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katpavlikova's review against another edition
2.0
Achich ... mám divný pocit, že jsem v průběhu čtení trpěla víc jak hlavní hrdinové. A že o násilí nebyla nouze. -_-
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'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.
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.
leemac027's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book of Robert Lyndon's I have read (yes I may be a little late to this party!) - but... I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I do like a good piece of historical fiction and Lyndon has done his homework on the period around 1072 with all of its idiosyncrasies.
With the Normans stomping all over England, Vallon a Frankish knight is in search of adventure and by chance meets up with a Sicilian scholar, Hero, who entices him on a journey with the promise of huge rewards but even more danger.
A Norman knight has been captured by the Turks and a ransom is offered for his return. The ransom demanded is four rare hawks and these must be hunted down in the wilds of Greenland and Iceland.
Vallon decides to proceed and gathers together a rag tag group of warriors, a falconer and a couple of sworn enemies to head off across the seas from England, through the arctic circle, across to Russia and Constantinople.
They encounter many challenges and although a long read, it is highly entertaining and at times engrossing.
But do they make the exchange of hawks for knight?? Does this captive knight wish to return home? All will be revealed but not in this review. :)
I do like a good piece of historical fiction and Lyndon has done his homework on the period around 1072 with all of its idiosyncrasies.
With the Normans stomping all over England, Vallon a Frankish knight is in search of adventure and by chance meets up with a Sicilian scholar, Hero, who entices him on a journey with the promise of huge rewards but even more danger.
A Norman knight has been captured by the Turks and a ransom is offered for his return. The ransom demanded is four rare hawks and these must be hunted down in the wilds of Greenland and Iceland.
Vallon decides to proceed and gathers together a rag tag group of warriors, a falconer and a couple of sworn enemies to head off across the seas from England, through the arctic circle, across to Russia and Constantinople.
They encounter many challenges and although a long read, it is highly entertaining and at times engrossing.
But do they make the exchange of hawks for knight?? Does this captive knight wish to return home? All will be revealed but not in this review. :)
eososray's review
1.0
This was just not my style of story. I've never been a big fan of overly descriptive quest and adventure tales. And this one didn't grab my interest at all. I found it boring, over-complicated and far too long.
speesh's review against another edition
4.0
This is without doubt a big, glorious, involving book. One you can get totally lost in.
It's a rich, twisting, and thoroughly absorbing tale. One that travels through Spain, France, England, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Finland (I think), what is now Russia and all the way down the rivers and rapids to Constantinople. Whilst the cover says it is a novel of the Norman Conquests, it isn't - as such. I'd say it is fundamentally a journey through the world as known by later period Vikings.
Personally, had I been the author, I'd have argued against (presumably) the Marketing Department's suggestion of putting 'An epic novel of the Norman Conquests' on the front cover. Yes, there are Normans in it - and they are of course bad - and it takes place in the period shortly after the conquest of England, but if you're looking for a 'Sworn Sword' or another 'Hereward', you'll be better looking elsewhere. It is at least an epic, that bit's spot on.
It just goes to show how hard it is to pin down what this multi-faceted book actually is. On the face of it, it's a reasonably simple tale. An Arabic leader demands a ransom for a Norman knight he holds. Money, lots of it, or four rare, snow-white hunting hawks. From the title of the book, you can perhaps guess which option they decide upon.
A motley band of adventurers come together through accident and circumstance and proceed try to to carry out the quest of the title and the book is their adventures along the way. Vallon is a Frankish knight on his way back from being held captive by the Moors in Spain, when he runs into Hero, a young Sicilian scholar travelling with his master and teacher. The old Arab is dying, but has the details of the ransom wanted for a captured Norman knight out in the Middle East. The journey goes to England, where they meet up with a wild kind of woodland-dwelling outcast boy, called Wayland. Handily, he is an expert when it comes to handling Hawks. They are effectively chased out of England and travel to Iceland, then Greenland after the Hawks they need. They collect other adventurers on the way and are pursued by all manner of Normans, Icelanders and on the 'return' journey through Norway and Russia, by Vikings and marauding Steppe nomads.
Whilst Vallon is the leader of the group, the most interesting character, perhaps not surprisingly given the author's background, is young Wayland. The author is a falconer and Wayland is the character in the book who hunts, captures and cares for the hawks of the book's title. Passages describing him, and his adventures in the countryside - both fighting, protecting his comrades and capturing the Hawks - are superb. Robert Lyndon really brings the wildlife, forests and countryside of 11th Century Europe vividly to life. You can almost smell it!
