Your Questions

Hello Bernard Cornell. I have enjoyed your books a lot, and have one question and an invitation. First, the joy of battle - that feeling that you have used for R Sharpe, Uhtred, Derfel and others - that overwhelming sensation when everything around you slows down, when you have all the time in the world to move and look around you. Has that happened to you? I have experienced it twice, and can only say it is a joy that is remembered all your life. I'm a 58 year old former U.S. Marine and you are the only person I have read that describes that transformation so well. I figured that you had experienced it yourself. I now work for the U.S. Navy in Fallon, Nevada, training Navy, USMC and Army Special Forces in desert ground maneuvers. If you and your wife ever travel this way (60 miles east of Reno on U.S. 50) and care for a tour of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center and the surrounding desert, please contact me. Best Regards, John Kirch

Dear Mr Cornwell, In the warlord trilogy, Enemy of God, Derfel lists the numerous dead.(page4) but at the end of Excalibur some of the main characters survive. In the story Derfel mentions they die later, but Nimue survives, and we don't know what happens to her. I am currently reading The Last Kindom, another great read. Darren North

Mr. Cornwell, Recently I boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise slated to head to Bermuda. Unfortunately Mother Nature forced the RC suits to steer us to Canada. Well, I forgot to pack the book I wanted to read on the cruise so I visited the on-ship general store & came across "Stormchild". I must be honest, I am not a hardcore book reader, nor have I ever heard of you before. But I had a book in my hand, spotted the "Stormchild" cover, then read the back...sounded like my taste. So I opted for "Stormchild". Turns out that I didn't have much reading time at sea, but started it & wanted to read more. I finished when we returned home & must say, that "Stormchild" may be the best book that I have ever read. Thank you. I felt strongly for the characters, especially Tim & Jackie & I was touched by the ending lines. I have two questions; -Has there ever been any talk of putting this on film? And, which one of your other titles would you recommend to me, keeping in mind that I like stories of the sea, sailing, & adventure? Thank you again. And I will strongly recommend "Stormchild" to others. Sincerely, Jack Santos Pt. PLeasant Beach, NJ

I never thought I would find a series that I liked better than the Sharpe books - until I listened to The Archer's Tale. However, I got a bit confused. I listened to the book on tape - and went back to the first tape twice, but still didn't catch on. How did you get from Thomas' father - the richest man in Hookton, who whipped Thomas for making a bow. Then, all of a sudden, Thomas was the bastard son of the noble priest. Were the 2 descriptions of the same father? Did I miss a transition? Please help me resolve this question. I love all your books. Keep them coming. Terry Hoye

Over the last 3 years or so you have become my favorite author. I have now read all your books except the one off novels. I am currently reading the Last Kingdom and am struck by a certain linked theme to the 3 Arthur books. In the Arthur books you featured the conflict between the Britons and invading germanic peoples, Last Kingdom is set during the conflicts between the 'English' and the Danes. Both periods of history are so key to the nature of present day Britain. In a similar fashion the Roman invasion of Britain and the Norman conquest are important. Any chance of novels set at these periods?
William Allen

Dear Bernard, I must say that you are my favorite author, and I do read quite a bit. My favorites are the Arthur books and I've read them several times; of course I love Sharpe and Thomas of Hookton also. I can understand ending the Grail Quest but I would like to ask if you have given thought to a "prequel" to the Grail Quest. I could see you doing amazing things with the Cathars, Montsegur, the early Vexille family, and the Dark Lords. I find the Albinginsian Crusade to be endlessly intriquing (much to the chagrin of my Catholic wife!!!). I understand you will be busy for years on the new project and am anxiously awaiting book number two in October (Maybe January in the States), but hope that perhaps the Dark Lords can lure you into telling their story. Best regards and continued health and success. Mark Chapman

Hello, Firstly can I say that I thoroughly enjoyed the Grail quest trilogy. I did have one query which concerned the Black Death towards the end of Heretic. It is my understanding that the form of plague described in your book is actually Pneumonic and not Bubonic plague which you mention in your historical notes. I'm aware that Bubonic is historically the correct path to use as this did indeed kill off 33% of the European populous. With Pneumonic plague, the first signs of illness are fever, headache, weakness, and rapidly developing pneumonia with shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and sometimes bloody or watery sputum. These are almost the same symptoms as described in your book. However it is true that Bubonic can turn into Pneumonic if left untreated. As Bubonic can only be caught predominantly by fleabites or by untreated wounds coming into contact with the disease I personally can't see that the plague referred to in Heretic was anything other than Pneumonic. I will be interested to hear your views on this. Best regards, Simon McCartan

Dear Mr Cornwell, I read all your books and loved every one of them. I thank you very much for all these wonderful hours of reading. I find it great that you take some of your precious time to answer messages from your fans. As you probably deduced from my first sentences, English is not my first language : I'm half French, half Belgian. Though I'm a big big fan of Sharpe, I have the feeling that you are a bit unfair with the "Frogs". Soult, for example, is almost ridiculous in your Sharpe's Havoc novel though everything I read about him leads me to believe that he was a great soldier. Don't you agree ? In the historical note at the end of Sharpe's Havoc, you write that you couldn't find news of Major Dulong after the Saltador. I found a quote about him on the napoleonic-literature.com website : he supposedly was made Colonel and died in 1828. It would be nice if Sharpe was to meet him again ... I'm considering writing a novel about Dulong : do you know if it has already been done by someone before ? Thank you again for your great books : I just finished The Last Kingdom and can't wait for the Pale Horseman !!! Fabrice CORNET

Dear Mr Cornwell What do you think of Macmillan's New Writing scheme? (Link here http://www.panmacmillan.com/aboutPan/macmillannewwriting.html to save you looking it up). Opinion seems to be about evenly split over whether it is a genuine attempt to find new writers, whether it is some kind of scam (although if it is a scam, I can't see what Macmillan get out of it), or whether it is simply a bad idea doomed to failure (because literary agents already know every writer who has talent). If the scheme had been in existence when you were trying to find a publisher for the first Sharpe book, would you have considered it? What chiefly puzzles me is the logistics of assessing many hundreds of submissions. From your experience of the publishing industry (and your editor's?), do you think it's possible for a publisher to do that, and how might they go about it? Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the subject. Carole

Mr. Cornwell, I am a big fan of the Starbuck Chronicles. I was wondering if you visited the battlegrounds before writing? I have visited most of the US Civil war Eastern theater battle fields including camping at Harpers Ferry on the remains of a Union abatis. Which promted me to re-read The Bloody Ground. Please continue the Starbuck Chronicles. Donald Senkbeil