So... I had high hopes for this one. I think I also hold Cornwell to a higher standard than most authors. So even though I'm only giving it three stars, this is probably a better account of a historical English battle in the Hundred Years War than most you will find. I just can't give it the same number of stars as my least favorite book in The Saxon Stories (if there even is such a thing). 
 For starters, our hero Nicholas Hook is kind of a bland guy (but one that actually lived! Which is pretty cool) with one exception, he hears the voices of saints. Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian to be exact. This felt a little off to me, but the connection is made clear in the end and it was a deviation from Cornwell's norm. It was an interesting plot device and he pulled it off without making Hook seem utterly crazy. 
 I did appreciate Melisande, who is a nun Hook saves from being raped at the sack of Soissons. Generally speaking, there aren't a lot of strong female characters to be found in Cornwell's writing but Melisande was a good of example of one he's written well. She was feminine while still being strong and brave. SirJohn Cornweaille was also a fantastic character and endlessly entertaining (though he talks about cabbage-farting French a lot). 
 The battles are all told very well and are exciting. The history in this book is about as accurate as I suspect it probably could have been (only one archer in this book was truly invented). Apparently all the others were names taken from the archives about Azincourt, and it is that level of detail that I have come to love most about Cornwell's work. 
 I guess what wasn't working for me is that this book is fairly long (between 400-500 pages) and there weren't many sub-plots happening. The Archer's Tale which is the first in his Holy Grail trilogy is a retelling of the Battle of Crecy (whose lopsided numbers in favor of the French were even more impressive) but it was also about Thomas finding his faith and making good on his promises to his father and God. (Unrelated sidenote- I loved the nod that was given to The Archer's Tale! Did anyone else catch it?) 
 This book is mostly about Nicholas Hook fighting in at Azincourt and finding redemption. There just wasn't enough else happening to support the 450 page book length. All in all a solid read if a little slow at times. I would recommend this to people interested in the Hundred Years War, Azincourt, and Cornwell fans.