There's a little and a lot of everything here (well over 600 pages in the hardback version I have, so lord only knows how many it'll have when it comes out in paperback). But whilst it is a long story, it's one that is constantly moving, action-packed and manages to stay focused the whole way through.
So while it is a quest and it is set in the (in England anyway) Norman period, it isn't a novel of the Norman conquests. Vikings are in it, but it isn't a Viking novel. It's a quest, a long involved one at that, but it isn't 'Lord of the Rings'. Maybe it's just written for the love of it. Yes, that must be it. Stop trying to sort out what it is or isn't, Steve. Stop over analysing and enjoy - is what I told myself about a third of the way in. And enjoy it I did, very much indeed.
It's a rich, twisting, and thoroughly absorbing tale. One that travels through Spain, France, England, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Finland (I think), what is now Russia and all the way down the rivers and rapids to Constantinople. Whilst the cover says it is a novel of the Norman Conquests, it isn't - as such. I'd say it is fundamentally a journey through the world as known by later period Vikings.
Personally, had I been the author, I'd have argued against (presumably) the Marketing Department's suggestion of putting 'An epic novel of the Norman Conquests' on the front cover. Yes, there are Normans in it - and they are of course bad - and it takes place in the period shortly after the conquest of England, but if you're looking for a 'Sworn Sword' or another 'Hereward', you'll be better looking elsewhere. It is at least an epic, that bit's spot on.
It just goes to show how hard it is to pin down what this multi-faceted book actually is. On the face of it, it's a reasonably simple tale. An Arabic leader demands a ransom for a Norman knight he holds. Money, lots of it, or four rare, snow-white hunting hawks. From the title of the book, you can perhaps guess which option they decide upon.
A motley band of adventurers come together through accident and circumstance and proceed try to to carry out the quest of the title and the book is their adventures along the way. Vallon is a Frankish knight on his way back from being held captive by the Moors in Spain, when he runs into Hero, a young Sicilian scholar travelling with his master and teacher. The old Arab is dying, but has the details of the ransom wanted for a captured Norman knight out in the Middle East. The journey goes to England, where they meet up with a wild kind of woodland-dwelling outcast boy, called Wayland. Handily, he is an expert when it comes to handling Hawks. They are effectively chased out of England and travel to Iceland, then Greenland after the Hawks they need. They collect other adventurers on the way and are pursued by all manner of Normans, Icelanders and on the 'return' journey through Norway and Russia, by Vikings and marauding Steppe nomads.
Whilst Vallon is the leader of the group, the most interesting character, perhaps not surprisingly given the author's background, is young Wayland. The author is a falconer and Wayland is the character in the book who hunts, captures and cares for the hawks of the book's title. Passages describing him, and his adventures in the countryside - both fighting, protecting his comrades and capturing the Hawks - are superb. Robert Lyndon really brings the wildlife, forests and countryside of 11th Century Europe vividly to life. You can almost smell it!
There's a little and a lot of everything here (well over 600 pages in the hardback version I have, so lord only knows how many it'll have when it comes out in paperback). But whilst it is a long story, it's one that is constantly moving, action-packed and manages to stay focused the whole way through.
So while it is a quest and it is set in the (in England anyway) Norman period, it isn't a novel of the Norman conquests. Vikings are in it, but it isn't a Viking novel. It's a quest, a long involved one at that, but it isn't 'Lord of the Rings'. Maybe it's just written for the love of it. Yes, that must be it. Stop trying to sort out what it is or isn't, Steve. Stop over analysing and enjoy - is what I told myself about a third of the way in. And enjoy it I did, very much indeed.
nigelbrown's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to award this more than three stars but, with the exception of the first four chapters and the last four, I struggled with the pace, to the point that I found myself losing interest in places and failing to keep abreast of what was going on. After approximately a quarter of the way through it became clear that he was going to struggle to get his band of brothers all the way to Anatolia in a thousand pages, let alone six fifty. This was a well written, interesting and exciting novel (in places) that should have been condensed to a shorter story or elongated to a trilogy. ( which would have been my preference)
chrudos's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful read, definitely the best book I've read in a long time (don't ask me how long tho ;) ). These are just my first impressions, I will elaborate more later (if I do not forget).
The best point of comparison would probably be [b:Byzantium|405589|Byzantium|Stephen R. Lawhead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348701821s/405589.jpg|2694949], only as compared to Hawk Quest, characters in Byzantium were a bit grotesque and stereotypical.
Another point of comparison could be Doherty's [b:Strategos - Born in the Borderlands|13432181|Strategos - Born in the Borderlands (Strategos, #1)|Gordon Doherty|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347920901s/13432181.jpg|18432096], because the main characters have similar feel.
