The Archer's Tale

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Tim Pigott-Smith

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, the first book in the Grail Series—the spellbinding tale of a young man, a fearless archer, who sets out wanting to avenge his family's honor and winds up on a quest for the Holy Grail.

A brutal raid on the quiet coastal English village of Hookton in 1342 leaves but one survivor: a young archer named Thomas. On this terrible dawn, his purpose becomes clear—to recover a stolen sacred relic and pursue to the ends of the earth the murderous black-clad knight bearing a blue-and-yellow standard, a journey that leads him to the courageous rescue of a beautiful French woman, and sets him on his ultimate quest: the search for the Holy Grail.

©2000 Bernard Cornwell; (P)2001 HarperCollins Publishers

Cornwall is the bomb

Great narration, gray story. highly recommended. listened 4 times so far, never get dull. always captivating. Bernie is assuming my very favorite authors.

Fun story but a little too familiar

Enjoyed this story but a bit too reminiscent of Cornwell’s excellent ‘Agingcourt’ but wonderfully performed narration and the historical background is fun and informative

Disrespectful narration.

The narrator skips complete sentences from the book. Please show some respect to the author or don't accept payment for your butchery.

Excellent Adventure

Even in it's abridged version, this is a wonderful adventure. No one writes a battle scene quite so well as Cornwell, (as seen in his excellent Sharpes series). This is the first book in a trilogy about Thomas of Hookton, an expert archer, who pursues venegence and Holy relics in the 1300's. Great characters, very engaging.

Action-packed historical fiction

This is an exciting tale of medieval times. There is a lot of focus on the battle scenes, and while they are riveting, I felt almost as weary as the soldiers by the book's end. The author doesn't shy away from depicting violence and brutality, which makes for some intense listening at times. But the characters are strong, and their noble struggles make you realize the terrible cost of war in any age.