Harlequin: An enthralling historical action adventure novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author: Book 1 (The Grail Quest)

Really enjoyed this one. The setting and characters are brilliantly brought to life, the action is described superbly and it moves along at a good old pace. I'll pick up the next one in the series when I get a chance (hopefully it won't be too much of a 'more of the same' as the Sharpe books were after a while).

Despite the 5 stars there are just a couple of criticisms:

- a couple of major points are left unresolved by the end. I assume these will carry on into the next book but it would have been nice for Thomas to have a bit more closure.

- the female characters are weak, completely dependent on the male characters for everything. Perhaps that's just an accurate depiction of the way things were back then, but they weren't very interesting people to read about.

As much as I like the Sharpe books, the Warlord Chronicles is far more to my taste when it comes to Bernard Cornwell. I was hoping that the Holy Grail series would be closer to the Arthur books then and I would find a new favourite series of his.

After reading Harlequin I can say I am both satisfied and slightly disappointed. If ever there was a book that was a love child between two series, Harlequin falls into the category.

It combines some of the best elements of the Arthur series but is also spoilt by some of the weaker elements of the Sharpe series. Well, when I say weaker elements, I refer to the things I find annoying but know full well, others love about Cornwell's writing.

You see, the great thing about the Warlord Chronicles is the legend of King Arthur has so little/vague evidence of the time period. This meant that Bernard was not constrained in his writing in order to ensure historical accuracy. He was free to write each scene and battle as he imagined it. He was able to introduce the hint of magic into the story whilst still ensuring credibility. He was able to flip the personalities of the characters. In short, he could write what he wanted and the result of this was a masterpiece.

With the Harlequin and indeed the Sharpe books, although they are great reads, they are also historically accurate. Most of the time, Bernard manages to expertly weave this into the story effortlessly. However, at times like in the Harlequin, in order to impart to the audience exactly what really went on in the battles etc, he sometimes lapses into a few pages of description regarding the movement of major figures in history who have not featured prominently in the story. I find this results in me being thrown out of the great story telling slightly. Only slightly mind!

The Harlequin then focuses on Thomas of Hookton. An archer who's town is destroyed whilst he was supposed to be defending it. Thomas is a good character to root for, but also frustrating at the same time. He is very Sharpe like in that he loves battle and has a sense of honour and loyalty to his fellow soldiers. However, this commitment to the army gets in the way of him fulfilling the numerous personal vows of vengeance he makes. Sometimes you just want him to get on with his personal quest.

The supporting cast as you would expect from a Cornwell novel is strong. Will Skeet in particular is likeable as the hard nosed but fair leader of the archers, as is Father Hobb who acts as Thomas' conscience. There are some characters that drift in and out of the narrative with no resolution but this is to be expected in the first book of a trilogy. There is also the customary villain of the story who continues to haunt Thomas.

The trilogy is about the quest for the Holy Grail. It is mentioned in this first novel and I particularly like how the characters deal with it. For instance, in a world so grounded in the harshness of war, Thomas does not debunk the Grail's existence but chooses to bury his head in the sand over the whole mythos surrounding the artefact. The fact that the character openly recognises that he does not have the mental capacity of will to comprehend such a thing of power is a nice touch and helps to improve the Grail's credibility.

Overall then, Harlequin is a good Cornwell book. Which means it is better than about 80% of the books out there. My rating: 8.4

I chose this rating because "Azincourt" "1356" and "Harlequin" are much better than "Vagabond" and "Heretic" Bernard Cornwell has produced a thumping good read. I was a little disappointed with the relative brevity of the description of the action at Crecy, the momentous battle against the French at the start of the Hundred Years War but enthralled with the author's personalisation of mediaeval warfare and its brutality in the "Age of Chivalry". It depicts how the sparely populated realm of England, despite the constant threat to its security posed by perfidious Scots with their "Auld Alliance" with France, managed to carve out the Angevin empire and rule a third of France for more than two centuries by the domination of the battlefield by the English archer Having read all the novels of this period by the author, it is a pity that the activities of the principal character of Thomas of Hookton has apparently stopped. I sincerely hope that Bernard Cornwell launches another episode in the life of this compelling individual with further novels of this quality. I am definitely a fan. The same could also equally apply to Nicholas Hook,("Azincourt"). Is there not something you can do about this Mr Cornwell? Amazon's economic price levels has allowed me to collect all of the mediaeval stories in paperback.

I love the writings of Bernard Cornwell and this audiobook hasn't disappointed me one bit. So much so that I went through the whole story in three days. A very descriptive story of the life and times of an archer in France albeit a novel it integrated so much more. I went on to buy the complete series and loved wevery one

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A review of Harlequin and Vagabond

Ok look Bernard can write a mean plot, there's no let up, the bad guys are numerous and as mean as they get. The hero is not heroic but he is very resilient and sometimes foolish, always brave and has generally good intentions, but a saint he certainly isn't. Similar to Uhtred of the Last Kingdom. And there you have the only flaw with these books, the formulae is well proven but re-worked for different scenarios. You know the main character is going to have to endure a relentless series of misfortunes, betrayal, torture, battles, love and lust, revenge and glory. You know the evil characters are so vile it makes you want to shout with joy when they eventually get what's coming to them. Mr Cornwell is a fantastic story teller, of that there is no doubt. I can't give it 5 stars as I didn't buy the last book in this series. Why? I am 98% sure I know what happens but I can't endure the roller coaster ride to get there. At least not now, I need a break, something a but quieter and perhaps more unpredictable but no doubt I will go back for more later.

Must repeat a previous reviewer and add that the whole series which I've now completed, is a great romp through the Middle Ages. Bernard is always accurate on his historical notes at the end, which as an historian myself I appreciate, as it allows for some change where required to help the story, but then points to some excellent resources if you want to review the events yourself. What is very impressive with his writing, is the ability to truly bring home the horror of battle while keeping it exciting at the same time. Good stuff. I hope there are more Thomas of Hookton books, they have been excellent!

I like historical novels but had never read Bernard Cornwell before. It was OK but I found the endless pages of battle description rather boring - there's only so many way ways you can describle the butchering of battle horses and soldiers - and kept skipping pages and pages of the book to get back to the story. I think there are 8 books in this series, but I don't think I will bother with the rest.

This Book Fascinated me so much that I decided to purchase and read most of Cornwells books! Definitely recommending this.

My reaction is astonishment, enjoyed this book so much I'm moving obviously to the second one now, so to keep with Thomas of Hookton's tale.

I am a real fan of historical fiction and Bernard Cornwell never fails to keep me engrossed in his novels. Great book to read for anyone who is not out off by the gorey details of Medieval battles. His character development is excellent and the story riveting.

Comparo um pouco com o segundo livro da série Game of Thrones, já que os dois giram em torno de uma batalha final. Cornwell também dá uma certa multiplicidade de pontos de vista pra história, mas algo bastante tímido. Os momentos de ação são muito bem narrados e mesmo nas ártes em que há certa dramatização a fim de tornar a história mais densa, acontece uma reviravolta interessante. A batalha final é muito bem escrita, intercalando momentos de euforia com momentos de relaxamento e, o melhor de tudo, dura 70 páginas, ou seja, vale realmente a pena ler até o final. Tudo, segundo o autor, é baseado em fatos históricos. Impossível não gostar

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