Thomas of Hookton resumes his quest for the Holy Grail following a bloody siege at Calais which results in an English victory. The Earl of Northampton, Thomas’ lord whom he serves diligently throughout the beginning of the novel, gives his blessing to the mission to find the Grail. With men-at-arms behind him, our protagonist travels to Gascony where old wounds incite him to wage a long and fruitless campaign against his old nemesis Guy Vexille. At first successful, the campaign goes wrong when they are hit by the plague, as well as another foe they did not expect: the Church. As suggested by the title, the search for the Grail lands Thomas in hot water with the Clerics in France who do not shy from using brutality themselves.In Heretic, Thomas develops more strength as a character. Where he began this journey as a pawn, here he takes charge of his fate. He works to earn the trust of the powerful to carry out his deep-rooted desire for revenge against Guy, as well as aid his country with the power of his faith. Cornwell has brought back the same passion as we found in the first volume of this series but lost in the second. Thomas is a character worth the time to invest in, and we find ourselves rooting for him during his darkest trials. Peripheral characters are also expanded upon and brought more closely into the fold, making their presence felt, and their loss mourned.Rife with accurate history, this story is an exciting adventure filled with danger and intrigue along the way. Cornwell has again masterfully captured the times with masterful writing and his skill at storytelling. As a trained historian specifically in this exact time period, I must applaud the author for his attention to detail—detail only a student of this period in history would know. Particularly engaging are the opening scenes set in Calais, which are conveyed as both brutal yet extremely momentous for the English cause. Blood and gore, although central to the description, are appropriately used to where it never feels excessive, just real. Anyone with an interest in this period will enjoy this book, but it met be noted that it is not a stand alone. Thomas’ quest for the Grail and rivalry with Guy are driving elements to the story requiring having read the prior two books to fully comprehend.A solid five out of five stars.
Anyone who thinks they would love to live in an earlier time when knights rode to tournaments and and ladies wore fancy dresses really needs to read this Bernard Cornwell Grail Quest series. Life was gritty, and brutal. Very few lived royal lives; most grubbed out basic lives which became grimmer with an exceptionally cold and rainy summer, the coming of plague, the plague of the Inquisition, and the arbitrariness of who ruled from day to day, month to month, year to year, and various knights terrorizing your community as they forage for food (they take your pigs and your potatoes) rape the women and kill whatever they please. The Heretic of this title is a very beautiful woman, and the author makes it clear she is accused and condemned mostly because the priest feels lust for her and blames her for inciting that lust. Archer Thomas of Hookton refuses to burn her, loses his friend Robbie, who is stunned by her beauty, is excommunicated, and can no longer lead his band of men, who begin deserting once he has been banned from Christian communicants. He and the beauty Genevieve ride off, camp out under the stars, and it rains a lot. She is badly wounded, but you have to admire her stoicism and courage. It rounds up the trilogy nicely, but isn't as gripping as the previous two books in the series. Having said that, I really love understanding the wars of this period from a strategic and tactical viewpoint, and I am so hooked that I have ordered 1356, which I understand is a fresh Thomas of Hookton, with no more Holy Grail involved.
What do You think about Heretic (2004)?
There are things I'd really like to say about this book but can't for fear of spoiling storylines for you. So, I'll try and stay on safe ground and give hints that you'll only understand once you've read it.This was my favourite book of the Grail Quest series (3 books; Harlequin, Vagabond & Heretic). The first book was good, but there was something about this last book in the trilogy that appealed to me the most. The only reason I didn't actually give it 5 stars, was because of a missing chunk of the storyline. For some bizarre reason Cornwell chose to carry a storyline through book 1 and book 2 and then not into book 3. It was a hook that you, as the reader, were expecting a completion to by the end of the series. You read about it in the first book and then the character this storyline moved behind was still there in the second, and yet in the third the storyline/hook was gone and the character vanished without even rating a mention. I found it odd, but I enjoyed the yarn so can get over it. If I was to ever meet Bernard Cornwell I would just HAVE to ask him WHY he did this.
—Terri
Dopo la mia recensione sulla saga di Re Artù, recensisco ancora questo autore molto bravo che deve principalmente il suo successo internazionale per la saga di "Sharpe", credo arrivata al decimo o undicesimo libro, che ho in libreria ma che non ho ancora iniziato. Per tornare alla recensione di oggi, credo che tutti più o meno sanno cosa sia stata la "Guerra dei Cent'anni" (per chi non lo sa e vuole approfondire: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerra_d... ), che vide contrapposte l'Inghilterra e la Francia nel XIV secolo, una guerra lunghissima che alternò momenti di pace a battaglie epocali, per citarne due: Crecy e Poitiers. Il libro non ripercorre tutta la guerra, ma ne ripercorre una parte di un soldato di quest'ultima, che diventerà l'Arciere del Re. Oltre alla stupenda ricostruzione delle battaglie, ad amori cavallereschi, a sfide della soppravivenza, il nostro bravo autore mescola insieme anche la ricerca che vede protagonista tantissimi libri: Il Santo Graal. Non guardate a ciò come ad un Indiana Jones medievale, perchè sbagliereste. Dovete pensare che in epoca medievale qualsiasi pezzo di lancia, straccio di bandiera, ossa e pezzi di legno potevano assumere connotati "divini" e portati in battaglia potevano decretare vittoria o morte. Il libro è scritto benissimo, gli episodi si susseguono a velocità sostenuta e le battaglie sono dipinte in maniera ecclesa e ricostruite al dettaglio. Non potrete non affezzionarsi a Thomas di Hookton e al suo arco lungo, alle sue peripezie, alle sue amicizie e ai suoi amori. Staconsigliato, non solo agli amanti del genere.
—Kelanth, numquam risit ubi dracones vivunt
OK, here's the thing -- I gave each of the first two books in the series four stars. If I could give "Heretic" 3.5 stars, I would. But it looks like I gotta stick with three.While this book had a bit more story to it, it also had far less action. I missed the big Cornwell battle scenes that I've enjoyed in so many other of his works, including the first two books in this series.Overall a very good read, engaging, held my attention, great character development, I felt like I was in the scene; I just missed the rush of battle in this one.
—Paul
