Heretic

Rating:
Summary: The destiny of the Grail
Review: "Heretic", the last book in the 3-book medieval Grail Quest series, is where Thomas Hookton finally confronts his cousin, Guy Vexille. Thomas, with his war-band, travels to Astarac, the former home of his infamous family, The Vexilles. Thomas then finds a lover, Genevieve, while at his stay in Astarac. She was a heretic and persecuted by the Church, and was going to be burned, but Thomas saves her. Subsequently, Thomas is also condemned by the Church during a siege in Astarac. He and Genevieve flee from Astarac, and take refuge with the bandits in the hills. Guy Vexille then hunts them down, but is unsuccessful in capturing them. Compared to the others in the series, Heretic is more about betrayal, deceit and the greediness of the nobleman - while there are also exciting battle scenes. I recommend this book and the Grail Quest series whole heartedly - actually, you must read all three in order.

Rating:
Summary: Violent Conclusion to Violent Saga
Review: Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest trilogy concludes with "Heretic," and a bloody conclusion it is, too.

Thomas of Hookton lives in violent times. In "The Archer's Tale," Thomas's father was butchered by Thomas's cousin, Guy Vexille, and Thomas's woman, Eleanor, was also murdered by Guy in "Vagabond." Thomas has survived several vicious battles and an even more vicious round of torture at the hands of a Dominican priest. And through it all, Thomas has sought the holiest of holy relics, the Grail . . . although Thomas has not always pursued his quest with vigor.

Now, in "Heretic," Thomas at last closes in on the object of his quest by returning to his ancestral home of Astarac. By pursuing the Grail here, Thomas also hopes to draw out his cousin so Thomas can avenge his father and Eleanor.

Cornwell, as usual, keeps Thomas the Archer occupied, wielding a new, mightier bow with the same lethal efficiency. For those who have not yet read this series, the archer was not the little guy standing in the rear picking off foes with little pinpricks. The archer was king of the battlefield, using a variety of arrows to slaughter men and horses, perforating even the strongest armor with cannon-like shots. The arrival of primitive cannon technology in this series does not alter the balance of power.

Thomas, being Thomas, gets sidetracked with romance by falling in love with a beautiful woman (who always seem to turn up for Thomas . . . oh, well -- it pays not to overthink such things). This woman was falsely accused of being a heretic and has been tortured at the hands of an evil priest, much like Thomas. For his chivalry, Thomas is excommunicated. Cast out, he nevertheless pursues his twin goals of revenge and salvation.

Cornwell vividly describes the world of the Hundred Years War. Not only does Thomas have to contend with dastardly kin and mighty men-at-arms, the Black Death is screaming across the land, with horrifying results. Cornwell describes it all with his usual straightforward yet captivating style.

"Heretic" is not a great departure from the earlier two novels in the series. Sharp-eyed readers will have spotted clues in earlier books regarding the Grail and its location, but the mystery is still captivating, and the conclusion is unexpected.

While not exactly a "feel good" book, the Grail Quest series is a fun read, and a rollicking ride across the battlefields of Britain and France. Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: IS THAT ALL THERE IS?
Review: HERETIC is the third(and perhaps last)novel chronicling the adventures of English longbowman, Thomas of Hookton, during the early years of the Hundred Years' War. It will be more enjoyable if one first reads ARCHER and NOMAD. The siege and capture of Calais is glimpsed briefly at the beginning, but most of the story involves the capture and defense of Castillon d'Arbizon by Thomas and some of his comrades from NOMAD. There Thomas and his evil cousin Guy Vexille have their final confrontation. It is the search for the Holy Grail that drives the central characters in HERETIC.

As usual, Cornwell gives the reader a trove of detail about the way war was waged and life was lived in the mid-14th century. We learn about the wearing of plate armor, about special-purpose arrow points, the fortification of medieval castles, and the loading and firing of primitive cannon. We watch a craftsman doing wax-replacement casting. What is missing, for this reader, is Cornwell's usually brilliant evocation of landscape. Gascony does not come alive the way Normandy and Durham did in the earlier books.

HERETIC also gets bogged down by too many grails, counterfeit and (perhaps) otherwise. Cornwell explains how the grail came to a remote fortress in Gascony by quoting a legend that connects it to the heretic Cathars, but fails to trace its whereabouts during the first Christian millennium. Nor does the "true" grail, once found, exhibit any special properties to verify it authenticity. Why let it be found at all, if you aren't going to provide some supernatural fireworks a la Tolkien or Indiana Jones? Cornwell's message seems to be that the grail's only power was its hold on men's imaginations. When Thomas takes the predictably high-minded course, one is likely to wonder, like Peggy Lee, "Is that all there is?"

Earlier Amazon reviewers assume that HERETIC concludes the Thomas of Hookton series. This is reasonable if you think the story of the grail was the real heart of the story. If, however, one believes that the real subject of Cornwell's series is the apogee of the English longbow as a weapon of war then we might expect to follow Thomas at least through the Battle of Poitiers. He certainly deserves a more rousing send-off than HERETIC.

Rating:
Summary: Not his best.
Review: I am a big fan of Bernard Cornwell's novels, however, the last of the Archer trilogy was a bit of a disappointment. The story seemed hurried and the characters are either undeveloped or out of character from the earlier two books (what's up with Robbie?) It is as if Mr. Cornwell rushed to finish the book too quickly. The entire series lacks the grit and intensity of the Sharpe novels and fails to match the sophisticated story telling of the Arthur (Winter King) trilogy. There is such a thing as being overly prolific. Hopefully, Mr. Cornwell will slow down next time out.

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: A series worth reading
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: 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.