Bernard Cornwell is one of the most popular historical fiction authors around and his famous for his Sharpe series, which is about an English rifleman during the Napoleonic wars. Cornwell has written couple of the series as well, not as popular as Sharpe though. The Grail Quest is a series of 4 books which talks about Thomas of Hookton, an English archer who is part of a quest for the Grail and other holy artifacts while taking part in the Hundred Years’ War. 1356 is the 4th book in that series.1356 has the Battle of Poitiers as its central theme. Sandwiched between two famous battles of Crecy and Agincourt, Poitiers isn’t as well known as the other two but nonetheless it was a pivotal battle in the War and gained a major victory for the English.There are two plots in this novel. One deals with Thomas and his small band of archers and men at arms moving across France to meet Edward the Black Prince’s army. They finally meet up near Poitiers, ending with the climactic battle. The other plot is about Thomas’ attempt to find and rescue La Malice, a holy relic – a sword which is believed to be used by St. Peter in an attempt to prevent Christ’s arrest. There are subplots which deal with the plight of Thomas’ wife and his encounter with a famed knight Roland de Verrec. Cornwell has obviously done his research, one of the things I liked in this book. He describes at length the process that went behind construction of an English longbow, its arrows and explains in detail why it was the most feared weapon of its age. My battle strategy knowledge (picked up from Age of Empires) took a beating after learning that archers where more comfortable in dealing with cavalry than infantry, aiming at unprotected horses. Cornwell visited the site as well to properly understand the terrain and how it affected the Battle. His characters are mostly well constructed and there are no heroes. He describes the dull details of war and most importantly uses the POV of a normal foot soldier to describe the battle. A soldier who is not really fighting because he wants glory but someone who is afraid and fights only because he can’t go back. He does a good job on drawing a picture of the amount of authority the church had on monarchs in that era and how corrupt and dishonest they were. The strongest point in his description of the final battle. Its visceral, violent and highly graphic but captures the chaos as well as battle strategy well. I would have loved it if he spent a few more pages in the battle as it was highly gripping. The problem with this story is the plot about La Malice quest. It’s dull, boring and instead of adding to the book it slows down the other plotline. For long periods nothing else happens except Thomas pursuing others from one village to another to find the sword. The sword’s impact on the actual storyline is minimal as well and for me, this would have been a much better and more compact plot if he had removed the part about La Malice completely. It's a little counter intuitive to say you loved a book that is mostly battle and brutal fighting between two armies in that long ago year of 1356, but it's the truth. Bernard Cornwell has the ability to create vivid pictures in the reader's mind, and to map out the happenings of long ago battles. He brings to life both actual historic characters and the characters that come to life through his writing skill.If I'd had Bernard Cornwell on my bookshelf in college, I would have aced those essay questions about what happened in the different wars that were taught in Western Civ.Having said that, I read the first in The Grail Quest series back in 2010, and have now picked back up with this audio book. It was great fun to stumble upon old friends and find what's gone on with them in the interim. It's very obvious that Cornwell speaks his writing aloud as part of the process (and , indeed, if you've ever gone down the street where he lives part-time here in Charleston, you can hear him, sounding like a man possessed, speaking his characters' lines.The tour guides love it when he gets going full steam.) The dialog is real, funny, moving, and very, very authentic. Another delight was the introduction of a character named Keane, who, I strongly suspect, got his name from a mutual friend, also here in Charleston.Even if Keane is not based on Keane, he's a great character, and I'm glad he made it out of this book alive.Will go back and find the interim books, also hopefully on audio, to fill in the gap.
What do You think about 1356 (2012)?
1356 is the story of the events of a year that is immensely significant in English history, although today its significance is largely forgotten.1356 picks up the story of Thomas of Hookton, whose exploits in the 1340s were covered in Harlequin, Vagabond and Heretic. Thomas is now Sir Thomas of Hookton. He is the leader of a band of English archers. He is still campaigning in France and he still supports the English, when needed, as well as building his own fortune. Once again Thomas finds himself on a quest. This time he is on the trail of a precious relic coveted by the English and the French. Both sides believe gaining the relic will help to bring them victory in battle. The question is: who will find it first? Thomas and his archers follow a series of clues which bring them to Poitiers. Thomas’s involvement in the battle between the English and the French sees him playing a role in one of the most significant combats in the Hundred Years’ War.The fates of Thomas, the relic and the English are all decided outside Poitiers in 1356.
—selenevee
THIS IS AN INTERESTING STUDY OF MEDIEVAL WAR TACTICS, CHIVALRY, CATHOLIC CHURCH POWER AND GREED, AND POLITICAL BS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND FRANCE. WOMEN AND PEASANTS WERE EXPENDABLE, AND THE CATE SYSTEM WAS THE RULE OF THE DAY, AND THE CHURCH AND THE NOBILITY WERE FIGHTING OVER TERRITORY, RELICS, AND POWER. GOOD DOESN'T ALWAYS WIN; PEOPLE FIGHT FOR A MYRIAD OF REASONS THAT USUALLY BOIL DOWN TO SELF-INTEREST. THIS IS WELL WRITTEN HISTORICAL FICTION THAT DESERVES A READ IF YOU ARE A FAN OF MEDIEVAL WARFARE AND ANGLO/FRANCO POLITICS. I GIVE IT A 3 PRIMARILY BECAUSE THE WOMEN CHRACTERS WERE SO POORLY DRAWN (ONE COULD PASS FOR A MAN IN DRAG, ARMOR AND ALL, OR THE BEAUTIFUL BERTILLE WHO WAS HELPLESS AND NEEDED TO BE RESCUED FROM THE CLUTCHES OF HER PIG OF A HUSBAND). SO CLICHE!!!
—wdermo
