Battles, Blood and History (Harlequin - Bernard Cornwell)

Member Name: andydennis

Product:	Harlequin - Bernard Cornwell
Date:	11/10/01 (99 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Plenty of excitment., Good tale, Nice slice of history thrown in.

Disadvantages: None

Harelquin tells the tale of a young English archer named Thomas, who having had his family slaughtered by French marauders joins the English army in Brittany.

The story revolves around the fact his father once owned the Lance of St George, and when the French came to their town of Hookton, they stole it. Thomas makes a promise to retrieve it, but gets distracted along the way by the spoils of war.

The story takes you from England, to the wars in Brittany just before the start of the 100 years war and the battle of Crecy. Our young hero then finds himself on the run ann outlaw and guarding an outcast young lady, the wife of a dead noble. I won't spoil the story more, as it is an excellant tale.

Obviously a lot of research has gone into the writing of the story. A lot of historical facts are included and a sense of how it was is certainly portrayed in the story. This is no Hollywood style Knights in shining armour tale, far from it.

The squeemish my find parts of the story a little intense, as there is plenty of plunder, murder, battles, looting and rape. To be fair though this is all portrayed without going over board.

This book will appeal to several types of people. If your interested in history then this gives a nice insight and is a good story. Readers of fantasy and sci fi should love the book, as its in a similar vein to a good fantasy tale, only set in medieval France. Casual readers may find they also enjoy the story, and those familiar with Bernard Cornwells other work such as Sharpe shouldn't find it a let down at all.
Lets see if a TV series arises from the chronicals.

Overall an excellant read, and now its in paperback at a good price too !

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