"Agincourt" by Bernard Cornwell

Nick Hook knows his enemies, those men from the village that would like to see him dead and would make every effort to make it so. He knows what he trusts, his bow arm. He knows who he loves, his brother and the young novice who needs saving. But he's still confused. In the midst of religious persecution, venal priests and nobles, the sweep of history that is hurling him along he has no idea who speaks the truth. Making his confusion worse, as he is running from almost certain death, the saints Crispin and Crispinian decide to talk to him directly. So, Hook is on an adventure well worth following.The king of England has decided that he's also the King of France. The French don't see it quiet the same way and Nick Hook, a bowmen, is caught in the middle. The whims of a king, the love of battle, the lust of priests, the honor and bravery of both sexes, and the arrogance of the nobles, are the spicy ingredients that stir inside the pot of this page turning historical fiction. Fe
ar, anger, confusion, and a real will to know and do the right thing propels our lead character into becoming an outlaw and joining the king's army on one of the most legendary battles in English history.Nick is strong, brave, competent and lucky but he's not perfect. In fact, none of the people in this book are near perfect. They are all real living human beings, sane and mad, brave and cowardly, smart and stupid. Mr. Cornwell has chosen an excellent balance of characters. From the first pages we begin to choose sides and root for people we do and don't like. There is a mad rapists priest we want to see dead from the first chapter countered by a wise and kind priest we fear is marching to his death. There is the English king who with his small army of 5000 has no fear of the gathering storm of 30,000 French men-at-arms because God is on his side. There is the French nobleman who is cruel, arrogant and brave because the English are stupid and, by the way God is on his side t
oo.It's almost inconceivable that the battle as depicted here could possible have had the outcome history reveals. Outnumbered six to one, cold, hungry, sick, exhausted, these few Englishman stand up to the might of a well rested, well fed and well positioned French army. Yet it is the individuals involved and what will happen to them that keeps us turning the pages. Mr. Cornwell makes this story real and relevant, the tension and action immediate, the history vital and the book impossible to put down.

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