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Heretic (The Grail Quest)
 
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Heretic (The Grail Quest) (Hardcover)

by Bernard Cornwell (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (6 Oct 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0007149883
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007149889
  • Product Dimensions: 24.5 x 16.4 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 186,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Heretic is the third book in Bernard Cornwell's much-acclaimed Grail Quest series, a series that many were initially cautious about because it represented something of a change of pace for the master historical novelist. But Cornwell quickly demonstrated that this period of history was well within his remit, and the sequence has proved to be among his most mesmerising work.

Heretic begins with a bloody battle outside Calais in 1347, a short time before the city fell to the English. The sympathetic Thomas of Hookton is bending every sinew at the service of his master, the Earl of Northampton; after risking his life time and again, Thomas finds himself commissioned to track down the most sacred relic in Christendom, the Holy Grail. He travels to Gascony, seat of power of his nemesis, Guy Vexille. Utilising his archers, Thomas conducts a fierce guerrilla war against Vexille, and yearns for a face-to-face encounter. But then Thomas is routed and finds his campaign in shreds, facing the twin enemies of the church and the plague.

In this third book, Bernard Cornwell ups the ante in every sense: along with the splendidly realised battle scenes (a Cornwell trademark), the evocation of the Middle Ages is more crowded and bustling than one might have thought possible without subsuming the protagonists. But most of all, it's the character of Thomas that powers the narrative; having his hero fall in love (sensitively handled here) sets off the ultimate conflict with his mortal enemy perfectly. Leave the 21st century behind and venture into a dark and foreign era--it's a journey you won't regret. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Praise for Bernard Cornwell and the Grail Quest series: 'It is all spectacular, rattling good stuff: war and torture; love, lust and loss.' The Times 'Amidst a wonderful cast of kings, monks, cardinals and mercenaries - Thomas finally confronts a magnificent villain...Crackling with good deeds, fine characters and sparkling set pieces, it confirms yet again Cornwell's reputation for masterly historical novels.' Daily Mail 'What a very fine writer Mr Cornwell has become.' Economist

Beset by the plague and those hellacious Dominican inquisitors, the sure-shot hero of Cornwell's Archer series (Vagabond, 2002, etc.) continues his eventful search for the Holy Grail. Armed with his own Weapon of Mass Destruction, the deadly English longbow Thomas Hookton, ne (on the wrong side of the sheets) Vexille, has made it through the battle of Crecy and torture at the hands of a Dominican madman, comforted by a succession of equally tough and healthy young ladies, to arrive at last in the Languedoc, the southern French country where the Vexilles, before falling into the Cathar heresy, were lords of Astarac and where the few clues left by Thomas's father seem to lead to the holy relic. Accompanied by Robbie Douglas, the tough young Scot he rescued in Vagabond and by landless, one-eyed, Norman turncoat Sir Guillaume D'Evecque, and backed by his own posse of longbowmen, Thomas has seized the stronghold of Castillon d'Arbazon in order to lure his ruthless crypto-Cathar cousin Guy Vexille to the neighborhood. Guy and Thomas each believe the other holds the clues to the location of the Grail that everybody is sure the Vexilles held and hid. Everybody, that is, except the spectacularly cynical Cardinal Archbishop Louis Bessieres, who has imprisoned a gifted Parisian goldsmith and his doxy with orders to run up a state-of-the-art fake, which, once planted and then "discovered," will put the Cardinal in the papal throne at Avignon. There is, of course, a lovely lass for Tom in Castillon d'Arbazon. She's Genevieve, scheduled for burning by a creepy fanatic priest who decided, after some lustful torture, that she's a heretic. Lissome, blond, and a quick student of the crossbow, Genevieve, property of the devil though she may be, is just the gal for our archer, and together they take on the Cardinal, Guy, the local baron, and any number of Genoese crossbowmen, and, as the Black Plague arrives, get their hands on the box that leads to the cup of everyone's dreams. The usual Cornwell bull's-eye. (Kirkus Reviews)

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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (13)
3 star:
 (10)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A fitting end, 17 Oct 2003
By A Customer
As a fan of Bernard Cornwall, and a follower of this trilogy I was looking forward to this book immensely. Unlike the Sharpe books which have unfortunately run out of steam somewhat, the charaters in the Grail series are strong throughout. Thomas of Hookton is a strong lead and this tale provides a fitting end to the trilogy.

As exciting as the other two books, this has all of the elements that Cornwall's book thrive on, realistically realised fights and battles, characters to follow and hate, and a love story entwined within everything else. Oh and they are looking for the Holy Grail as well, do they find it...... you'll just have to read the book.

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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars More quality from consistent Cornwell, 15 Oct 2003
If there's a better writer of historical adventure fiction currently active, then I'm clearly missing out. Heretic brings the Grail Quest to completion in compelling fashion. Readers of the Sharpe series will need no reminding of the quality of Cornwell's accounts of military action; similarly the authentic feel given to descriptions of medieval life. The new (and central) character of the Heretic is one of Cornwell's best. My only slight quibble (hence 4 stars) is over the development of Thomas himself; I'm sure Cornwell wants to show him "warts and all" but at times his characterisation/motivation seems a little weak. From a personal point of view the Grail Series does not match the Warlord Arthurian trilogy, but will anybody buying The Heretic be disappointed ? No chance.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Not to the usual standard, 5 Dec 2003
I would regard myself as a big fan of Bernard Cornwell, but in my opinion, this is his poorest effort to date. I have read all of his historic novels and thoroughly enjoyed the first two Grail Quest books. So much so that I could not wait for the paperback of Heretic to come out and bought the hardback.

The usual character development and attention to detail is missing. The battle scenes lack impact. It feels as if the book was planned out under certain headings to resolve the story and then joined together as quickly as possible.

If you have read the two previous Grail Quest books, you will want to read this book, but it is not to the usual standard. In the past I would have rated all BC’s books as 5/5. This is only 3/5 at best.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Hits the mark
The final installment of The Grail Quest picks up the pace from the previous two books, giving an action-packed send-off to Thomas of Hookton. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Faithful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hookton Bows Out
This, the final book in the trilogy of Thomas Hookton, Bowman extraordinaire, is a wonderful tail of heroism, amidst the usual grungie background of 13th Century France. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. N. Stanton

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb read
This series must rate as one of the most entertaining reads of historical fiction. Cornwell at his best. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. N. Hunter

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Ending To The Series
In this the final book of the series, Thomas of Hookton is still in France, searching for the Holy Grail. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J.Flood

4.0 out of 5 stars Good end to the trilogy
This book nicely finishes the grail trilogy. With the old enemies and introduction of some new particularly nasty new ones, this is a good read. Read more
Published 8 months ago by chuckles

3.0 out of 5 stars archery and more archery - no room for people
a weak series. It was recommended to me because I was at that point writing a book based in Brittany. Read more
Published 13 months ago by White Rose

3.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
This series has been mediocre when comapred to the Starbuck and Warlord series.
the first two books were at least passable and did grip the attention in some way, but this... Read more
Published 15 months ago by myrydyn

5.0 out of 5 stars loved it
With Heretic, Cornwell concludes his Hundred Years War/Grail trilogy. Although quite different in tone from the first two books in the series, this is still an exciting, page... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Zeda2

3.0 out of 5 stars A disappointing end to a lacklustre series
"Heretic" is the third and final book in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series, following the experiences of English archer Thomas of Hookton. Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. Aitcheson

5.0 out of 5 stars Third Book in the Grail Series

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the acclaimed Richard Sharpe series, set during the Napoleonic Wars To my shame I have not read any of these. Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. Chippindale

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