Customer Reviews

The Falcon of Palermo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maria Bordihn's "The Falcon of Palermo" does a major service for modern readers by telling a fictionalized account of one of history's truly great players, Frederick II. Unfortunately, by choosing to tell Frederick's entire story in one novel, Bordihn skims along the surface and generally resorts to the crutch of "telling" the reader what's going on, rather than "showing."

It's a wonder that while the genre of historical fiction is crammed with multiple versions of the lives of Julius Caeasr, Henry V, and the other "Great Nasmes" that Frederick II really has gone ignored. Here is a man who lived an entire life of rich conflict. Reared among both Christians and Muslims on the island of Sicily, Frederick was a remarkable example of religious tolerance at at time when the slightest questioning of official church doctrine got you burnt at the stake for heresy. He also survived assassination attempts, fought to unify a horrendously-splintered Germany and Italy, and also fought to bring European scholarship back to Roman levels. This is a character for the ages.

Bordihn's telling of Frederick's life tries to do too much in too slight a novel. Reading Brodihn's book, I was reminded of Sharon Kay Penman's illustrious novels about the rise of Henry Plantagenat and Eleanor of Aquitane. Henry and Frederick were similar dynamos who dominated their age with charm, romance, arrogance, and military genius. But Penman took much longer to tell her tale (in multiple books, no less), and as a result Henry's world comes alive, while Bordihn's story falls sort of flat.

And Bordihn comes nowhere close to the magnificent recreation of the Roman world from Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series.

In general, the chapters are too darn short. Several chapters feel as if they are thrown in just to show a specific event occurring, and then we quickly move on to other events. There are several chapters where a character is put "on stage" merely to learn X, and then we get reaction Y, and then we move on. In so doing, Bordihn does not give the reader a chance to linger with these characters (other than Frederick and Bishop Berard, who are in the majority of the scenes).

For example, Frederick's eldest son and heir Henry, fails to register because he's offstage for 99% of the novel. This, despite the fact that he leads a rebellion against his father! An entire book could have focused on this tortured relationship, and yet Henry is little more than a cipher.

While Bordihn does spend quite a bit of time in Frederick's bedroom, to pretty good effect, the battlefield really gets short shrift here. Most battles occupy less than a page. After reading Stephen Pressfield, Bernard Cornwell, McCullough, and other masters of the genre of historical fiction, Bordihn's efforts here fall short.

One cannot quibble with Bordihn's research -- this book should qualify for several bonus points toward an advanced degree of some sort. Unfortunately, the story Ms. Brodihn tells based on all that research is too pedestrian and hurried to match her subject.

Still, I'm much more interested in this time period than I was before reading this book, and for that I thank Ms. Bordihn profusely.

"The Falcon of Palermo" is a gripping historical novel.

Its author, Maria R. Bordihn, introduced me to one of the most colourful and dazzling personalities in history: Frederic II of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily and Germany, Roman Emperor and King of Jerusalem.
I felt physically moved into the 13th century, where I took part in Frederic's life. I followed him in his search for the truth and came to admire him for his exceptional tolerance for other cultures and religions.

Bordihn tells the story of his life, his struggle with the papacy and the crusades, his search for power, for freedom for his people and last, but not least, the story of his great passion for Bianca Lancia.

Bordihn's historical facts are accurate. Her Frederic is vividly human and all the main characters she convincingly introduces really existed.

This is a very well written book you will be unable to put down. You will solely regret the fact that there is no sequel to it.

This is the exceptionally historically accurate account of the life of Fredrick II Holy Roman Emperor and king of Sicily. A captivating and interesting man to say the least, he grew up wandering the streets of Palermo from a young age after the death of his parents, during which he developed an understanding of Muslim ways and life. The man kept a harem, a zoo, spoke 6 languages like a native, and while on crusade, obtained control of Jerusalem without spilling a drop of blood..Christian or Muslim. He did so, while under papal excommunication! The first half of his life is dominated by his struggles with the papacy, Gregory IX, and by trying to unite the kingdoms of Sicily and Germany.
This is what a historical novel should be, historically informative and accurate, where the storyteller fills in the gaps in history and creates a story that gives a glimpse into the possible motivations of the various personalities involved. The author clearly has a love and fascination for Fredrick, who could not be fascinated by the man, and has created a captivating and engaging novel, well written and addicting.

I absolutely loved this book. It's the first historical fiction I've read about Frederick or the Kingdom of Sicily. It was so hard to put down when the real world called. It reminded me a lot of reading a Sharon Kay Penman novel, and those can rarely be matched. I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates history and a fast-paced story.

The Falcon Of Palermo is an excellent book. It may be fictionalized, and maybe
too short by some opinions, but it's a book you can get through. How many people
could follow a book that might complete his life either with a book twice as thick
or more books. By telling the story as she did, it introduced an Emperor and
the battles he fought, both on the field and with the church that tells the tale
of a great and powerful man that I know that I had not heard of that much. In
that it was enlightening, yet kept interesting enough to make you not want to put
it down.

To me it's a great introduction to a great man. If it inspires more interest, then
digging into longer tomes and history books, which tend to be much drier, would
be warrented, but it's a good way to be introduced to someone who made a huge mark
on the culture of Europe.

Outstanding fiction interpretation of one of the most interesting absolute monarchs in history. Wish there were more battle depictions.

Interested in medieval Sicily, I found this book a wonderful read. I was impressed with the historical accuracy and how Ms. Brodihn made the characters come alive. I loved the historical asides--for those of us who could use some help in this department. In other words, the author never left anyone behind. I also loved the writing style and the rhetorical techniques she used to move the story at a brisk pace. I now have a renewed interest in Fredrick II. I hope this author will do something with the Sicilian Vespers, another very tellable story.

The book has been well fairly researched in terms of historical accuracy and the author is someone who has by her own admission followed the life and times of King Frederick intensively.However the narrative is somewhat disrupted in places by small history lessons that tend to bring the reader out of the world of the characters and back into the classroom a little too much.There are some great storylines and one or two fairly well developed characters, all in all a fairly good read.I appreciate the difficulty in covering a persons whole life in one book while keeping the suspense going.

This novel of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick is a vivid, rich, multi-threaded narrative by a real master of the genre. It's a panoramic view of medieval rulers, politics, religion, alliances, manipulations, lovers -- a thick tapestry giving both the grand scale and the interrelated details. Frederick's skilled efforts at integrating the disparate Sicilian and German cultures, the diplomatic feats arising from his own cosmopolitan viewpoint, and his penetrating concentration on bettering the empire and its people are astonishing. The book does justice to a complex man of enormous ambition and his shifting and wide-ranging world. It's a huge achievement, but more than that it is a fascinating, vastly entertaining read! More, Ms. Bordhin, more!

An accurate and wonderful read! I harldy could put this down. Bordihn is full of description and one becomes drawn into it almost feeling as if one is there. I look forward to more books by Bordihn! A superb novel!