Hawk Quest

author: Robert Lyndon

name: Wayne

average rating: 3.93

book published: 2012

rating: 4

read at: 2015/02/24

date added: 2015/02/24

shelves:

review:

'Hawk Quest' by Robert Lyndon is the kind of huge historical fiction doorstop of a book I loved as a much younger reader. I was a big fan of Clavell and Michener, so you get a picture of the kind of massive, sprawling books I've read. This book fits in with those as well, sort of.



The Normans rule England and the Turks have a Norman hostage. A knight returning from captivity stumbles upon a young Greek and his ailing master. The ailing master wants to get the hostage released because he knows about a secret gospel and a letter from Prester John. The knight, Vallon, soon finds himself taking on this quest. And it's a huge one. The ransom is either an extraordinary sum of money or four of the purest white falcons, which can only be found in Greenland. The knight finds a company of loyal and less than loyal companions, and they take a very long voyage to capture the falcons and deliver them alive as a ransom. Not all who start the journey will finish it. Not even people that join up along the way.



I love the time period, and there are many different European groups of this era represented. It's an epic journey, but I felt like there could have been less of the many different people in the company and more of the historical details of the era. I really enjoyed reading it and I felt like the author really managed a very large cast of characters well. It's got a bit of a 'Joss Whedon' effect, so don't get too attached to a character, or you may find them out of the story, but I think that kept such a huge book fresh. With a length of almost 700 pages, it's definitely longer than most books I tend to read. And I felt it got a little preachy toward the end with the discovery of a gnostic gospel, but overall, I enjoyed the journey.



I received a review copy of this ebook from Hachette Book Group, Redhook, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me review this epic ebook.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1zFf85h