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Simon A’s Review: Sword Song, by Bernard Cornwell

Posted on October 20, 2008 by Simon Appleby

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http://www.bookgeeks.co.uk/2008/10/20/simon-as-review-sword-song-by-bernard-cornwell/

Filed under: Historical Fiction, Reviews |

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4 Responses

  1. stevent, on October 23, 2008 at 10:19 pm said:

    I’m a huge fan of Cornwell myself. He’s likely my favorite author at the moment. I finished The Pale Horseman earlier this year, with great anticipation to read the next two in the series: Lords of the North and Sword Song. I’m also eager to read Azincourt. Have you read it yet?

    What is your favorite Cornwell series? I initially got hooked on Cornwell through the recommendation of a friend to read the Grail Quest Series. So I’ve read the Grail Quest and half of the Saxon Chronicles. A lot of fans say his Arthurian series is his best.

  2. Simon Appleby, on October 24, 2008 at 6:49 am said:

    I haven’t read the Agincourt book yet, though I fondled it in a bookshop yesterday!

    If I could only have one Cornwell series it would be Sharpe – that’s where I started and that’s what I love the most. The Arthurian trilogy is good though – it probably has the strongest narrative arc, though it’s based on the least real history and has a few supernatural elements.

  3. stevent, on October 29, 2008 at 9:14 pm said:

    Strangely, I haven’t read Sharpe yet — his most-well known series. What do you like about it?

  4. Simon Appleby, on November 4, 2008 at 3:05 pm said:

    Stevent, what I like about Sharpe:

    – I think the military context provides a lot more variety in which to set adventures, from enormous battles to minor skmirmishes, and the combat scenes tend to be less repetitive
    – There’s a greater variety of settings, from India to Denmark, the Iberian Peninsula to France and even Chile
    – Sharpe is a guttersnipe made good, but Cornwell doesn’t try to make him too good – he can be pretty black-hearted when he needs to be
    – I think the partnership between Sharpe and his sidekick Harper is very enjoyable

    All in all, apart from a couple of relatively forgettable ‘fill-in’ books, it’s a great series and you have the opportunity to read them in chrononological order. Get stuck in, is my advice! Sharpe’s Tiger is the place to start.

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