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1356 cover art

1356

By: Bernard Cornwell
Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
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Summary

Go with God and Fight Like the Devil. A fascinating hero and the pursuit of a sword with mythical power - this is the remarkable new novel by Britain’s master storyteller, which culminates at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356.

The Hundred Years War rages on and the bloodiest battles are yet to be fought. Across France, towns are closing their gates, the crops are burning and the country stands alert to danger. The English army, victorious at the Battle of Crécy and led by the Black Prince, is invading again and the French are hunting them down.

Thomas of Hookton, an English archer known as Le Bâtard, is under orders to seek out the lost sword of St Peter, a weapon said to grant certain victory to whoever possesses her. As the outnumbered English army becomes trapped near the town of Poitiers, Thomas, his men and his sworn enemies meet in an extraordinary confrontation that ignites one of the greatest battles of all time.

©2012 Bernard Cornwell (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

What listeners say about 1356

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

another great book in this series

a great Carry on in the series but it was a mistake to change the reader it made it less exciting and less enjoyable keeping the same reader for the whole of the series of books make it a whole lot better and more enjoyable I was looking forward to this book but when it. was read by jack hawkins it was a let down

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • N
  • 06-11-12

Great book, but the reading...

Bernard Cornwell at full power. One gets swept along by the action, the historical detail, the characters. But it was only because of this that I finished listening. Jack Hawkins' choice for the narrative voice is a monotone. He has no feeling for the shape of a phrase, no concept of the cadence of a sentence, and zero feeling for words. Hejustreads and when it gets exciting hejustreadsfaster. His characters are not too bad, and I quite enjoyed his cartoon French, good Scottish and Irish. But oh, the drone. And the poor diction. And the mangewld English. I hope Mr Cornwell doesn't hear what has happened to his brightly imagined account of events leading to the battle of Poitiers.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Michelin Starred Military Fiction

Would sir like some wine with his meal?

Yes, I'd like something full-bodied like blood spilled on a battlefield with a visceral bouquet of hard men after a long march and a violent impact on the tongue like a mace battering through a Milanese steel helmet. But at the same time it must have a subtlety of undertones, an almost holy royal bearing and with cunning grace notes the flavour of evil men plotting bad deeds. The whole thing needs to be voiced to a perfect taste that leaves an afterglow like campfires burning in the night.

Hmmm, we do have a bottle of the Cornwell 1356 from the Jack Hawkins vineyard in the cellar sir.

That'll do nicely . . .

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

The archer goes on.

This is a continuation of the Thomas Hookton series, if you have not read the series I strongly suggest that you start from the beginning as you will get a far better understanding of the story.

That said this is a complete story within the book and follows what I think is an excellent story line.

Bernard Cornwell sometimes loses the thread and continues a series one book to far. This is not the case with the archer series and I believe a few more books are still in this collection.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

OK

I would start by saying that I initially fell in love with Thomas of Hookton a long time ago, when he was a Heretic, and although I still love this older version of Thomas I didn't find the story quite as exciting. However, of course the amazing Bernard Cornwell has written beautifully and Jack Hawkins has done a cracking job narrating the story. I would have to suggest the reader/listener make their own decision on whether to take up this story and maybe if you are making this your first story starring Thomas of Hookton - which could be a stand alone story - you might want to, at some stage, either before or after, read the Grail Quest trilogy.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Cornwell on form: action, pace and good history.

This is a great continuation of the "Grail Trilogy" but can be enjoyed on its own. The central characters are embroiled in a new adventure but with the same mix of corrupt churchmen, scheming, stupid and dangerous nobles and savage violence. In such a landscape, honour is an elusive concept and fragile in the face of fear and temptation.



Much of the power and attraction of the novel rests in the detail. Knights in full armour wetting and fouling themselves in fear, the art and savagery of combat, the realities and struggle of domestic survival, are woven into the tale and stand comparison with any academic, historical text.



Real, vital, convincing and gripping: it's a great tale and well narrated.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Blood and guts galore.

This was the best book of the grail quest series. Really got into this one. If you like stories of battles, blood and guts, torture, revenge and hero’s on quests this is for you.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Cornwell at his best

What did you like most about 1356?

Although Fiction as usual Cornwell's use of historic fact lead's the listener to believe his story and characters existed, Divulging only enough information in each chapter to make you want to listen to the following chapter

What was one of the most memorable moments of 1356?

when the hero Jumped into the convent and hid in the room of an old titled lady

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Hiding in the sewage wagons to escape the town , the description was so explicit it almost made me heave

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes, Which I did

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A bloody time to live

I enjoyed this book very much, hope its not the finish of Thomas, Still we still have the Saxon Chronicles to look forward to.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Awful narration.

What you would expect from Cornwell, a great addition to the series unfortunately ruined by the narrator. Why does audible keep doing this?

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2 people found this helpful