≡ Download The Falconer Elizabeth May 9780575130401 Books

The Falconer Elizabeth May 9780575130401 Books

Download As PDF : The Falconer Elizabeth May 9780575130401 Books

The Falconer Elizabeth May 9780575130401 Books

I see that there are a lot of conflicting reviews on this book, but I do think that they are mostly related to the ending. So first things first, if you haven't read this and hate cliffhanger endings, prepare to buy the next book(s) because this is one of the cliffiest hanging books ever! In spite of that, and in spite of the fact that I totally hate cliffhanger endings, I absolutely loved this book. It engaged me right from the peek inside, through the beginning and all the way to the end... which of course will take me into the next books. I thought that the characters were very realistic and well developed. Yes, the heroine is not the typical one. She is angrier than some, deadlier than most. She not only has to kill (done a lot) she enjoys it (much less done). She revels in it. Thrives in it. This lust to kill is a new aspect for a heroine - at least for me. Ms. May does this so well that you have both sympathy and respect for the heroine at the same time. It's masterfully done, and wonderfully written.

As even those who hated the ending have noted, the romantic tension is super-potent! I'm not a fan of mushy romance. I like romance that is more subtle, or more involved... basically more realistic. Not easy. And this romance is anything but easy. It's virtually impossible. And conflict? Really? I don't think I've read a book with MORE conflict. This one has the fast pace, the amazing fight scenes, the thrilling nail-biting moments, and add a healthy dose of invention, engineering and science. Not only does the book have steampunk qualities, it delves into why. Into how the creating of a steam engine relates to the ability to fight the evil fae creatures. Pure genius. And I'm not generally even a steampunk fan. I may be now.

This alternate-history, fantasy-reality blend is enchanting. It looks at the world and roles of women in historic Scotland and England, and turns it on its ear. This is like a new age suffragette coming-of-age blended with the best that fantasy has to offer.

Now a note to Mom's, this does have its share of violence and gore, although it's not so gruesome that I would call it gratuitous violence. I truly dislike books that are violent purely for the sake of violence, but this is not that. I would say it's more PG-13. The idea that a girl had something violent happen so young is a difficult topic, but May uses this to show how difficult grief and relationships can be.

I truly can't say enough good things about it. I'm eager to read everything else May has written.


Tags : The Falconer [Elizabeth May] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers.,Elizabeth May,The Falconer,Gollancz,0575130407

The Falconer Elizabeth May 9780575130401 Books Reviews

I've heard wonderful things about The Falconer so I went in with fairly high expectations and that led to a bit of disappointment. Set in an alternate history filled with intriguing inventions and a new spin on the Seelie, Unseelie, and Solitary Fae, I thought that this just had to be the book for me.

Not quite.

Aileana never struck me as anything special. I liked that she invented her own weapons and other useful devices, though it always seems to come in as a side comment, something she just does (I wanted to know more about the inventions!) but otherwise she's a Faery hunter. A chosen one, the last of her "kind." And so she spends the book preparing to face the big bad and save the world. Woo... haven't seen that one before...

Honestly, I wanted Kiaran's story. He was mysterious enough to make me curious with this layer of humanity he tried to hide behind his Fae nature. His history starts revealing itself closer to the end but he (and Derrick, the pixie) held my attention over Aileana.

Then there was this romance-thing. It started out looking like there would be a love triangle between Aileana, Kiaran, and Gavin (her best friend's brother). Thankfully that wasn't the case but the way it's written that isn't really confirmed until later. But the romance that was there kind of caught me off guard in the "oh this is actually going to be a thing now" way. I was shipping them, don't get me wrong, but it was almost a zero to sixty scenario, with the world ending and whatnot, so it didn't feel real, if that makes sense.

Despite following the Chosen One trope and introducing what could have been a love triangle (the fact that it wasn't is a redeeming point but the lead-up to that particular reveal was annoying), I loved the way The Falconer took the Fae and twisted the legends into something new. I love all things faerie, especially the stories of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, which are mentioned here so hoping to see more of them. Combined with the Scotland setting and the alternate history, I think the backdrop for this story was my favorite part.

