The Falconmaster

Publishers Weekly

England after the Norman Conquest furnishes the setting for La Fevers's children's debut, a somewhat familiar tale pitting the weak but pure of heart against the powerful and cruel. Ten-year-old Wat, blind in one eye and unable to use his left leg, lives in poverty with his mother; he is hated and feared by the other villagers for his deformities. When Wat sees two falcons mistreated by Lord Sherborne and his heartless henchmen, the boy daringly steals the birds and escapes into a bordering forest. Here he meets a grizzled hermit who quietly and mysteriously serves as the forest's guardian-and who just so happens to be Wat's grandfather. Wat's destiny, he learns, is to take over as keeper of the forest. A quick indoctrination in the ways of the woods leads to an inevitable showdown between Wat and the Lord's men. Unfortunately, the story feels thin, running dangerously close to an oversimplified good guys versus bad guys structure; of the cast, only Wat and his grandfather begin to seem developed. The magic system, a hodge-podge of enchanted "sigils," magical waters and a pervasive forest spirit that rules everything, enters the story belatedly and without clear enough explanation, so that when Wat calls upon it during the finale, the fantasy elements seem abrupt and dissonant. Ages 8-11. (Nov.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7-A well-written fantasy set in Norman England. Ten-year-old Wat has a bad leg and is blind in one eye, and because popular superstition associates disabilities with the devil, he is often rejected. While in the forest one day, he witnesses Lord Sherborne's men capturing a pair of baby falcons. They plan to sew the young birds' eyes shut in order to train them. Horrified, he rescues the creatures and carries them back into the wilderness, where he meets an old hermit who has a gift of magic and a deep understanding of nature and its ancient powers. He is also the grandfather the youngster never knew existed. As Wat cares for the falcons, Griswold introduces him to the secrets of the forest and to a magic that allows the boy to cross the boundaries between this world and the spirit world. By story's end, Wat's newfound abilities allow him to save himself from Sherborne's men and to protect the creatures he loves. The author has done a fine job of integrating elements of fantasy into a historical setting. Wat and Griswold are both interesting and appealing characters. Readers will admire the boy's bravery, and many will envy his new life in the forest world.-Jane G. Connor, South Carolina State Library, Columbia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Wooden dialogue, weak storytelling and a slow start consign this promisingly premised fantasy to the status of an also-ran. Blind in one eye and lame since birth, ten-year-old Wat is considered Devil's Spawn by his fellow villagers and fair game for the local bullies. He retains enough spirit, however, to steal a pair of newly captured nestling peregrines from his hated Norman overlord. Running off into the forest, he encounters Griswold, an old man who not only turns out to be his grandfather, but as a guardian of the forest possesses enhanced senses and magical abilities. Uttering many lines like "We walk and dance with nature, staying within the natural order of things to maintain the balance and preserve the patterns of life," he proceeds to bring out those senses in Wat. By the time the falcons have fledged, Wat is able to transform himself into a bird of prey powerful enough to drive the overlord's cruel Forester away. Weak both in atmosphere and in chemistry between the characters, this debut takes a back seat to such similar tales as Jane Yolen's "Young Merlin" trilogy. Sequels may be on the way: don't wait up for them. (Fiction. 10-12)