The northern part of the adventure also reminded me of [b:A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast for Crows|9814682|A Song of Ice and Fire A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-4)|George R.R. Martin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328046798s/9814682.jpg|21619517], especially parts about Jon Snow and Yggritte.
One a bit worse aspect is that the knights from the travelling group somehow blend together, they do not have distinct personality. This sometimes happens even in real life, but in these cases people usually focus on something in the appearance of such not-so-distinct people. Author of this book did not provide enough of such details so I could develop a relationship with these characters.
[(maybe) to be continued]
The best point of comparison would probably be [b:Byzantium|405589|Byzantium|Stephen R. Lawhead|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348701821s/405589.jpg|2694949], only as compared to Hawk Quest, characters in Byzantium were a bit grotesque and stereotypical.
Another point of comparison could be Doherty's [b:Strategos - Born in the Borderlands|13432181|Strategos - Born in the Borderlands (Strategos, #1)|Gordon Doherty|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347920901s/13432181.jpg|18432096], because the main characters have similar feel.
The northern part of the adventure also reminded me of [b:A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast for Crows|9814682|A Song of Ice and Fire A Game of Thrones / A Clash of Kings / A Storm of Swords / A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1-4)|George R.R. Martin|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1328046798s/9814682.jpg|21619517], especially parts about Jon Snow and Yggritte.
One a bit worse aspect is that the knights from the travelling group somehow blend together, they do not have distinct personality. This sometimes happens even in real life, but in these cases people usually focus on something in the appearance of such not-so-distinct people. Author of this book did not provide enough of such details so I could develop a relationship with these characters.
[(maybe) to be continued]
zipperbee's review against another edition
4.0
[I won an ARC through Goodreads Firstreads!]
I really enjoyed Hawk Quest and growing up with a healthy appetite for adventure stories (as well as fantasy) probably had a lot to do with it. This felt like older adventure stories where the time period wasn't always congruent, but there was enough accuracy to get by. While there were minimal fantasy elements (a ring) I would liken the style more to fantasy than many other historical fiction books, which are usually more attuned to history. This worked well enough for me as I love both genres, but am a bigger fan of fantasy works.
The characters are well-rounded and most reside in grey, but the major players could've done with some more development, especially Vallon. Lyndon does a good job in making you care for his cast and you really do want to see them get through their task with their lives intact. Be warned that this author doesn't shy away from death, though! I think he wrote such scenes well and you felt the dire situations that these characters faced, but I guess I'm still a sap because I didn't want them (two at least) to go.
In keeping true to the times the women are secondary or tertiary characters, but Lyndon writes them strong in their own ways which I appreciated. Syth was probably one of the more intriguing characters, at least at first with her upbringing. Even with the stock characters, they were all treated with respect and care which helped when some were in really bad situations. There is rape, but its neither glossed over or gratuitous in nature. Its unfortunate and its brutal, but it was treated with realistic gravity.
I will definitely check out future books from this author, and am curious to see if he will continue with any of these characters [like Wayland!]. This is a stand-alone novel, but was left open for future installments or companion works. I love a good stand-alone, but when written well I will welcome more!
True rating: 4.25/5
I really enjoyed Hawk Quest and growing up with a healthy appetite for adventure stories (as well as fantasy) probably had a lot to do with it. This felt like older adventure stories where the time period wasn't always congruent, but there was enough accuracy to get by. While there were minimal fantasy elements (a ring) I would liken the style more to fantasy than many other historical fiction books, which are usually more attuned to history. This worked well enough for me as I love both genres, but am a bigger fan of fantasy works.
The characters are well-rounded and most reside in grey, but the major players could've done with some more development, especially Vallon. Lyndon does a good job in making you care for his cast and you really do want to see them get through their task with their lives intact. Be warned that this author doesn't shy away from death, though! I think he wrote such scenes well and you felt the dire situations that these characters faced, but I guess I'm still a sap because I didn't want them (two at least) to go.
In keeping true to the times the women are secondary or tertiary characters, but Lyndon writes them strong in their own ways which I appreciated. Syth was probably one of the more intriguing characters, at least at first with her upbringing. Even with the stock characters, they were all treated with respect and care which helped when some were in really bad situations. There is rape, but its neither glossed over or gratuitous in nature. Its unfortunate and its brutal, but it was treated with realistic gravity.
I will definitely check out future books from this author, and am curious to see if he will continue with any of these characters [like Wayland!]. This is a stand-alone novel, but was left open for future installments or companion works. I love a good stand-alone, but when written well I will welcome more!
True rating: 4.25/5