Reviews

Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell

kslucher's review against another edition

adventurous dark informative medium-paced

5.0

paulh_nguyen's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

greyforest's review against another edition

5.0

I adore Bernard Cornwell. There is no-one who can write historical action and life quite so well as him. And the stories and characters so engaging it feels like you're reading a dark fantasy novel more than historical fiction. I've never found bows to be all that cool, always enchanted by swords, but by God this book has converted me to the epicness of the longbow. The battles are outstanding and also founded entirely in history, even in a lot of cases beat for beat, action for action. Thomas is a good protagonist who struggles with goals and motivations like a lot of other of Cornwell's protagonists. And he is also quite morally grey here and there. The only weakness of this book I found was the romance which while I love Cornwell, I have only really ever enjoyed his romances in his Warlord Chronicles series. If you want historical fiction or even a fantasy-feeling novel check this out. Bonus points of you find bows cool and like the period.

nvonhein's review against another edition

3.0

This succeeded at being historical fiction in that following the character made it easier to go through the history, but was frustrating in a lot of other ways. Cornwell, and likely this book in particular, was instrumental in transitioning me to adult fiction years ago but it doesn't age as well as I would have hoped. The main character was bland and I cared as little about his particular plot line in the greater mess of things as he seemed to, though maybe that's almost on purpose.

And why does the Thomas never even acknowledge the his mother's death and barely nod towards his father's. The prologue and his orphaning were almost completely wasted despite being the theoretical inciting incident here. It's really reminiscent of the whole side quest it starts, which is underdeveloped and ignorable.

What was truly frustrating though was the overreliance on SA as a means of characterizing villains. Period accurate or not, there are other ways of making villains compelling. Really, the characters and their personal conflicts are mostly ignorable and a means of travelling through the history without feeling like a non fiction. And that is the area that it saves this book. The history is well researched and delivered in a compelling way that makes me want to learn more about the period.

runninrev's review against another edition

4.0

Great plot line and good historicity to it. Battles and such had excellent detail.

l0rdtim865's review

4.0

An excellent read for those who enjoy both the medieval period in Europe and well constructed stories. There are many likeable characters in this novel and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

raerae's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

genizah's review against another edition

2.0

Reasonably good historical war fiction, excellent descriptions of tactics, docked one star for pretty constant rape through the first half of the book. I know it's probably historically accurate. I don't care.

thomcat's review against another edition

4.0

Bernard Cornwell only fictionalized a few skirmishes in this book of historical fiction. I knew Crecy was a battle dominated by the archers, but didn't realize all the other factors that went into an embarrassing French defeat. Well detailed, and a story well told.

joabroda's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

 A grand adventure of the beginning of the 100 Years War between France and England. The story tells of Thomas, a budding Archer, as he travels from his small village across the Channel and France, joining the war machine of Edward III and his destruction of the French. However, Thomas has more on his mind than Edwards' goals. He is on a personal mission to recover an artifact that was stolen from his small towns church. This is my first Cornwall book, and there is no good reason why I waited so long.

Cornwall has a great way with battle, his writing bringing you right into the bloody action. They got a bit long winded for my taste, but still I carried on. Cornwall leaves a historical fact essay at the end of the book and from what I know and what I read he has done his research. Always a plus for me.

This is a 4 book series which I plan to continue. I am sure I will then look for Cornwall to read, suggestions are welcome.