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Harlequin (The Grail Quest) | 
 enlarge | Author: Bernard Cornwell
Creator: Tim Piggot-smith
Publisher: HarperCollins Audio
Category: Book
List Price: £13.99
Buy Used: £3.20
You Save: £10.79 (77%)
Used (8) from £3.20
Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 522400
Format: Audiobook
Media: Audio Cassette
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.3 x 4.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0007108044
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780007108046
ASIN: 0007108044
Publication Date: June 4, 2001
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Following the phenomenal success of the Sharpe novels set in the Napoleonic Wars, Bernard Cornwell has turned his storytelling talents to another great moment in English history, the Hundred Years War between England and France throughout the 14th century. Harlequin is the first book in Cornwell's Grail Quest series, which chronicles the adventures of young Thomas of Hookton, "a big, bony, black-haired country boy". Thomas rejects the church in favour of the life of an archer in France after his village is brutally sacked by the French. The young Thomas fights back against the French with his bow, and "in that one instant, as the first arrow slid into the sky, he knew he wanted nothing more from life". He vows to seek revenge on the plains of France, and recover the holy relic of St. George stolen from his village by the sinister "harlequin" with whose destiny Thomas finds himself inextricably entwined. The rest of the action moves at a hectic pace across the violent and bloody battlefields of northern France, as Thomas falls for a beautiful French widow nicknamed "the Blackbird", makes a mortal enemy of the "poor, bitter and ambitious" Sir Simon Jekyll, and follows the ensign of King Edward III and his heroic son, the Black Prince. Harlequin is a fast-paced and graphic recreation of the Hundred Years War, despite a rather gratuitous fixation on rape and pillage. The action comes thick and fast, although it remains to be seen if Thomas of Hookton has the wit and flair of Cornwell's other great heroic creation, Richard Sharpe. --Jerry Brotton
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| Customer Reviews: Read 55 more reviews...
 AWESOME July 10, 2008
Kaiser Soze (UK)
This is one great novel. Fans of Sharpe will see some similaritis in the character, but nonetheless an excellent read.
Fantastic! June 15, 2008
Say Again (Gloucester, UK)
Okay, I read this book a couple of years ago now. And how glad I did.
Originally I bought Heretic, and wondered after a couple of pages who these people were. I realised I had bought the second in a series, so needless to say a purchase was made and I started on Heretic. A very, very good read. Cornwell's excellent writing style is evident as always - easy to read. In some ways Cornwell's excellent prose is a crime, suddenly you take a quick break to get a drink and you realise that you've just consumed 50-odd pages... 'but I thought I'd only read ten' you complain to yourself, feeling almost cheated.
This book has a purpose to it, it sets up the story, tells you who is who and entices you with substantial force to buy the next in the series - the characterisation is excellent, as you would expect of Cornwell. (It has been a couple of years since I read it... but for the want of details, I can still vividly remember this books quality).
This book has, it is fair to say, cost me hundreds of pounds. Without it I would not have been hooked by Cornwell, which means I wouldn't have bought all of his books. Every one of which is consumed in about a tenth of the time I usually take to finish a book.
 Good Medieval Adventure! June 12, 2008
J.Flood (Dublin,Ireland)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Harlequin centres around Thomas of Hookton, an archer who joins the English army in France, after his father is murdered, and an ancient relic, is stolen from the church, when his village is plundered by French bandits.
I found this book a fascinating read. The 14th century is brought vividly back to life in its pages, as various battles are fought, based around true events, and the strategies and weaponery used are described very well.
Thomas also makes friends, enemies, and has love interests along the way. The mixture of fictional, and factual characters, is very well done, and makes the story that more interesting. An enjoyable read.
A Good Start to the Series November 22, 2007
J. Chippindale (England)
Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series, set during the Napoleonic Wars. I have not as yet read any of this series. The books about Arthurian England are much more my cup of tea and I read those avidly. He has also written among others, Stonehenge 2000 B.C. Bernard Cornwell lives with his wife on Cape Cod.
This book is I believe the start of a trilogy, beginning in the 14th century and following the lives of a family who have in their possession a holy relic sought by the whole of Christendom, but more importantly by men who can be bought by promises of wealth or land.
These are dark and somber days for a Church, split down the middle by the fact that there are two popes. One guiding the church from Rome, the other in Avignon, both factions struggling to gain supremacy. Hearing of a an artifact that could bring them victory, one side has hired a mercenary to retrieve what could unite the church under one banner.
 Entertaining adventure, but lacks depth September 20, 2007
J. Aitcheson (Wiltshire, England)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
"Harlequin" (also known by its US title, "The Archer's Tale") is the first book in Cornwell's Grail Quest trilogy and follows the experiences of young longbowman Thomas of Hookton during the early years of what will become known as the Hundred Years' War. When Thomas's father is killed and his village destroyed by French raiders, he vows revenge upon those responsible and makes it his goal to recover the holy relic - the lance of St George - that they stole from Hookton's church. Years later, as he finds himself fighting for King and country in Brittany, he starts to discover the nature of his enemy, the Harlequin, and of his own destiny in defending Christendom.
This is an entertaining and fast-paced tale, in the course of which Thomas joins battle countless times, makes both enemies and friends, is outlawed and then reconciled, finds love, has it taken away, and finds it again, while a host of supporting characters enter and disappear from the narrative. Unfortunately this fast pace means that there is little overall sense of direction to the book, and since the quest for the Grail forms only a subplot in this first volume it means unfortunately that the narrative lacks much depth. Thomas, too, is not as compelling a character as Cornwell's other heroes, Derfel (of the Warlord Chronicles), and Uhtred (of the Saxon Stories). He remains a rather bland and disinterested figure and shows little development over the course of the book, and it is difficult for the reader to feel an emotional connection with him.
On the other hand Cornwell is very good at fleshing out his story with a cast of interesting supporting characters. Two in particular stand out, namely Thomas's employer, the gruff William Skeat, and his sworn enemy, the bitter and penniless knight Sir Simon Jekyll, while many other refreshingly quirky minor characters lend personality and life to the setting. Cornwell expertly creates a real sense of time and place, and his depictions of the medieval towns of of La Roche-Derrien and Rennes, and of the French countryside, are colourful and vivid. He does well, too, to communicate the drive and often the desperation felt within the English army, as well as the utter destruction inflicted upon the French. His battle scenes are likewise engaging and his treatment of the Battle of Crécy, the climax of the book, is excellent.
Everything considered, "Harlequin" is a great yarn, not by any means Cornwell's best work but very readable nonetheless. I would be interested to see how he develops Thomas's character and his quest in the sequels, "Vagabond" and "Heretic".
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