemned beghard, Genevieve, who is, luckily for Thomas, also very beautiful (inducing a fit of jealousy in the ever present Robbie). Meanwhile, the evil Dominician is back, this time in the guise of Louis Bessieres, Cardinal Archbishop of Livorno, with his brother, Charles and they are seeking, in a tower at Soissons, to create an artificial Grail. This they achieve and Thomas and Genevieve are evicted from D'Arbizon by a group of his own men, led by Robbie who's unrequited lust for Genevieve allows his religious fervour to flourish. Thomas is subsequently excommunicated, takes up with a band of corredors led by Phildin, and spends much of the time moving through the Berat countryside before returning to D'Arbizon.
Meanwhile, the Count of Berat is murderd by his nephew, Joscelyn, who turns out to be another Jekyll. Joscelyn promptly takes his cannon to D'Arbizon, aided by Charles Bessiers and Guy Vexille to both remove the English garrison under Sir Guillaume and capture the grail. As Thomas reenters D'Arbizon, killing Bessiere's on the way, they discover the false grail and destroy it before most of the protagnists die either from the ensuing battles or the Plague which has arrived in France. We also finally get to see Thomas, archer, in a final duel with his cousin, Guy, swordsman, with the inevitable result. At the end Thomas and his Genevieve ride into the English sunset, with Robbie reconciled to them and they locate the true Grail.
All in all, a good final part to the trilogy with the exception that Cornwell has taken the safe option that most modern Grail stories follow. In true Indiana Jones style, the baddies fall for the fabulously wealthy cup whilst the hero realises that it the Grail is liable to be a simply crafted vessel and then it ends up being removed for all time so that evil men can't kill more for it. A tad cliched and hence the earlier statement that it ends with a whimper.
Nevertheless, Harlequin and Vagabond provide an excellent foray into the Hundred Years War and Thomas of Hookton is a character well worth following and if Cornwell were to write more of him I'd eagerly wait for it to hit the shelves.

Rating:
Summary: Almost as good as the Sharpe Series
Review: The Grail Series (Archer's Tale, Vagabond and Heretic) were great fun to read.

Maybe comparisons to the Sharpe Series is unfair - in my opinion they and O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin Series are the best historical fiction out there.

Having said that, these 3 books were up to Cornwell's standards and did the time period and characterization justice.

Rating:
Summary: Suspect Motives
Review: The greatest impediment to enjoying a novel (for me) is when characters act in ways that don't make sense, thus poisoning the rationale for the story line. Even given the notable lack of self-control of Cornwell heroes when it comes to women, in this case the major plot line was Thomas abandoning his course for the woman. The only motivation offered for Thomas's attraction is her beauty. But there is absolutely no indication of any character lurking beneath the body! I haven't counted, but I doubt she has more than 30 words of dialogue in the entire book. For the hero to make a 90-degree behavioral turn for a woman, one has to understand the woman to understand why he would do so. Because there is no credible explanation, the book from a story perspective has to fail. I hasten to add that the historical accuracy, battle scenes, etc. are Cornwell's normal high quality.

Rating:
Summary: Suspect Motives
Review: The greatest impediment to enjoying a novel (for me) is when characters act in ways that don't make sense, thus poisoning the rationale for the story line. Even given the notable lack of self-control of Cornwell heroes when it comes to women, in this case the major plot line was Thomas abandoning his course for the woman. The only motivation offered for Thomas's attraction is her beauty. But there is absolutely no indication of any character lurking beneath the body! I haven't counted, but I doubt she has more than 30 words of dialogue in the entire book. For the hero to make a 90-degree behavioral turn for a woman, one has to understand the woman to understand why he would do so. Because there is no credible explanation, the book from a story perspective has to fail. I hasten to add that the historical accuracy, battle scenes, etc. are Cornwell's normal high quality.

Rating:
Summary: The quest continues...
Review: The Holy Grail was the most sacred of all treasures in medieval times, sending armies on quests for the fabled cup all over Europe. Thomas of Hookton, a young English archer of some considerable skill, finds himself in France searching for the grail, but instead finds himself a bundle of trouble.

Thomas saves a girl from being burned at the stake for witchcraft and suddenly finds himself excommunicated from the church, and an enemy of his friends. To make matters worse, English archers in France were popular amongst bandits- because of the high price on their heads. Thomas and his newfound love soon find shelter in a monastery, which holds further clues to the whereabouts of the mythical grail.

The monastery proves to be an unsafe hideout, as Thomas' ambitious and ruthless cousin also seeks the grail, and would quite like to see Thomas and his heretic girlfriend dead. Things come to a head when Thomas is reunited with his former friends, but ends up besieged in a castle. While the English longbow was the most deadly infantry weapon of the era, it was no match for the early cannon, subtly named Hell Spitter, dragged in from Italy to knock down the castle. The Italian gunners however bring something far more deadly with them in the form of the Black Death.

Bernard Cornwell brings to life a number of aspects of the medieval age, like the deep reaching influence of the church, and how allegiances among soldiers were made and broken. He also offers a view into the harsh realities of medieval life, like the desperate poverty of peasants, who were an easy target for both soldiers and bandits alike. Cornwell pulls no punches when it comes to graphic descriptions of violence and war, and how something as simple as a broken limb could prove fatal.

While Robin Hood may have been noble enough to steal from the rich and give to the poor, Thomas of Hookton stole from the poor when he had to, and killed the rich when they deserved it. This is a fast moving and historically accurate story with characters flawed enough to be real people, tangled in one of the most futile but enduring treasure hunts of all time.

Rating:
Summary: gourmet blend of fact and fiction
Review: The only time I break away from historical non-fiction is when I see a Cornwell book on the shelf. He is the master of the game, and I am never sorry I bought one of his novels. I liked his King Arthur series the best. This trilogy is equally as entertaining.If you like the medieval atmosphere you'll love these books. Turn off the T.V., the DVD, and escape into another time and place. Rub elbows with a British Archer from the middle ages for a night.I suggest you Read the prvious two books first, and don't miss out on the action.

Rating:
Summary: Vintage Cornwell (but read previous books first)
Review: This is a great book and an enjoyable read. One point that should be made up front is that it is definetly part 3 of an on-going story and if you have not read the Archers Tale or Vagabond then you are not going to get the most from the story. The plot line is rather involved and Cornwell does not spend much verbiage on a recap. Also if you are a fan of the Sharpe novels (as I am) it is not long before you start seeing the similarities (ex: Sharpe with faithful Irish sidekick Sgt. Harper, Thomas with faithful Scots sidekick Robbie Douglas). This however is a minor quibble, Cornwell is a master at blending history and a good yarn into a seamless enjoyable package.

Rating:
Summary: Good story with plenty of action
Review: Unlike the some of the other reviewers this was my first Bernard Cornwell book and won't be my last!! However I wasn't aware, when I read it, that it was the last in a trilogy so it might be preferable to read the other two first.
I found myself getting gradually absorbed into the story, feeling compelled to follow the main characters through their quest for the Grail, honour and acceptance.
The battle scenes were very descriptive as was general life in mid fourteenth century France, all making this an excellent and persuasive read.