As for the story, I liked the beginning because it did catch my attention. Then the story slowed down and nothing really happened. I mean, Faeries attacked but it was kind of the same thing over and over while the doomsday clock kept ticking and Aileana didn't move to stop it until the last minute. Then the end was one big action scene ending in a massive cliffhanger that I would assume was intended to make you NEED the next book, but I didn't feel that.

Honestly, I reached the end at felt a mild interest in the sequel but nothing stronger than that.

The Falconer had the potential but never quite reached it for me. Here's hoping The Vanishing Throne does a better job of holding my attention. This one was just an average fantasy.
It was a bit of a chore to get through the first few chapters simply because Kam (calling her Kam because I'm reviewing on mobile and can't remember how to spell her first name) kept moaning on and on about her dead mother and just how darn murderous and eeeevil she is now that she kills faeries. But things eventually pick up and I rather like the concept of a Victorian Buffy.

The world was fun if a bit undeveloped. The steampunk elements seemed like an afterthought, just thrown in to make everything Kam does seem cooler.

The story itself was pretty good. But once again a lot of things seemed to happen just for dramatic effect. For instance (minor spoiler) I can't see the point of Kiaran refusing to tell her about the seal opening on the lunar eclipse until there's less than a week left until said disastrous eclipse, even though she's apparently the only person who can prevent it. So that little mystery plot bunny just did not make sense at all.

Also my suspension of disbelief couldn't really handle the final battle. (Again minor spoiler) So there's hundreds of evil faeries who just escaped the seal and there's only Kiaran and Kam there to fight them. How exactly does that battle go? Do the other faeries politely wait their turn to fight? Do they just run away? What stops them from piling on Kam to prevent her from getting to the seal at all?

So overall this is a fun light read, but it just made me roll my eyes one too many times.
I see that there are a lot of conflicting reviews on this book, but I do think that they are mostly related to the ending. So first things first, if you haven't read this and hate cliffhanger endings, prepare to buy the next book(s) because this is one of the cliffiest hanging books ever! In spite of that, and in spite of the fact that I totally hate cliffhanger endings, I absolutely loved this book. It engaged me right from the peek inside, through the beginning and all the way to the end... which of course will take me into the next books. I thought that the characters were very realistic and well developed. Yes, the heroine is not the typical one. She is angrier than some, deadlier than most. She not only has to kill (done a lot) she enjoys it (much less done). She revels in it. Thrives in it. This lust to kill is a new aspect for a heroine - at least for me. Ms. May does this so well that you have both sympathy and respect for the heroine at the same time. It's masterfully done, and wonderfully written.

As even those who hated the ending have noted, the romantic tension is super-potent! I'm not a fan of mushy romance. I like romance that is more subtle, or more involved... basically more realistic. Not easy. And this romance is anything but easy. It's virtually impossible. And conflict? Really? I don't think I've read a book with MORE conflict. This one has the fast pace, the amazing fight scenes, the thrilling nail-biting moments, and add a healthy dose of invention, engineering and science. Not only does the book have steampunk qualities, it delves into why. Into how the creating of a steam engine relates to the ability to fight the evil fae creatures. Pure genius. And I'm not generally even a steampunk fan. I may be now.

This alternate-history, fantasy-reality blend is enchanting. It looks at the world and roles of women in historic Scotland and England, and turns it on its ear. This is like a new age suffragette coming-of-age blended with the best that fantasy has to offer.

Now a note to Mom's, this does have its share of violence and gore, although it's not so gruesome that I would call it gratuitous violence. I truly dislike books that are violent purely for the sake of violence, but this is not that. I would say it's more PG-13. The idea that a girl had something violent happen so young is a difficult topic, but May uses this to show how difficult grief and relationships can be.

I truly can't say enough good things about it. I'm eager to read everything else May has written.