Gerfalcon by Leslie Barringer
Raoul will one day be baron of peaceful marshy Marckmont, but until his eighteenth birthday, he’s under the protection of his Uncle Armand, Count of the bleak and windy crags of Ger. Armand has no love for the slight and introspective Raoul, and can’t understand why his nephew would rather play chess and write songs than hunt animals. Raoul, a romantic, likes to think about beautiful things, but at Ger, “you must be smothered in blood before they think you are a man”… Leslie Barringer’s Gerfalcon is a beautifully written and exciting coming-of-age epic with a loveable introspective hero who learns that peace has a price and that his own heart’s desires are not to be trusted. The prose, though slightly archaic, is easily read and the story is full of incisive insights into (and sometimes gentle mocking of) human behavior. Gefalcon would be a great read for a mature teenager, if you can find it (Barringer’s fantasies are out of print). Beware of the ebook version which I read (Renaissance E Books) — it’s full of typos. Read the rest.
