Sir Ian, thanks for the review...I'm going to read it- soon as I finish Goodkind's First Confessor; I've had it on the wishlist since it came out and I finished the Red Knight (that book...such a good read) so I figured, lets see what the prequel to the Sword of Truth series is like. If you're a student or believer of Objectivism, you'll love this book. If you're a fan of the mythos, you'll like this book. I don't want to color your impresssions should you ever decide to read it so I'll leave it at that.
1356...Bernard Cornwell is perhaps the best or maybe slightly second-best medieval author I've ever read and I've read my share of both good and bad. 1356 is actually the 4th of the Archer series (Archer's Tale, Vagabond, Heretic) - I found it to be an engrossing, riveting read. He seems to have done his research w/regard to archery and its use on the medieval battlefield; you might find his ideas of period armor leave something to be desired (not that it is out and out wrong, but well...you be the judge) but all in all, interesting characters, good pacing and the denouement to a story that has spanned 4 novels, 1356 is a good read. You could, ostensibly, pick it up right now and you'd still enjoy the book, although the references to earlier novels might leave you somewhat in the dark. I heartily suggest reading the first three- not only to get the background, but each one is similarly entertaining in their own right.
Cornwell has also written a trilogy on the Arthurian legend (probably my favorite of all the Arthur tales) as well as a series of Saxon tales featuring Alfred the Great set during the 9th century. I think there might be 6 books to that one, starring a figure from history, but with some creative licensing. I couldn't tell you which was the greater story...all of them are equally compelling. I'm also a fan of his Sharpe series, having read several of those some decades back- but I did not put two and two together until I read his bio. I'm also a Ken Follett fan, for his two epics, 'Pillars of the Earth' and 'World Without End' - but not necessarily for his suspense novels. They're good...but not really my area of interest so I'm not the guy to talk to about novels of that nature.