Agincourt by Bernerd Cornwell

[Toki Bloodaxe]

     Thank all the Gods and Goddesses for Bernard cornwell. Or else, I would be stuck reading book three in the seven book "Sword of Sh andaria" series. You know the one that I am talking about. Book three is called "the Soul-Haunted keep" and is the one where the evil queen and the even more eviler sorcerer seek to raise an army of the dead and attack the good princess and her faithful band of companions who are now lost in the haunted woods held prisoner by the good/bad dryads about to be rescued by the dark mysterious band of ninjas who are led by the long-lost twin brother of the princess who is actually the son of the evil sorcerer .....ect. Yeah, you know the one. But, thank the fates that I got to read "Agincourt", a book by Bernard Cornwell. And, this book I can sure reccomend.
     The book contains the Battle of Agincourt as its climax. But, it is really about Nick Hook, A poor forester from the South of England who is outlawed for hitting a priest. (Just in case you haven't read any Bernard Cornwell books before, priests often come off as evil characters and usually die horrible deaths- strangulation, disembowelment or massive blunt trauma at the hands of enraged Vikings. No offence meant to priests, or the people who love them. That's just the way that the books are.) Nick, who is actually the bastard son of the local Lord (Cornwell's books also contain a lot of bastard sons), must flee to France and join a mercenary army of English archers fighting for the Duke of Burgundy against the French crown. Now, young Nick gets a brutal education in the practices of medieval warfare when he is caught up in the brutal sack and rape of a French town at the hands of the French army. Nick barely escapes with his life and makes his way back to England to tell his sad tale to King Henry V. Along for the ride is an ex nun that  Nick saves from a fate worse than death, and who has fallen in love with the dashing young English archer. There are also a lot of ex-nuns in Cornwall's books. Most of whom are rather lusty.....
      Nick is given a chance to redeem himself by entering the service of  rather bellicose English lord, who will join with King Henry V in his invasion of France and subsequent attempt to seize the French crown. For all the specifics of the battles yet to come, read the book, or Wikki Agincourt. I won't describe everything here. But, I will say that rarely have I found a book and other books by an author who has kept my rapt interest from start to finish in such a captivating manner. I am actually loath to put the Cornwell books down at night and go to bed. I want to lay awake and keep reading and reading. Cornwell is such a master of the captivating dialogue of a narrative that his books move along quickly without any compromise to detail. In the afterward to the book "Agincourt", Cornwell describes his historical sources for the writing of the book. And, they are extensive, including the actual enlistment rolls of King Henry's army. I can completely recommend this book without hesitation to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with quite a bite.

[Gauwyn of Bracknell]

I am currenlty listening to this on auido while traveling to work. 

His other works about a character Utred (sp?) are also quite good.  The Last Kingdon, The Pale Horseman, The Lords of the North (and one other I have not gotten to yet).

[Pascal]

Bernard Cornwell is great.  If you liked "Agincourt", you'll enjoy his "Archer's Tale" three book series as well as the "Sword Song" series earlier noted.

His King Arthur series was pretty good -- I liked his portrayal of Lancelot as a pretty boy coward type ("Someone needs to stay and guard the horses -- I'll do it!") who took all the credit; I thought that was an original concept.

Best of all though -- if you move on to his "Sharpe" series ... wow!  Tremendous Napoleanic war series!  He also had an American Civil war series that was pretty good, but he lost interest after four books and never returned to it.

[angusmacinnes]

I am reading his Heretic right now and it is very good.

[Kruzar]

This is one of my favorite authors... and so far everything I have read by him has been really good.  I just finished Agincourt, and I really enjoyed it.  The next on the list is try and find his latest book, which is part of the Viking series at a reasonable cost. 

As mentioned already, His Arthur and Grail Series are very good.  But I would also recommend the Stonehenge book that he did.  It was actually the first book I read, and it is a really interesting story.

The thing that I like most about Cornwell is he tries to keep his writing accurate to the timeperiod, and in most instances he picks to show you the event from a character that is of less importance than say a King or major player in the conflict.  This gives a definite different point of view, and is a good vehicle for story telling.  I am also quite fond that in this book and others he has used an archer as the main focus.

Any ways.. definetly a good read...

[Blackbead]

I know they are "NP" but his Sharpe's series is also an excellent read.