Reading this book was a pain in the ass. I liked Cornwell’s Saxon Stories, and hoped for something as good, but the Archer’s Story (aka The Grail Quartet) was a pale shadow of Cornwell’s glory.
The story takes place in the 14th century, in the beginning of the 100 Years War, about the time of Crecy battle. It follows in the traces of an archer, Thomas, who fights in the English army in Brittany and Normandy. There is also the Geail theme, which comes out of the blue and isn’t very developed.
I really liked the level of historical detail, especially concerning warfare, but in the end, it seemed like the characters were there to give Cornwell an opportunity to describe another battle. And there was this mystery of the Holy Grail and the cathars, but even Thomas wasn’t hot for it, so I was like meh. Really disappointing. I guess I’m more into character driven historical novels, like Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett or Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. But my mom loved it.