THE FALCONS OF MONTABARD

Author: Elizabeth Chadwick ISBN:0312332084 8/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Time Period: 12th Century Medieval

Barfleur, 1120. Sabin FitzSimon, bastard son of an earl, has acquired a reputation for wildness and trouble only matched by his abilities as a warrior. But when he is caught seducing the King's favorite mistress, not even his fighting skills can save him. Beaten by the King's soldieries and left behind in the Norman port, it seems that his notoriety has finally gotten the better of him. Upon his eventual return to England, Sabin is given the opportunity to rebuild his career and salvage his reputation: The knight Edmund Strongfist is leaving for the Holy Land to offer his sword and services to the King of Jerusalem, and he wants Sabin to join him. Accompanying Strongfist is his young, beautiful, convent-educated daughter Annais. Sabin, he warns, is to keep away from her. Being grateful for the chance that Strongfist has given him, Sabin does so, but not without a feeling of regret as he observes her spirit and courage, and enjoys her beautiful harp playing. The Holy Land brings its own shares of trials for Sabin. If he succeeds in keeping his distance from Annais, he has less success with Strongfist's new wife, and the consequences prove to be painful. The land is suffering from constant warfare and following the capture of the King, Sabin is forced to take command of the fortress of Montabard and marry its recently widowed chatelaine. Now there is all to play for...and all to lose.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

There are storytellers…and then there are storytellers. The latter is exactly what you get with Elizabeth Chadwick: A superb author who breathes life and blood into another time and place, bringing alive its history and people with a vivid and sometimes startling reality.

One of the things I love most about Ms. Chadwick's writing in THE FALCONS OF MONTABARD is her ability to interweave the historical facts and details into the lives and actions of her characters. Rather than ramble on for a paragraph or two with definitions of historical events or detailed tidbits of everyday life, she has her characters actually experience them. They live their medieval lives as they really would have lived them, negating the need for narration to convey the reality of their everyday toils and strife. I loved this book, became engrossed in it, and was able to do one of my most favorite things when I read. I learned.

Kudos, too, for not taking me down what I thought would be a familiar road in the relationship between the two lead characters, Sabin and Annais. I was pleasantly surprised that their paths turned away from each other for a bit, but always kept an invisible link and bond between them. It allowed them both to grow and mature, and to experience different facets of their lives before coming to what I knew would be the inevitable conclusion.

This tale has everything you could possibly look for in a medieval period historical fiction/romance: Plenty of action (at times, very graphic); a strong and engrossing storyline; well written, fleshed-out first and secondary characters from all walks of life, backgrounds and cultures; plenty of medieval atmosphere, tons of graphically descriptive historical detail, and a satisfying love story that is deftly threaded throughout.

THE FALCONS OF MONTABARD is a Top Award winner in my book, sure to please fans of both historical fiction and romance alike. I highly, highly recommend it.

Nancy