Book Description The year is 1072. The Normans have captured England. The Turks have captured a Norman knight. And in order to free him, a soldier named Vallon must capture four rare hawks. On a heart-stopping journey to the far ends of the earth, braving Arctic seas, Viking warlords, and the blood-drenched battlefields, Vallon and his comrades must track down their quarry one by one in a relentless race against time. The scale is huge. The journey is incredible. The history is real. This is Hawk Quest.

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Book Description
The year is 1072.
The Normans have captured England. The Turks have captured a Norman
knight. And in order to free him, a soldier
named Vallon must capture four rare hawks.
On a heart-stopping journey to the far ends of
the earth, braving Arctic seas, Viking warlords,
and the blood-drenched battlefields, Vallon
and his comrades must track down their
quarry one by one in a relentless race against
time.
The scale is huge. The journey is incredible. The history is real. This is Hawk
Quest.
Reviews
Hawk Quest begins shortly after the Norman conquest of England when a
Frankish soldier of fortune, Vallon, seeks warmth for the winter storms in a
broken-down hut in the Alps. Within the hut he finds a young Sicilian student

2. of medicine and a dying Greek philosopher and adventurer, Cosmas of
Byzantium. Cosmas has charged the young Sicilian, Hero, with seeking a
ransom for the Norman knight Walter now held by Emir Suleyman from
Walter's family. Another goal is to obtain the Gospel of Thomas, which Walter
has hidden away somewhere in the Emir's lands. The catch? The ransom must
be four white gyrfalcons.
Silver coins from Afghanistan provide the final incentive for Vallon to help him
with this task. As they go forward, Vallon adds a few chosen others to aid
them. Their quest for the goshawks leads them through multiple
entanglements with Norman soldiers, a ship's captain, and various vicious
enemies as they first sail to Iceland and Greenland to catch the gyrfalcons,
then take the northern route to Constantinople. The trip takes them into the
Arctic Circle, then south by rivers and portages along the old Viking routes.
As the reader becomes attached to the main characters, each escapade
generates increased adrenaline. There are threats and challenges throughout,
not only from human enemies, but also from wind and weather. Multiple
dangerous rapids on their river route threaten to destroy their ships. They
must survive many fearful and angry natives and treacherous members of their
own crew along the way. And then they must deal with the Emir.
Hawk Quest is so well written that a reader can overlook some inconsistencies.
While the sub-heading is "an epic novel of the Norman conquests," the action
takes place a few years later. Some of the dialogue seems a bit too
sophisticated for the character's background. In some cases, coincidental
occurrences rather than strength or cunning help the voyagers survive. At 658
pages, it is one of the longest novels I have reviewed; it takes time to read.
There are five main segments, each of which could be read by itself - in
sequence - but which make up the whole of the journey. And the journey is
well worth the effort.

3. About the Author
Robert Lyndon has been a falconer since boyhood. A keen student of history,
he was intrigued by accounts of hawks being used as ransoms during the
Middle Ages. Some of the scenes in Hawk Quest were inspired by Lyndon's
own experiences as a falconer, climber and traveller in remote places. He has
written many books and articles on history and exploration. A Fellow of the
Royal Geographical Society, he lives in Dorset.
To download now please click the link below.
http://amzn.to/139dcHT