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A review by usbsticky
The Archer's Tale by Bernard Cornwell
5.0
When I read the description of this series I couldn't remember if I'd read it already because all the English archer stories are pretty much the same: an impoverished young man who is forced to go to war to avoid something bad happening at home. I had read Ken Follett's series and Ronald Welch's archer books and liked them all. I thought I'd already read this series but it turns out I had not.
I liked this series so much that I read through all 4 books without writing the review. So now I don't remember the details and they run together anyway. The long and short of the series is that Thomas of Hookton joins a lord's army and follows him during the 100 Years War against France.
In each book Cornwell puts Thomas in one of England's famous battles. And during the rest of the book he usually has to avoid and overcome a villain(s) who tries to kill him and has a romantic interest(s) who is irresistibly attracted to him (sooner or later). Thomas is also usually surrounded with good friends and has some a superior who protects him and advances his interest. This is basically Cornwell's cookie cutter plate which he uses for every story.
What I like about Cornwell's writing is that it's easy to read and follow, the historical setting is very well written and informative, the characters are interesting and the action scenes are well done. I'm usually not a fan of the villains, the elements of conflict and the damsels. The reason for the villains is that I like the protagonists and hate to see him suffer (before winning). And I don't particularly like the romance because they are repetitive and does nothing but provide a weak point for the villains to attack.
I'm just going to repeat this review for all 3 books because the blueprint for them is the same except for the cities, battles, villains and damsels. But overall I liked the series a lot.
I liked this series so much that I read through all 4 books without writing the review. So now I don't remember the details and they run together anyway. The long and short of the series is that Thomas of Hookton joins a lord's army and follows him during the 100 Years War against France.
In each book Cornwell puts Thomas in one of England's famous battles. And during the rest of the book he usually has to avoid and overcome a villain(s) who tries to kill him and has a romantic interest(s) who is irresistibly attracted to him (sooner or later). Thomas is also usually surrounded with good friends and has some a superior who protects him and advances his interest. This is basically Cornwell's cookie cutter plate which he uses for every story.
What I like about Cornwell's writing is that it's easy to read and follow, the historical setting is very well written and informative, the characters are interesting and the action scenes are well done. I'm usually not a fan of the villains, the elements of conflict and the damsels. The reason for the villains is that I like the protagonists and hate to see him suffer (before winning). And I don't particularly like the romance because they are repetitive and does nothing but provide a weak point for the villains to attack.
I'm just going to repeat this review for all 3 books because the blueprint for them is the same except for the cities, battles, villains and damsels. But overall I liked the series a lot.