Falconer and the Face of God [Mass Market Paperback]

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press (1996)
• ASIN: B001E2YBGW
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quick and pleasant read..., November 25, 2000

By 

Dianne Foster "Di" (USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Falconer And The Face Of God (Mass Market Paperback)

THE FALCONER AND THE FACE OF GOD is a quick read, and a good paperback to carry in a suitcase for reading while you wait -- if your eyes can take the teeney type. I'm pretty nearsighted so I had no problem reading the text, but it might be difficult to see without an itty-bitty book light. Undoubtedly, the hardcover has larger type but it will weigh more, and this is the kind of book I like to take along on a trip and toss out after I read it.

Ian Morson is in the process claiming a "series space" between Cadfael (Ellis Peters, mid-1100's, Shrewsbury) and Archer (Candace Robb, mid-1300's, York). His writing is adequate. His plot is reasonable and his character development sparse. His attention to detail is ample given the brevity of this text.

Morson's protagonist is Falconer is a regent at Oxford in the mid-1200s, during the latter days of the incredibly long reign of Henry III, the great-grandson of Matilda and father of Edward the hammer who conquered Scotland. The Falconer solves crimes in the little city of Oxford. He has been described as a Middle-Ages Morse on the book jacket but he's not that good--yet.

In FALCONER AND THE FACE OF GOD, a troupe of jongleurs not unlike the crew that stages the play in Hamlet arrives in Oxford in time to present a Christmas play covering everything from Creation to the death of Christ. Given the leading actor, a golden-haired fellow named de Askeles, is a despicable if semi-educated cur, fatal things are bound to happen and they do. Before long, the Falconer finds himself involved with two mysterious deaths which he solves just in time for the New Year.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read, but a weak ending, February 19, 2006

By 

Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Falconer And The Face Of God (Mass Market Paperback)

Beware blurb! The back cover of this novel makes much of the fact that the story involves a morality play. It doesn't. It involves a mystery play. There is a difference. More seriously, this blurb reveals an early plot twist. (Amazon, not to be outdone, do us the same favor in their editorial). Why not summarize the whole plot and save us the trouble of reading the story? Please, publishers, have a little consideration for the reader.

This is the third William Falconer mystery, set in 13th century Oxford. Morson writes well, with an occasional literary flourish. But he does skip around a good deal, from one scene to another, within a chapter. This is an irritating habit, typical of current authors, and I suppose it results from the influence of film and television. Everyone writing a novel these days seems to have one eye on a movie adaptation. A screenplay is written as a series of 2-minute scenes and now novels are, too.

The story, based around a troupe of actors coming to Oxford to perform a mystery play, is very compelling, and I was carried along with it. I would have stretched to 4 stars if the ending had not been something of a letdown. I will say no more about that, being more considerate than certain blurb writers.

If you are a fan of medieval mysteries, you should try Falkoner. You are better reading them in order, starting with Falconer's Crusade, because suspects in earlier instalments turn up again later in the series. So if you met someone in the third book, you would know he was not the murderer in the first. (See how easy it is to be considerate to readers?)