Product Description

The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling Harlequin, this is the second instalment in Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest series. In Harlequin, Thomas of Hookton travelled to France as an archer and there discovered a shadowy destiny, which linked him to a family of heretical French lords who sought Christendom's greatest relic. Having survived the battle of Crecy, Thomas is sent back to England, charged with finding the Holy Grail. But Thomas is an archer and when a chance comes to fight against an army invading northern England he jumps at it. Plunged into the carnage of Neville's Cross, he is oblivious to other enemies who want to destroy him. He discovers too late that he is not the only person pursuing the grail, and that his rivals will do anything to thwart him. After hunting and wounding him, Thomas's enemies turn him into a fugitive. Fleeing England, he travels to Normandy, determined to rescue Will Skeat, his old commander from Harlequin. Finally Thomas leads his enemies back to Brittany, where he goes to discover an old love and where his pursuers at last trap their reluctant pilgrim. Vagabond is a vivid and realistic portrait of England at a time when the archer was king of Europe's battlefields.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85043 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Vagabond, the second entry in the "Grail Quest" sequence, has been eagerly anticipated by those who read the first book, and it doesn't disappoint. Thomas has managed to survive the battle of Crécy. Still nursing his wounds, he is dispatched by the king on a mission to look into the matter of his father's inheritance, which is obscurely connected to the Holy Grail. This most precious relic of the Christian faith is a much sought-after object, offering the power of total victory in war to its owner. But Thomas finds himself in the middle of a battle against an army invading the North of England, and other shadowy forces pursuing the grail are prepared to slaughter anyone who stands in their way. In the ruins of his birthplace, Thomas discovers more about his father, and a dangerous voyage to France brings him up against his cousin and arch-enemy, Count of Astarc Guy Vexville. The stage is set for a merciless showdown.

Thomas is a protagonist drawn quite as pithily as his much-loved predecessor, and the sheer verve of Cornwell's storytelling here is irresistible. We are plunged into a distant age: bloody, colourful and dangerous. Roll on, volume three! --Barry Forshaw

Review
'What a very fine writer Mr Cornwell has become' The Economist

From the Publisher
Vagabond is a vivid and realistic portrait of England at a time when the archer was king of Europe's battlefields.

Customer Reviews

Five stars!
I bought this book as soon as it came out and had been hoping for that to happen for a long time now.
Harlequin was a great book on itself, and I was hoping Vagabond would equal it. It did much better that I had expected!

It throws you into the story straight away, deep in North England where Thomas, father Hobbe and Eleanor search for a monk who might supply them with vital information for their quest for the Grail. Thomas takes place in the battle of Neville's Cross, one of the sublimely described battles in the book. After this, the story goes very fast and after quite a big shock, Thomas meets new friends and enemies alike.
At first, they all seemed quite one dimensional, but they really surprised me. All of the events are quite plausible and Cornwell again mixes history with fiction to great effect.
The ending, like in Harlequin, is good enough, considering it's a trilogy, but, even more than its predecessor did, leaves you wanting for more.
I advice this book to anyone who enjoys historical novels; it is one of the most fascinating I have read thus far.

IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO VAGA-BOND WITH A CORNWELL HERO!
Bernard Cornwell strikes again, and another Cornwell hero, Thomas of Hookton, strikes out again on his quest for the Holy Grail in Vagabond, the second book in this entertaining new series from the creator of Richard Sharpe.There are some who will say that Thomas of Hookton is merely another embodiment of Richard Sharpe. There are some who will say that Cornewll's books are somewhat formulaeic and predictable. But NONE will say that this book isn't entertaining. As always, Mr. Cornwell finds interesting historical battles and campaigns to weave his stories and characters through. The spiritual and mystical existence of and search for the Holy Grail provides some spice to the tale which is grounded in the world of the English Archer and his Long Bow and their place in military history. Villains and allies abound and of course, there is a woman or two in need of saving or loving or both. So dust off your chain mail, grab your bow and sword, display your badge and motto and take this journey soon.

Vintage Cornwell
The follow-up to Harlequin has lived up to all of my expectations.Thomas Of Hookton's character is evolving and is becoming more like Sharpe (which is a good thing). The description of a brutal battle between the Scots and English just outside Durham is awe inspiring.Since reading the book I have stood on a modern footbridge over a busy road and gazed at the battle field of Neville's Cross in the October rain. The lie of the land is still as Cornwell describes it.It is easy to remove the housing, the cars and the tarmac and focus on the ridge which blocked the Scots. What I love,what I really love about Bernward Cornwell is that I know he has done exactly the same thing.