Customer Reviews

Falcon

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dominic "Niki" Glyndwr comes from the ruling family of Cymru, a relatively isolated planet that is not part of the Central Worlds Concorde - yet. When he returns home after a summer vacation, he finds changes on Cymru. His uncle, the Prince, is acting erratically and seems to no longer care for the people. Niki is determined to make things right and makes connections with an underground revolutionary movement. But, despite all his efforts, his planet is stolen, betrayed by agents of the Central Worlds Concorde, undercover agents he thought of as friends. His family was destroyed and his world shattered before his eyes...

Dominic Glyndwr becomes Niki Falcon, an elite gestalt pilot taking part in an experiment: he has been changed into a being who can literally become his ship. And he's the last. For behind his amazing new abilities lies a deadly drug that systematically destroy's his body's defenses. So when Chyrsander Harris, a famous singer, begs him to break through the Silence imposed by the Central Worlds Concorde to return him to his native planet of Lamia, what has he got to lose? More than he could imagine...

Falcon was an amazing book about a grand adventure across the stars. And a hero to cheer for. Niki is a good guy who tries hard and often makes mistakes, but always for what he feels are the right reasons. He touches the lives of everyone that he comes in contact with: Pedr, the paranoid, frantic Prince; Kitty, the Prince's beautiful, pregnant wife; Rhys, Niki's solid older brother who suddenly belives the worst of him; Jacob, the Prince's security advisor who taught Niki to shoot and defend himself; his mother, Morwenna, a famous geneticist who will destroy his world with a few angry words; Reg, the revolutionary who wants desperately to be a hero; Jhari, the woman who must make the difficult choice between Niki and her job as a Special Agent; Chyrsander Harris, the famous singer who is both more and less than he seems; and a cast of other characters, all of whom are rich and well developed.

Falcon is almost two stories told in one book and there is quite a division between the two, but they link together beautifully as the reader continues to submerge deeper into the story. The plot is lovely and quite unexpected in parts, the characters were strong and weak and normal and yet not, and the writing is beautiful and wonderfully evocative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction and/or fantasy. Take the time to find this in a used bookstore or order it used online - you will not regret it, this book is a treasure!

Crisp characterization and dialog, a strong sense of setting (especially in the first half, which is a sort of prequel to the second half), and a seemingly self-destructive protagonist with a weakness for lost causes make this one of my favorite space adventure tales

I decided to review this book because I want people to know what a wonderful story it tells. I find it difficult to put into words how I feel about this book without sounding like I really need to get out more. Maybe I do.
I read this book years ago, when I was still in Junior High. I loved it then, but it wasn't until I discovered it again much later that I realized what profound thinking it contained. It describes family loyalty, betrayal, basic survival and above all, dignity, and does it in such a way that you feel you need to reexamine your own values. What would I do for those I care for, and how far would I go to survive? The main character Falcon is portrayed with a surprising dignity and intellegence that is not often seen in such a young character. (By which I mean young as in first novel, not age.) Halfway through the book the story takes such an unexpected turn, you think you started a different book. Yet in the end it all makes sense. Amazing.
I know this sounds corny or ridiculous, or as I said, like I need to get out more. I read this myself and I cringe. Still, I have the need to share this with others because this wonderful twisty novel, with it's solid scifi shell, has at it's center a beautiful and noble story.

This is the second of Emma Bull's boks I have read and once again she has utterly astonished me.

This book takes a u-turn in the middle, switching from the mechanics of a planetary government breaking down to the rushed exciting space battles that the blurb promises. I think that it is a tribute to Emma Bull's skill that these two disparate styles fit together seamlessly. A word to the wise - keep track of the details in the first half. The ending is an emotional roller coaster, but well worth the effort.

I have to say first, that I'm completely biased. I love this book, utterly and devotedly. You can tell me its structure is weird, its hero flawed, and its love story twisted. And I will agree with you. And still, I will be in love with it. Emma Bull's writing is as poetically beautiful as ever, and the ideas are fascinating. But it is the character of Niki Falcon that makes the novel. Everyone who meets Niki is changed by him, in relating to him they become more themselves, more the best and the worst of them. More human. And so does he. Reading his story is like meeting this tragic, flawed, heroic, bigger than life, and yet terribly human, man. And the relationship leads you deep into the heart, by strange and unexpected ways. It seems impossible not to love Niki and not to love this book. It would feel like a rejection of my own flawed and heroic humanity.

This book is great! It is difficult to describe what its about without giving anything away, but I think some other reviews summed it up well. Know that the first half of the book is very different from the second half, so you are not jared when you get to it. It saddens me that Amazon does not have it in stock, but trust me when I say it is worth buying even from an unknown distributer. Like my title says, ignore the cover picture. The book has a completely different worth then what comes across in that picture. It is full of real emotion, adventure, and - to a degree - mystery. And like any good science fiction/fantasy book, it is timeless, so don't think it is too dated to be worth a read!

While Emma Bull is most noted for her fantasy, Falcon proves that she's got the chops to cut it as a fast paced science fiction author.

Falcon has a few moments where the plot is confusing. But it never drags for a moment.

If you're not already picking up this book to round out your collection, you should!

Interesting plot and strong writing make this a fun novel for those who like space opera and those who don't. Good characters, good plot and some fun pseudo scientific gobldygook keeps you going through the whole thing. I thought the ending was weak, but read it anyway. Actually you should read everything by Emma Bull that you can find.