Friday 29 June 2012

Hawk Quest - Robert Lyndon

(Sphere, 2012, 672 Pages)

Given that I like to allow time for a wide range of reviews to accumulate, it’s pretty rare for me these days to get hold of a book almost straight after its publication. But when Hawk Quest came on the scene I really sat up and took notice. Released in January 2012, it was greeted from the start by a flurry of highly positive reviews. The storytelling sounded first rate. The premise was one I loved the look of. I couldn’t resist – and I wasn’t disappointed.
The novel, which is Lyndon’s first, takes place just six years after the Norman Conquest. The dust jacket, in fact, calls the tale an ‘epic…of the Norman Conquests’, but although Normans feature quite significantly, the main thrust of the novel is succinctly summed up in the title. The Turks are holding captive a Norman knight. The price of his release: four incredibly rare, pure white gyrfalcons. The Frankish mercenary Vallon, talked into delivering the ransom terms by a young Sicilian scholar, soon finds himself embarking with a motley company on a journey of epic proportions, bound not only to capture the birds in their northern homeland, but to deliver them to their final destination of Anatolia. The question is: can they do it?
Deceit; love; skirmishes; ships; feisty women; Vikings; and, of course, hawks – you name them, this novel has them. Lyndon’s knowledge of both the history and the practical matters – such as the construction of ships and the handling of falcons – is evident throughout the novel, but it’s always worn lightly, never becoming onerous; although I admit I often had to resort to the dictionary for various ship-related terms! At over 650 pages, this novel is a heavyweight, but the pace never slackens. I often found myself reading it compulsively: it’s a book that’s hard to put down. Lyndon writes well – his style can be spare or lyrical, as the situation demands, and he sprinkles unusual and dialect terms throughout, adding to the evocative effect of his prose. Nor is he afraid to use dialect and slang in his dialogue, which makes a refreshing change and is often just plain fun.
The main characters in the novel are strongly drawn, memorable and complex. I especially liked Vallon, the sometimes enigmatic major protagonist, with whom Lyndon has achieved something that’s not always easy: the creation of a character who is very much of his time and may exhibit traits and attitudes unsettling and distasteful to the modern reader, yet is also very human – someone struggling to come to terms with his past and remake himself in the present, with whom we can empathise.
I’m particularly fond of novels that feature an ensemble cast thrown together in often less than ideal circumstances, and Lyndon pulls this off with panache, showing us both the tensions and the bonds that form on this huge and frequently difficult journey. If occasionally some of the characters of the original company seemed a little underdeveloped, I can appreciate that the massive scale of the novel made this unavoidable. And, of course, the journey itself becomes a kind of character, often taking centre stage as the environments the group pass through, even down to their weather, are detailed in vivid description.
An absolutely cracking read; powerful, truthful and compelling. Apparently there’s a sequel in the making – you can be certain that’s one book I’ll definitely be buying!

15 comments:

  1. I thought this was terrific, too. (Will post a review when I get round to it). I assume the tag-line about the 'epic of the Norman Conquests' was just marketing fluff to tie it to the nearest Famous Event, aka one of the only two memorable dates in English history, as the story itself doesn't really have anything much to do with the conquest as such.
    One of the things I liked best was the huge canvas. England to Iceland to Greenland to Russia to Turkey - no wonder he needed 650 pages! I also liked the characterisation and the way that everyone turned out to have useful skills and was able to contribute something. I was worried at the beginning that Hero was going to be made into a stereotypical feeble Christian wimp, and much relieved when he turned out to be not only a doctor but also to be able to work out engineering problems like putting the mast up. I got very fond of the Dog With No Name, too, who seemed as well characterised as the people :-)

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  2. I look forward to reading your review. :)
    1066? Memorable? Hmm... Have you ever heard the one about the man whose shopping receipt came to £10.66 and the till assistant handed it to him saying 'There you are - the Battle of Waterloo'? ;) Seriously - I can see the reasoning, but it still seems a bit...odd. Same goes for those chaps on the front cover done up in - admittedly nice - war gear, which rather gives the impression that the novel is about constantly charging into pitched battles. Ah well - never judge a book...
    The huge canvas was one of the things that drew me. And the depictions could so easily have been a cop-out with just, say, 'snow and mountains' for the northern section - I love that Lyndon managed to get in all those places and describe them so well that you got the distinct flavour of each.
    I wondered about Hero as well, especially given the apparently ironic name! I'm glad he didn't turn out to be just a stereotype. I would've liked to know more about Richard, though. I always felt he was rather shadow-like (strangely appropriate, really) and that there was more that could've been shown - like the growth of his friendship with Hero, for example. But I can see that Lyndon would've had a hard job fitting everything in. I'm impressed that he managed to stop at around 650 pages, actually! ;)
    I liked the Dog too. :)

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  3. Oh, dear. Sellar and Yeatman would despair....

