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A review by christajls
1356 by Bernard Cornwell
4.0
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
1356 is technically part of Cornwell’s Grail Quest series, but it is packaged as a stand alone so there is no need to go out and read the other books first -I mean if you want to than excellent! but if you don’t have time or only have this book you don’t need to worry. I didn’t know until I started reading that it was part of a larger series, but other than a few passing references to earlier events I never felt lost.
The protagonist of this adventure is Thomas of Hookton. He is searching for St. Peter’s sword (La Malice) in an effort to keep it away from the corrupt powers of the church and government. And if that wasn’t keep him busy enough he’s also trying to rescue some maidens, fight in a war and constantly worrying about the stock of his arrows. Being a mercenary is not easy.
I found that Cornwell has written a well constructed story around a strong main character. I really liked Thomas and was fascinated by the search for La Malice. I loved the history around the sword (whether real or fabricated). I’ve always had a thing for Grail stories and this is very much in a similar vein. However, I found that I never got to know the secondary characters all that well and the subplots often confused me more than intrigued me. I kept mixing things up. For instance Roland and Robbie – these names were far too similar! And I also kept forgetting who was fighting for the French and who for the English. Although I think this is more my failing than Cornwell’s.
Outside of the plot and characters an excellent reason to pick up this book is for the utterly fantastic battle scenes. I can not stress enough how awesome they were. I felt like I was right in the middle of some epic Braveheart style warfare. There was a lot going on but actions were clear, and the detail was spot on. I kept noticing little things he would add in and was amazed that he thought to include it. It really made the scene come alive on the page. (Side note: Leather buckets. I may have obsessed over the notion of leather buckets for a full day. It’s something so small but that I would have never thought of. I think my own work-in-progress needs some leather buckets).
Recommendation: Overall I think I prefer Bernard Cornwell’s writing to George R R Martin. Though I find the Game of Thrones novels a little easier to follow the amount of actual action and historical detail in 1356 really made it stand out. Recommended for those who like their historical fiction violent and action packed.
1356 is technically part of Cornwell’s Grail Quest series, but it is packaged as a stand alone so there is no need to go out and read the other books first -I mean if you want to than excellent! but if you don’t have time or only have this book you don’t need to worry. I didn’t know until I started reading that it was part of a larger series, but other than a few passing references to earlier events I never felt lost.
The protagonist of this adventure is Thomas of Hookton. He is searching for St. Peter’s sword (La Malice) in an effort to keep it away from the corrupt powers of the church and government. And if that wasn’t keep him busy enough he’s also trying to rescue some maidens, fight in a war and constantly worrying about the stock of his arrows. Being a mercenary is not easy.
I found that Cornwell has written a well constructed story around a strong main character. I really liked Thomas and was fascinated by the search for La Malice. I loved the history around the sword (whether real or fabricated). I’ve always had a thing for Grail stories and this is very much in a similar vein. However, I found that I never got to know the secondary characters all that well and the subplots often confused me more than intrigued me. I kept mixing things up. For instance Roland and Robbie – these names were far too similar! And I also kept forgetting who was fighting for the French and who for the English. Although I think this is more my failing than Cornwell’s.
Outside of the plot and characters an excellent reason to pick up this book is for the utterly fantastic battle scenes. I can not stress enough how awesome they were. I felt like I was right in the middle of some epic Braveheart style warfare. There was a lot going on but actions were clear, and the detail was spot on. I kept noticing little things he would add in and was amazed that he thought to include it. It really made the scene come alive on the page. (Side note: Leather buckets. I may have obsessed over the notion of leather buckets for a full day. It’s something so small but that I would have never thought of. I think my own work-in-progress needs some leather buckets).
Recommendation: Overall I think I prefer Bernard Cornwell’s writing to George R R Martin. Though I find the Game of Thrones novels a little easier to follow the amount of actual action and historical detail in 1356 really made it stand out. Recommended for those who like their historical fiction violent and action packed.