Review: An Exciting New Fantasy Series!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 5, 2014
Hawk does not know who he is, not who his mother is, nor his father. But we do, and it is Hawk's quest to find out. This 32 page novella, first in The Name of the Hawk series sets the scene of a bygone era, the famed and fabled era of the Knights of the Round Table and that of King Arthur. Our story is told by Morah with an ominous account,"You have not heard it before. I don't care how old you are or where you are from. You have been told there is nothing new under the sun, but this story is.It changed your life. It changed everyone's life, living and dead. It turned our world into another kind of world. But no one knows. They do not know.Before I die you will have it all in your breath and blood and then you can do with it what you will. Only you cannot go back and change it. No one can. It began and it ended and it continues."So Pura has the reader embarking on this journey with questions already raised, Does Hawk find his mother? What of his brother Sir Galahad and his father Sir Lancelot?As a baby, this brother of Sir Galahad, is whisked away to the holy Isle of Skyrl, and grows up in a monastery, learning the Holy Book and the holy tongues of Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Latin, and Gaelic. On his 18th birthday he takes his vows, one to Jesus Christ, one to his people of Skyrl, and the third, the vow of a Nazarene:"His hair would be cut one last time and then never cut again for five years. He could not drink wine at Communion. Could not drink ane beverage with alcohol in it. Could not touch vinegar to his lips. Could not take anything made from grapes, not juice, not raisins, not the grapes themselves. Could not touch a corpse or enter a graveyard. In addition, there would be a holy task he would have to perform that would take him far from the Holy Isle. Once it was accomplished, once the five years had ended, he would be permitted to return."He does not know his real name, but only the name that Hamish gives him: Hawk.Upon taking his vows, King Cochilaicus, the King of the Danes, strikes an agreement with Hamish, Hawk's monkish mentor, to sail with him to the far seas, on a journey of exploration and adventure. Cochilaicus needs the sharpness of Hawk's eyesight and the penmanship of Skaytha, to record their journey. ​Against this backdrop does Pura set the stage for this medieval tale that spans the entire known world of the time, and is filled with spiritual warfare, mystery and suspense.At the end of this novella, we are exposed to the evil force of Legion who want Hawk dead at all costs.Pura has successfully set this stage where the reader is catapulted back into the time date of May 1, 517 AD. His style of writing is what captivates the reader into this time frame and you feel as if you are there. It does remind me of the medieval seafaring movies and this novella does read like a movie. I like the beginnings of a budding relationship between Hawk and Skaytha and you can tell that the following novellas are going to test their resolve towards each other, their faith in the One True God and their physical endurance.I look forward to the next instalment immensely.Highly Recommended.