The Grail Quest (2) - Vagabond [Paperback]

It throws you into the story straight away, deep in North England where Thomas, father Hobbe and Eleanor search for a monk who might supply them with vital information for their quest for the Grail. Thomas takes place in the battle of Neville's Cross, one of the sublimely described battles in the book. After this, the story goes very fast and after quite a big shock, Thomas meets new friends and enemies alike.
At first, they all seemed quite one dimensional, but they really surprised me. All of the events are quite plausible and Cornwell again mixes history with fiction to great effect.
The ending, like in Harlequin, is good enough, considering it's a trilogy, but, even more than its predecessor did, leaves you wanting for more.
I advice this book to anyone who enjoys historical novels; it is one of the most fascinating I have read thus far.

I read it in a day, all the way through (it really is not very long, the large text in a hardback copy is very deceiving) and although worth the money, this book is very much the second in a planned trilogy, with most elements left open to be wound up in the next and final novel. The characters are interesting and their stories are expertly woven into the social and historical context, making seemingly insignificant chapters in history far more important than what we learned in GCSE History. Yet, dare I say it, the plot is rather uninspired and save for the relevancy to real-life events, disappointly wooden. We can guess that the English are always champion underdogs, and that Thomas and his evil nemesis will fight it out until the very end. The quest for the grail even retains elements of Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" - an ensemble of characters looking for a mythical and all powerful carpenter's cup. But by God Mr Cornwell's writing still flows, and he still makes you wonder what is was really like when life was so much more violent, but at the same time so much bloody simpler. I look forward to the next instalment. Go Thomas of Hookton!

I thought the book was going to be lukewarm at first; a repertoire of character confessions of individual hardship in medieval England. I had this jigsaw puzzle before me, a lot of pieces that were recognizable but how they would be constructed into a story, indefinable. And then this magical, mystical piece popped out of the pages and I could complete the book. It was the way Cornwell weaves historical fact within his basic idea into his concept; the vainness of war, vengeance, ambition, obsession and absolution. I realized I was thinking too much and not allowing the words to delineate the story. The futility, trials and triumphs in mans quest for the grail and finding redemption. Here was the vivid portrayal of what I gleamed from countless historical references in my studies and travels throughout England and Scotland.

The smoke began to clear with the poignant depiction of de Taillebourg, the French Monk, and his devotion to his faith as he beat his own skull against granite rock. As the story unfolds his apparent spirituality shrouds an insane lust for power. I loved the distressing tension of the English, including the main character, Thomas, scrambling for absolution before entering into battle against the marauding Scots. I felt like one of the bystanders jockeying for position to witness the carnage as steel clashed against steel, arrows found their mark, and men breathed their last breath of life. And the internal conflict of Thomas as his quest for the spiritual object unmasks a quest for his own redemption and affirmation of his own faith and existence.

The book is a bit of a challenge but well worth the patience. Satisfaction is attained from savouring every encounter. Cornwell knows his characters and the period in which they existed. He hasn't tempted the reader too soon with action but brews the kettle slowly. Conflict increases throughout and leaves us hanging for more. He has bettered himself with this second instalment. I'm looking forward to the next.