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Fiction. Literature. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML: From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the sequel to The Archer's Tale�??the spellbinding tale of a young man, a fearless archer, who sets out wanting to avenge his family's honor and winds up on a quest for the Holy Grail. In 1347, a year of conflict and unrest, Thomas of Hookton returns to England to pursue the Holy Grail. Among the flames of the Hundred Years War, a sinister enemy awaits the fabled archer and mercenary soldier: a bloodthirsty Dominican Inquisitor who also seeks Christendom's most holy relic. But neither the horrors of the battlefield nor sadistic torture at the Inquisitor's hands can turn Thomas from his sworn mission. And his thirst for vengeance will never be quenched while the villainous black rider who destroyed everything he loved still lives. "Cornwell writes the best battle scenes of any writer I've read past or present."�??George R.R. Marti… (more)
User reviews
The story opens with the battle of Neville's Cross in northern England when a small English force defeats a much larger force of Scots under King David II, again because of the presence of English archers. The story ends back at Le Roche-Derrien in France where Thomas has once again encountered Jeannette, and helps defeat the French/Breton forces.
The scene involving Thomas' torture by a Dominican inquistitor is hard to endure, but later the Dominican gets his comeuppance and that is most satisfactory.
Thomas, an archer in the English army, is searching for the Holy Grail. He's not sure if he believes it exists, and his friend and traveling companion, Father Hobbes, keeps reminding
Most of France is under siege by the English and it's not safe to be traveling for Thomas, Father Hobbes, and Eleanor, Thomas's soon to be wife. They run into a band of English soldiers who are very interested in the treasure he is seeking. He soon finds himself back in an archer line and, during the battle, both Father Hobbes and Eleanor are killed by another group seeking the Grail. Wrought with grief, he finds new determination. He plans on hunting down the ruthless murderers and exacting revenge for Eleanor's life.
I liked The Archer's Tale, the first in the series, but didn't get into it much. Vagabond moved much faster for me and I began liking Thomas instead of feeling sorry for him. There was still a lot to feel sorry for, but he becomes stronger and more determined which made him much more likable.
It's a true quest book. Thomas is forever walking somewhere and somehow always seems to find himself in an archer line. He gets closer to the Grail with each fight and deals with an enormous amount a guilt along the way. People around him constantly die and you expect him to give up at any moment.
It's a violent story. The life of an archer and man-at-arms is not clean, fun, or healthy but it makes for good reading. Cornwell has a way of clearly and very realistically describing battles, sword fights, and the damage an English bow can do. It's not for the squeamish.
Appropriate to the medieval time period, death is everywhere, and several main characters from the first volume do not survive the end of this book. The French remain inept and unable to win any battle in spite of crushing odds. The main story arc established early in the first book is still alive and well going into the third (and last) volume.
But that's not the main reason that I enjoyed this book.
Anyone who has studied the middle ages has probably struggled to understand the frankly foreign morals and attitudes of the time. It was a time when superstition was rife, attitudes were fatalistic, the church sold forgiveness and tortured people into acquiring faith, intellect/logic was regarded with suspicion, women were property, revenge was a sacred duty, loyalties were fleeting, and yet men willingly gave their lives for "honor" or "glory".
This is the first book about the period I've ever read that not only got all this right, but actually made the idiocyncracies of period seem real and credible. If I could travel back in time to the year 1347, it would look - and feel - like this.
This is the second book of a trilogy but you don't need to read the first - or last - to appreciate the experience. Having said that, I'm now going to run out and acquire both since book #2 was so much fun!
I do like the main character – Thomas – and also his Jewish
I would’ve rated this novel four stars but, like all the Bernard Cornwell books that I’ve read to date, I’ve deducted a star because they are all let down by substandard elements of style. Long-winded sentences are plentiful. The needless dialogue attribution drives me to distraction whilst the overuse of the word “then” is surprising for such a seasoned author.
The long-winded sentences are often kept going by numerous “ands” plus a “then” or two, like with the quote below:
>David's sheltron had forced the central English battle back across a pasture, they had
stretched it thin and they were closing on the Archbishop's great banner, and then the arrows began to bite and after the arrows came the men-at-arms from the English right wing, the retainers of Lord Percy and of Lord Neville, and some were already mounted on their big horses that were trained to bite, rear and kick with their iron-shod hooves.And then, from where the Scots waited on the higher ground, the drums began to beat.The drums began to beat from where the Scots waited on the higher ground.'Charge now, sir,' he suggested, 'before they can make a battleline.''When this day's done, uncle,' Robbie Douglas said, 'you'll let me go after that priest.''What would happen, Thomas, if you found the Grail?' He did not wait for an answer. 'Do you think,' he went on instead, 'that the world will become a better place?