Cornwell temporarily abandons Richard Sharpe for a new hero: Thomas of Hookton, a young archer in King Edward III's army who undertakes a quest for the Holy Grail to avenge his family's honor. Abridged.
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Cornwell temporarily abandons Richard Sharpe for a new hero: Thomas of Hookton, a young archer in King Edward III's army who undertakes a quest for the Holy Grail to avenge his family's honor. Abridged.
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Add this copy of The Archer's Tale (the Grail Quest, Book 1) to cart. $4.90, good condition, Sold by The Yard Sale Store rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Narrowsburg, NY, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by HarperAudio.
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Add this copy of The Archer's Tale (the Grail Quest, Book 1) to cart. $49.56, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2001 by HarperAudio.
Cornwell earned A rep for being a stellar writer of historical fiction...how...I guess it pays to have friends in the right places. His style is the classic..."If you read one, you've read 'em all"! If you don't believe me try one of his myriad "Sharpe" thrillers.
I made the mistake of thinking he might have finally gotten the message but, "The Archer's Tale"was just the usual crap; A "Batman" type hero who's as dumb as dirt
and beautiful maiden in distress allowing our man to demonstrate that it's better to be lucky than smart.
I f you clean up the dialogue this might pass as a credible "young reader's" entry!
Jolyon H
Jul 13, 2015
The Grail Quest Beginning
The Archer's Tale is the beginning of the Thomas from Hookton adventures set in the 1340's - 1350's. It begins in Thomas' hometown and takes Thomas through the Battle of Crécy. In Bernard Cornwell's books, including other archers' tales such as "Agincourt," one can see Cornwell's conviction regarding the English Long or Yew bow. He has done extensive research to make these tales fit in with actual battles fought during the 100 years war.
This story is a great adventure, nicely planned, and well told. The battle scenes are a bit graphic so squeamish readers might want to pass these by. For those of us interested in the time and techniques surrounding the 100 years war, it is a must read. While certain characters, such as villains, seem a bit 1-dimensional in Cornwell's tales, these books are real page turners and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in late medieval/renaissance warfare.
I can only hope he adds more Thomas of Hookton adventures to his voluminous works and I recommend them most readily.
Andrew C
Jun 19, 2014
Good read
"The Archers Tale" was a good change of pace from my usual nonfiction historical reading. It's well paced with believable characters that you take an interest in emphasize with. The setting and story background is not only something out side of my usual venue (Civil War and WWII) but obviously well researched and vividly brought to life. Like most readers I have a stack of books on the to read list and have eagerly added the next two books in the series "Vagabond" and "Heretic" to the it. Highly recommended.
Jekyll
Feb 28, 2008
The Archers Tale
This is an excellent well written book which gives a good insight into Norman/Saxon England. It is a difficult book to put down once you get into it and the excitment and intrigue starts early on. Bernard Cornwell writes very good historical fiction. This is the first book of a triology.
Jillian17
Apr 3, 2007
Love it :)
I actually read this book after the last one in the trilogy, (because i didn't know it was a trilogy when i got it) and i still loved it even though i knew where it would all end. When i get the time i am going to read it again. Like all Cornwell's books the battles are well-written and alive, as well as the characters.
