Grey Falcon's Fall by Ed Collingwood

7/10

Review by Mike Cannon

Grey Falcon’s Fall is a sweeping, epic hero fantasy; a high concept romp through a quasi-roman setting filled with vividly imagined sex and violence reaching the levels typical of graphic novels.

Right from the beginning readers are given the details of the direction the story will take. The novel opens with a graphic scene with the hero, Croaker, and his allies fighting near overwhelming odds to stop a corrupt general and a power-hungry head sorceress with all the resources their ranks provide, as they seek to finish the rite that will unleash an evil god and elevate themselves as deities. With this stage set, flash back to the protagonist’s childhood and the story will unfold as to how the ending is inevitably met.

The world the author creates may not hold many surprises for those versed in Greco-Roman history. The city of “Trove” is perhaps darker than its real-world counterpart, the fantasy conversion completed by sorceresses with witch-fire at their fingertips. Trove and its legions are heavily inspired by history, however it is done in an interesting “what if...” way that will appeal to those interested in historical fiction.

Grey Falcon’s Fall was perhaps not the type of book I would ordinarily read. It ticked all the right boxes; epic hero fantasy where the fate of the known world is in question, falling largely on the shoulders of a protagonist not unlike a young Maximus Decimus Meridius. It had an interesting setting and characters that fitted the high fantasy mould while still having compelling desires and emotions to set them apart.

Where Grey Falcon’s Fall fell short of my hopes was perhaps a matter of personal taste. The author’s work puts me in mind of Andy Remic in that the actions of the characters, particularly the violence, are extreme and exaggerated to the point of being cartoonish. But while Remic is popular for creating unique and original worlds, the setting in Grey Falcon’s Fall draws too heavily from history to go beyond interesting.

Another downside for me was the style of language. This area is a particularly touchy one as each writer has their own unique voice to suit their writing, and the tastes of readers vary just as widely. For me I found that the exposition was, for the greater part, well handled and did not detract from the flow of the story. Often times however small details of exposition were frequently repeated, a factor that did interrupt my enjoyment of the story. Add to that sentences that felt “over-wrought” – with actions whipping past my eyes like the cars of a train, hitched together by commas. Again, this is a matter of personal taste.

I can earnestly recommend Grey Falcon’s Fall for both readers that have an interest in classical history and those tired of the medieval period popularised by the vast majority of fantasy. They will enjoy this story, especially if they love vivid action and violence. As for the narrative style, readers can get a good sense what to expect from the opening chapter, which I hope they will read before deciding.

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For more information on Grey Falcon's Fall and its author Ed Collingwood, please visit http://www.greyfalconsfall.com/. You can also read the complete first chapter there.

At the time this review was written, Grey Falcon's Fall was available within Amazon's Kindle Store for only 77p.