Bernard Cornwell

“Our whole line surged forward and scarred swords hammered at the enemy with a new energy. The silver horn, so pure and clear, called again and again, a hunting call to the slaughter, and each time it sounded our men pressed forward into the branches of the felled trees to cut and stab and scream at the enemy who, suspecting some trickery, glanced nervously around the vale as they defended themselves.”

This is one of the best books I have read on Arthurian legend. It is epic in scope, show more and contains a wonderful mixture of history, strategy, battles, political intrigues, alliances, and relationships. All the key players are here, including Guinevere, Mordred, Galahad, Lancelot, and Merlin, though some are not in their traditional roles. It envisions them as real people living in a real time, without employing elements of fantasy or magic.

It is told from the perspective of Derfel, looking back on his life as one of Arthur’s commander-warriors. Derfel was a Saxon slave brought up by Merlin in the Celtic traditions. In his later years, Derfel converted to Christianity, but at the time of his service to Arthur, he was a pagan and Mithraist. Many religions are colliding at this time, particularly various pagans, Druids, and Christians. Thus, Derfel is in a position to shed light on many aspects of medieval life – rituals, superstitions, and celebrations.

Cornwell attempts to peel away the layers of myth, resulting in a tale that conveys a feeling of authenticity. If Arthur existed, he is easily envisioned as acting as he does in this tale. For example: “Arthur confuses morality with power, and he worsens the mix by always believing that people are inherently good, even the worst of them, and that is why, mark my words, he will never have peace. He longs for peace, he talks of peace, but his own trusting soul is the reason he will always have enemies.”

The author has come up with a historical approach to a period of scant documentation – it has been lost to time. He uses genuine names of regions, leaders, and warring factions. Of course, warfare is almost constant, so alpha males are in the forefront, but this book is not lacking in strong female characters. I felt engrossed in the story from beginning to end.

Cornwell identifies historical fact versus fictional portrayals in the Author’s Notes at the end. Published in 1995, this is the first book in a trilogy, but has an independently satisfying ending. I do not normally read sequels, but I will make an exception for this set. show less

“Our whole line surged forward and scarred swords hammered at the enemy with a new energy. The silver horn, so pure and clear, called again and again, a hunting call to the slaughter, and each time it sounded our men pressed forward into the branches of the felled trees to cut and stab and scream at the enemy who, suspecting some trickery, glanced nervously around the vale as they defended themselves.”

This is one of the best books I have read on Arthurian legend. It is epic in scope, show more and contains a wonderful mixture of history, strategy, battles, political intrigues, alliances, and relationships. All the key players are here, including Guinevere, Mordred, Galahad, Lancelot, and Merlin, though some are not in their traditional roles. It envisions them as real people living in a real time, without employing elements of fantasy or magic.

It is told from the perspective of Derfel, looking back on his life as one of Arthur’s commander-warriors. Derfel was a Saxon slave brought up by Merlin in the Celtic traditions. In his later years, Derfel converted to Christianity, but at the time of his service to Arthur, he was a pagan and Mithraist. Many religions are colliding at this time, particularly various pagans, Druids, and Christians. Thus, Derfel is in a position to shed light on many aspects of medieval life – rituals, superstitions, and celebrations.

Cornwell attempts to peel away the layers of myth, resulting in a tale that conveys a feeling of authenticity. If Arthur existed, he is easily envisioned as acting as he does in this tale. For example: “Arthur confuses morality with power, and he worsens the mix by always believing that people are inherently good, even the worst of them, and that is why, mark my words, he will never have peace. He longs for peace, he talks of peace, but his own trusting soul is the reason he will always have enemies.”

The author has come up with a historical approach to a period of scant documentation – it has been lost to time. He uses genuine names of regions, leaders, and warring factions. Of course, warfare is almost constant, so alpha males are in the forefront, but this book is not lacking in strong female characters. I felt engrossed in the story from beginning to end.

Cornwell identifies historical fact versus fictional portrayals in the Author’s Notes at the end. Published in 1995, this is the first book in a trilogy, but has an independently satisfying ending. I do not normally read sequels, but I will make an exception for this set. show less

It's a little counter intuitive to say you loved a book that is mostly battle and brutal fighting between two armies in that long ago year of 1356, but it's the truth. Bernard Cornwell has the ability to create vivid pictures in the reader's mind, and to map out the happenings of long ago battles. He brings to life both actual historic characters and the characters that come to life through his writing skill.If I'd had Bernard Cornwell on my bookshelf in college, I would have aced those show more essay questions about what happened in the different wars that were taught in Western Civ.

Having said that, I read the first in The Grail Quest series back in 2010, and have now picked back up with this audio book. It was great fun to stumble upon old friends and find what's gone on with them in the interim. It's very obvious that Cornwell speaks his writing aloud as part of the process (and , indeed, if you've ever gone down the street where he lives part-time here in Charleston, you can hear him, sounding like a man possessed, speaking his characters' lines.The tour guides love it when he gets going full steam.) The dialog is real, funny, moving, and very, very authentic. Another delight was the introduction of a character named Keane, who, I strongly suspect, got his name from a mutual friend, also here in Charleston.Even if Keane is not based on Keane, he's a great character, and I'm glad he made it out of this book alive.

Will go back and find the interim books, also hopefully on audio, to fill in the gap. show less

Bernard Cornwell is lauded for his historical fiction, and justly so. I've read many versions of the Arthurian legends, from Tennyson and Mallory to Stewart, E.B. White, Bradley, and others. This is not one of the chivalric versions, though Mr. Cornwell does include Lancelot, Excalibar, and other late embellishments. In fact, this may be the first one I've read where Lancelot is less than heroic, and I can't wait to see where this goes in the series. Arthur is a Briton warlord trying show more desperately to unite the various warring kingdoms against the invading Saxons. The story is told by Derfel, one of Merlin's orphans who becomes one of Arthur's warriors and later a Christian monk.
It's an outstanding book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. While not much is known about 600 AD Briton, the era known as the Dark Ages, Mr. Cornwall has used what sources he could and embellished with fantasy elements to fill in any gaps. This book is probably the closest to the 'real' Arthur that we'll get, and it's a fabulous series that I highly recommend. show less