    I admit I largely ignore cover artwork and cover blurbs, since they seem to reflect marketing fashion more than the actual content of the book. I tend to judge a book by looking at the author's note (if there is one), and a variant on the 'page-99' test, i.e. read page 99 and it will probably give you a fair idea of whether you're likely to like the rest.

    Yes, I don't know if the author's been to Iceland or Greenland or the North Cape, but after reading the book I sort of feel that I have (if you know what I mean). Yes, I liked Richard too. And Syth, especially.

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    1. Perhaps a reclassification as 'not memorable' is in order...?

      I'll nearly always ignore cover blurbs when choosing a novel, too. Very occasionally I've been irked enough by cover art to steer clear of a novel for a while, but usually I get over it. (Unless, of course, I discover the contents match the outside.) Reading a sample is definitely my preferred way to judge, although it can backfire - as I dicovered not too long ago with Shipway's Imperial Governor. ;)

      Certainly all Lyndon's descriptions read as if he's been to those places. I agree - like Sutcliff, he has a way of really conjuring up locations. I think I liked all the characters, in a way; even those that weren't strictly likeable, if you know what I mean.

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  4. You've articulated one of the aspects of the book that I really liked; that most of the characters have some decency and humanity. There are some novels that seem to be entirely populated by shallow, cruel, greedy, spiteful people all intent on doing each other down and making everyone else as miserable as possible (including the reader....). I suppose it's intended to be grittily realistic, but I find it gets tiresome after a while.

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    1. Hawk Quest is definitely a winner in that regard. I always prefer a novel that strikes a good balance when it comes to characterisation (Sword at Sunset is another one that does it very well, of course); personally if a book's entire cast urned out to be unpleasant, I think I'd write it off as unrealistic.

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    2. Or even 'tunred out'. Maybe I've been thinking too much about those York cremation urns!

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    3. Or even 'turned out'. Mind you, 'tunred' sounds quite Anglo-Saxon. :P

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  5. Indeed. Sword at Sunset is splendid.

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  6. Great review, Beth. I thought this novel was one which warranted all the usual superlatives and reviewed it here. I was also struck by the way Lyndon makes subtle yet striking use of the natural world to enhance the atmospheric narrativ. It did remind me of Rosemary Sutcliff's work. Not to mention Dog - the canine companion is a quintessentially Sutcliffian feature!

    Much of "Hawk Quest" was inspired by Lyndon’s own experiences as a falconer, climber and traveller in remote places, so yes, he is personally familiar with many of the landscapes he depicts. He's a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and has apparently written various books and articles on history and exploration.

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    1. Hello Annis; welcome to the Nest and thanks for stopping by. :)
      It certainly is reminiscent of Sutcliff. I have a particular fondness for novels that integrate the natural world in that way, so that was something I really enjoyed in Hawk Quest. (Kathleen Herbert is another writer who does this well, from what I remember.)
      The Dog - yes, he is very Sutcliffian, isn't he? I can't help but think of Cub in Eagle of the Ninth here, especially because of the way both characters are referred to without proper names - just for what they are. It works well, too.
      Thanks for the link to your review - I enjoyed reading it. Loved the illustration of the falcons, too!

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  7. Thanks for the welcome, Beth - I've only just discovered your blog :)

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    1. It's nice to have you here! I've been keeping a low profile blog-wise as I knew I wouldn't be able to update frequently/regularly while finishing my degree - hopefully I'll be posting a bit more often over the coming months.

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  8. I loved this book. I'm glad to hear others did, too.

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    1. Hello tmg, and thanks for dropping by the Nest. Looks like there are going to be quite a lot of us rushing out to get the sequel in January - only a few more months to wait!

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