1356 by Bernard Cornwell

I have always loved action adventures. In fact, action adventure books (The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Night, Ivanhoe, Quo Vadis?, Arsene Lupin books, Sherlock Holmes books, etc.) have kept me sane in the first couple of years of immigration when I felt so alone and lost. These books were my friends, and they helped me keep my spirits up. They taught me never to give up and keep on fighting for what I believed in. 

These are some of the most-treasured books I own (especially since they were from a 100 Masterpiece in the World young adult collection in Korean that my parents brought with us when we immigrated to the United States). Some of my favorite modern action adventure writers are Clive Cussler, Micheal Crichton, Daniel Silva, Sharon Kay Penman, etc. And now, I have another to add to the list - Bernard Cornwell.

What I love about these books is that for a short span of time, they take me on a fantastic adventure. I'm so busy keeping my wits about me that I forget to worry about such mundane things as learning English and finishing my Language Arts homework.

Now, on to the review - I love the books I love in this genre for the same reason. They take me to a very exciting place and give me a great roller coaster ride. However, I have yet to write a review about any of the books I love reading on this blog because at the end of the day, they don't linger in my head, making me think about it for a long time, until this book. 

I loved the details of medieval life in this book. I can feel the damp chill in the crypt. I can smell the acrid smoke wafting up to the sky. I can feel the blood pounding in my veins with every sword thrust and axe swing. I can share the profound grief in losing love ones so needlessly. All this is wonderful enough, but in the heart of this story is a man driven by his own moral code in the time when a sense of righteousness and moral authority was hijacked by the nobility and Catholic Church and used for their gain rather than for God's justice and mercy.

~Spoiler Alert~

In the time of relic collecting, when a notable relic not only made or broke the church that housed it, but the whole region, Sword of Saint Peter was one of the most sought after relic. Saint Peter purportedly used the sword to slice one of the soldier's ear when they came to take Jesus away to Pontius Pilate. This sword was believed to have mystical powers, and it supposedly granted certain victory to whoever possessed it. With another war between the English and the French looming ahead, the race was on from all sides to find it at all cost.

As the relic hunters drew close, those who were responsible for keeping it safe were forced to move it, and this movement created more upheaval in times of chaos.In these troubling times, Sir Thomas Hookton is busy sacking a castle for a French Count whose wife ran away with the lord of the castle. Sir Thomas Hookton is a very successful mercenary known as Le Batard, and he leads a troop of archers and men-at-arms to serve whoever pays him the most money. Though he meets his end of the bargain, the Count in question, even after having retrieved his errant wife and exacted gruesome revenge on the lord of the castle, short-changes Le Batard. Before Le Batard could collect his just payment from the Count, he is called back by his British liege lord and sent on an important mission to find the Sword of Saint Peter.
 
Here are some excerpts - 

"Bernard Cornwell does the best battle scenes of any writer I've read, past or present."
- George R. R. Martin (author of Game of Thrones)

"His characters are vividly drawn, betrayals lurk around every corner, the humor is as sharp as swords, and the action is nonstop."
- Sharon Kay Penman (one of my personal favorites) 

"Cornwell's cinematically detailed battle pieces are literal tours de force."
- Washington Post

Now, on to why I really loved this book.... As I was reading it, everything seemed so unfair. Those who had rank and money could do anything they wanted to do. And the Catholic Church, with its supposed moral righteousness behind it, did everything it wanted to do. A priest's word was all the society needed to find someone guilty of consorting with the devil or some other crime (by the way, how do you fight such a claim? Where can anyone begin?). Then this person would be executed, in very cruel way for that crime. There was very little anyone could do to save a person who had been label thus (especially in places far away from large towns). When I thought about what it would be like to watch my loved one jailed, tortured, then executed for no crime greater than a crime of expediency for the powerful, the impotence of the situation horrified me.

A couple of night ago, I was laying down with my little daughter who called for me in the early morning. Just as I was holding her, a stream of sunshine fingered into her room and illuminated the side of her face where she has a small mole close to her hairline. That mole sent a chill down my spine as I was transported back to the world of 1356. My daughter could have been wrenched away from my arms for that mole alone, jailed and tortured, and maybe even executed for no other reason than someone accused her of a crime. 

How does anyone live with that kind of loss and injustice? 

I gleefully think about Le Batard taking revenge on the culprits for us.

I think about committing acts of sheer foolishness that would cement my death as well. Do I want to live without my precious child?

But I think the worst possible answer could be that I just have to live with it. I have no other choice. I have to wake up the next day and live my life as if nothing had changed since there was nothing I can do to change anything.  Not even for the next victim.

Even though I didn't know it, this book held me under its spell well after I finished the book. My mind made associations I never realized (I'm not sure if there were moles or consorting with the devil actually in the book) and forced me to put myself in the place of these people who lived so long ago. For that alone, I recommend this book.