I enjoyed Uhtred in Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Series, go forwards several hundred years and join Thomas of Hookton on his equally enjoyable adventures.

Thomas is an English Archer who’s father was a village priest. The story begins with the death of his father and the destruction of Thomas’s home village by European raiders and follows his journey first for vengeance but equally to discover the truth about his family’s origins. He discovers his family was said to be the keepers of the Holy Grail and circumstances conspire to make him search for it. There are plenty of twists along the way, a dash or two of romance, death (well, he is an archer in the middle of a war) and valour.

Uhtred from the Saxon series was a sometimes like-able, oftentimes detestably violent person. Thomas is much more like able as a character. Perhaps even more pleasant that Richard Sharpe in the Sharpe series. He is no less realistic though and I can’t help but look out for the third book in the series “Heretic” – Does Thomas find his Grail?

As I read more of Bernard Cornwell’s books I am impressed by the historical settings. The end of each book puts in place some divisions between fact and fiction making reading his books a little bit of education as well as a pleasure.

I have been busy reading. Just before we left for our holiday I scoured the local second hand bookshop and picked up 3 more Sharpe books. I’ve been aiming for the beginning of the series and I did quite well.

Firstly I started with Sharpe’s Tiger which (being chronologically first in the series) tells the story of private Sharpe and his first adventure – rescuing a senior officer held in a citadel. Sharpe is uncannily lucky, for not only does he rescue the officer and therefore get his promotion to sergeant, he manages to kill the Tippoo (Tippoo is like the King) and get some of his jewels.

Then I moved onto Sharpe’s Eagle (being the first written in the series) and it tells the story of how Lieutenant Sharpe becomes Captain Sharpe at the battle of Talavera. Once again he survives against all odds as well as against enemies from within his own army. He also loses yet another women he has fallen in love with. It seems poor Sharpe is as unlucky in love as he is lucky in battle.

Finally, Sharpe’s Havoc, which is set just before Sharpe’s Eagle as he fights through northern Portugal.

I have loved all of these books, as much for the historical note at the end of the book as for the fiction itself. Bernard Cornwell highlights all the changes he has made to the real events and describes a little of the places as they are today.

I also think it amazing that a series can be written in such apparent disorder yet knit together so neatly. Sharpe’s Eagle was first published in 1981, yet it almost perfectly cross references with events in Sharpe’s Havoc of 2003.