A review by greyforest
Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell

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.