Harlequin Audiobook By Bernard Cornwell cover art

Harlequin

The Grail Quest, Book 1

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Harlequin

By: Bernard Cornwell
Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
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About this listen

The first book in Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling GRAIL QUEST series, in a bright and bold repackage.

The year is 1342. The English, led by Edward III, are laying waste to the French countryside. The army may be led by the King, but it is the archers, the common men, who are England’s secret weapon. The French know them as Harlequins.

Thomas of Hookton is one of these archers. But he is also on a personal mission: to avenge his father’s death and retrieve a stolen relic. Thomas begins a quest that will lead him through fields smeared with the smoke of fires set by the rampaging English, until at last the two armies face each other on a hillside near the village of Crécy.

©2000 Bernard Cornwell (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Mash-Ups Small Town & Rural War & Military

Critic reviews

‘Crackling with good deeds, fine characters and sparkling set pieces, it confirms yet again Cornwell’s reputation for masterly historical novels’ DAILY MAIL

‘It is all spectacular, rattling good stuff: war and torture; love, lust and loss’ THE TIMES

‘The battle scenes, as always, are masterful; and the vignettes of everyday living, in times of extreme hardship, have the ring of simple truth’ SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

‘A very fine writer’ ECONOMIST
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I loved the narration for the most part, but it is really lacking on emotional moments :/

No emotions

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Narration was excellent, took you into the heat of the cobflict but also able to bring empathy to the characters.

GeI at battle scenes and delving into history.

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Loved the book and the narration is amazing, really immersive.
Anxious to read the next one!

Great narration, with greater narrative!

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As usual, Cornwell does an outstanding job when describing battles, and this book is filled with these exciting and highly detailed chapters. However, the plotline struggles to develop in a rewarding way for the reader. By the end of the book I was left with the feeling that the main characters had not accomplished much. Having just finished listening to the Warlord Chronicles, I'd say the Harlequin is good, but not memorable.

good but not memorable

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