The Archer's Tale (The Grail Quest, Book 1)

A brutal raid on the quiet coastal English village of Hookton in 1342 leaves but one survivor: a young archer named Thomas. On this terrible dawn, his purpose becomes clear -- to recover a stolen sacred relic and pursue to the ends of the earth the murderous black-clad knight bearing a blue-and-yellow standard, a journey that leads him to the courageous rescue of a beautiful French woman, and sets him on his ultimate quest: the search for the Holy Grail.

Customer Reviews:

A medieval replacement for Sharpe

By charles falk - October 15, 2001

With "The Archer's Tale" Bernard Cornwell transports his readers to the mid 13th century and the start of the Hundred Years War. His replacement for Richard Sharpe is Thomas of Hookton, an archer in the army of Edward III. We learn in the prologue that Thomas is the illegitimate son of the Hookton parish priest, an educated man of mysterious noble origins. Thomas learns Latin and French from his father (which is puzzling because we find out later that the priest's native tongue is langue d'Oc) and archery from his maternal grandfather. French pirate overrun Hookton killing everyone except Thomas. They are led by the priest's nephew who wants an important relic his uncle has hidden in the Hookton church.Thomas then joins the King's army in order to find and take revenge on the man who massacred his family and his town. Like Sharpe, Thomas soon comes to the attention of a powerful historical figure, the Earl of Northhampton. He also has Sharpe's knack of making... read more

An excellent adventure

By ilmk "ilmk" - June 23, 2003

There is an inevitability that any new Cornwall book will be measured against the Sharpe series and the opener of the Grail Quest series, `Harlequin' proves that it is of the same ilk. The novel follows an English archer, Thomas of Hookton, from the destruction of his home town and the murder of his father, Father Ralph, through to the battle of Crecy in 1346. Cornwall moves from battle to battle during a period, now denoted by modern historians as the commencement of the Hundred Years War, during which King Edward III of England waged war through Normandy against Philip VI of France.
Cornwall opens in England with the deliberate sack of Hookton by the French knight-pirate, Sir Guillame and the enigmatic figure of the Harlequin. Their prize is the legendary lance of St George. After this prologue we are swiftly deposited in France where Thomas has become an archer of some note in the English army under the leadership of Will Skeat. We are at the walls of La Roche-Derrien which... read more

100 years' war from the eyes of an archer

By Jim Schmidt "Jimmbbo" - September 23, 2006

I received the book from a friend as a 'good read'. At the time, I had little knowledge and less interest in the 100 years' war, but had nothing else to read, so I started it. I found the book to be a well written, engaging, well paced look into the life of a common archer who finds himself in the service of the English during the 100 years' war... Cornwell puts the reader in Thomas of Hookton's hip pocket, and there the reader stays as Thomas survives battles, love, lust, injury, failure and triumph in day to day life of 15th century Europe.

The book is historically very acurate, with a minimal articstic liberties taken, and sparked me to learn more about the period. I found it so enchanting that I read the other two books in the series, and started researching more about the war itself... Highly recommended!

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