The Wings of a Falcon [Library Binding]

Cynthia Voigt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999 | ISBN-10: 0785764089 | ISBN-13: 978-0785764083

With only a falcon-engraved gemstone as a guide, young Oriel escapes from his island prison and traverses the world in search of the Kingdom that is his destiny, learning lessons about love, politics, and survival, in this fantasy adventure.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Newbery Medalist Voigt just gets better and better. While her remarkable range extends from romantic comedy (the adult novel The Glass Mountain ) to urban tragedy ( Orfe ), she returns in this work to the fantasy sequence begun in Jackaroo and On Fortune's Wheel , spinning an episodic tale certain to entrance readers. Two boys become friends as they are raised under the complexly evil Damall's regime on an isolated island in a legendary time; they escape, embarking on a series of adventures that involve armies, fabled marauders known as Wolfers, the beautiful daughter of an earl whose hand can be won only through a death-dealing tournament, a mysteriously engraved gemstone. All the hallmarks of classic fantasy appear, transformed by Voigt's gift for storytelling and the effortless beauty of her prose--and by the superb intelligence she endows upon her characters. Each section of this novel is riveting, mined with powerful surprises. Voigt's themes reverberate beyond the fantasy world; her explorations through imaginary landscapes parallel a psychic journey through questions of identity, ethics, friendship and love. A model for the genre. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

In the mythical land of Jackaroo (1985), another long tale crowded with action and driven by its themes, with well- individualized characters carefully devised to enact them. Slaves Oriel and his loyal friend Griff are reared by the brutal Damall in his island stronghold. Courageous and quick-witted, Oriel survives this vicious society's intricacies of betrayal and trust to be chosen the Damall's heir, a role he evades by fleeing. He and Griff settle near the mainland town of Selby--an oasis in an endless, bloody war of succession--where they persuade the people to give up their divisive allegiances and choose leaders to rule in concert. Then, still in their teens, the two are captured by Wolfers--lawless predators whose cruel abuse they escape to enter the Kingdom to the north, where an earldom is to be won in mortal combat. Oriel's rare gifts bear fruit when he persuades several fine contenders to support one of their number, preventing a wasteful carnage--but the outcome is not so simple. A betrayal transforms the political landscape; and power falls, surprisingly, to a wise and compassionate man who has never imagined himself a leader. Voigt skillfully sustains a heroic tone while challenging heroic models at every turn. In scene after scene, with nobility and charismatic ‚lan, Oriel confronts the terrible choices men demand of each other; but this superhero also has a true sense of justice and strives for a rule of law that is tempered, in the end, with more mercy than he has envisaged. Grand, thought-provoking entertainment. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Bt Bound (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785764089
• ISBN-13: 978-0785764083
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,957,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cynthia Voigt won the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor Award for A Solitary Blue, both part of the beloved Tillerman Cycle. She is also the author of many other celebrated books for middle-grade and teen readers, including Izzy, Willy-Nilly and Jackaroo. She was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1995 for her work in literature, and the Katahdin Award in 2004. She lives in Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, October 6, 2002

By 

Brendan Barnwell (Santa Barbara, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Wings of a Falcon (Point Signature) (Mass Market Paperback)

I must somehow acquire the hardcover edition of this book, because all I have now is the paperback, and I have gripped it so tightly and opened and closed it so many times that I have broken the binding.

The Wings of a Falcon is one of the key books of my life. It takes elements of traditional fantasy -- a journey, friendship forged in adversity, legendary lands -- and weaves them into a character-driven novel that transcends these components so utterly that they disappear seamlessly into the story. The book is, in fact, not fantasy in any definable way -- no fabulous creatures or supernatural forces appear -- but it retains the sense of wonder and exploration that is at the core of what draws readers to the fantastic.

Cynthia Voigt accomplishes this sublime transcendence by keeping the focus on the characters, with the faintly fantastic elements judiciously employed as background and environment. The emphasis here is on human interaction, and Voigt describes that interaction carefully and naturally. The structure of the story is such that the two main characters come into contact with various others under various circumstances and thus assume various roles: slave, stranger, captive, lover, leader. Voigt is able to clothe her characters in many habits without obscuring their fundamental personalities, the foundations which underlie all of the attitudes they assume.

Ultimately, the environments through which the characters travel, and the situations they find themselves in, are not as important in themselves as in how they illuminate the characters. By watching as the two companions move from one place and one set of people to another, we see them from different angles, and in the end we are presented with character portraits breathtaking in their complexity and completeness. (Though it pains me to lend legitimacy to petty complaints by addressing them, I must add that "the plot twist" referred to so derisively by various readers is just such a thing: an event whose causes and effects reveal things about the characters.)

Books as perfect as this are rare. I have read The Wings of a Falcon at least four times -- maybe more -- and each reading has been a fulfilling rediscovery of its delicate power. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Hate This Novel, January 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wings of a Falcon (Point Signature) (Mass Market Paperback)

I give this book 5 stars because it is a compelling, well-written, engrossing novel, not because I like it. For the first 25 chapters I loved this book and its main character, Oriel. I read it voraciously, eager to witness the adventures of this brilliant, indomitable soul and his wise friend and (at times) conscience, Griff. However, after reaching the "plot twist" contained in chapters 26 and 27, I quickly lost all interest in the story. I only continued reading so I could see how the author attempted to redeem this unholy mess. As was perhaps inevitable (given the circumstances), the concluding chapters turned out to be predictable and unsatisfactory. I do not argue with an author's right to defy convention or to shock his or her readers; however, an author's "surprises" ought not to ruin the rhythm of the novel, nor should they seem artificial or forced. Sadly, this particular plot twist was guilty of the above charges. After reaching chapter 27, I could see how the novel must end; I realized how conveniently the preceding chapters had placed each of the characters in preparation for the "unexpected event"; I could divine what touching messages of hope, friendship, etc. the rest of the book had in store for the reader; and I gritted my teeth. I could feel no sympathy nor affinity for characters the author had never bothered to develop -- characters who, in the absence of the one person who had breathed life into this story, now seemed like static, uninteresting puppets whose only purpose was to plod along to the story's unsurprising, yet self-satisfied, conclusion.

But despite all these failings, I am compelled to give this book 5 stars. A character as brilliant and vital as Oriel deserves no less.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indescribable, October 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Wings of a Falcon (Point Signature) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is really indescribable, but I'm going to try anyway. It is moving, touching, heartening, heart-breaking, real, and pretty much everything I could ask for in a book. And thank you on behalf of all the people who haven't read this book yet to the braniac a few reviews down who decides to give away pretty much the most shocking twist in the book (Hint: don't read Emilyjane's review!!! Stay away if you're planning on reading the book!) Also, I have to disagree with the person who says that reading the other two books in the series, Jackaroo and On Fortune's Wheel, doesn't make reading this one more fun. The three books are VERY loosely connected, and she's right that the book is great on its own, but when you've read the other two books, it creates an entire world and you really get to know it well. It makes it all the more real. You can't just dismiss is a "just a book" when you've been completely wrapped up in Cynthia Voigt's universe for three whole books. Also, if you read carefully, you can pick up subtle refererences to the other books that you will really love. It's kind of exhilerating to recognize an allusion to a character you absolutely loved and thought you would never see again (eg: Orien). I can't reccomend this book enough. Reading it is an adventure. I promise.