The Grail Quest, by Bernard Cornwell Options

[Yoda]

Currently comprising of two books, 'Harlequin' and 'Vagabond', the Grail Quest series is so far a marvellous read. Admittedly that three year wait between both books was kind of...testing...but well worth the wait.

The books cover the journey of Thomas of Hookton, who leaves his village after a raiding party from France massacres everyone, only Thomas's flight to survival and skill witha longbow save him. Joining the English army in France, he plummets into the Hundred Years War and the age of the longbow.

The first book begins Thomas's quest for the grail, as penance for his murder of an innocent. Journeying across France, Thomas finds himself hunted by the French, and on the run from the English - that is until he re-joins his old unit - in time for the Battle of Crecy.

It is at the end of 'Harlequin' that Thomas finally begins on the trail of the Grail - supposedly held by his father - when he meets the man who killed him. Guy Vexille, a stranger to Thomas but with closer links then he imagines, will lead Thomas on a path for the Grail.

At the opening of 'Vagabond' we find Thomas, his wife-to-be Eleanor and his friend Father Hobbe in Durham, seeking information on the grail. But Vexille arrives with the Inquisition, and so Thomas is instead drawn onto a path of vengeance and destruction...


Despite the fact I'll have to wait another three years for the next instalment, I find the Grail Quest an immensely enjoyable series. There's action, romance - both playing off each other in a time of turbulence and fear. Not really for younger readers due to some of the events, I would recommend these books for anyone who ever read Cornwell's 'Sharpe' books. I also would do the same for people who enjoyed the quests of the Redwall series by Brian Jacques when they were younger - this is a marvellous way to continue reading a superb writing style.

Yoda