Falcondance by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Paperback, 208 pages
2007, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0440238854
Series: Book 3 in the Kiesha'ra series
Synopsis
Nicias has never felt completely at home among the avians and serpiente in Wyvern’s Court, despite his loyalty to Oliza Shardae Cobriana, the heir to both thrones. He is a falcon, the son of two exiles from Anhmik–and images of this distant island have always haunted his dreams. But when Nicias’s visions become more like reality, his parents have no choice but to send him back to the homeland–and a royal falcon–they’ve tried their best to forget.
If Araceli won’t bind Nicias’s newfound magic, it could destroy him. In a place where everyone is a pawn, only one other woman has the potential to save Nicias. But she holds the keys to a dangerous power struggle that will force Nicias to choose between his duty–and his destiny.
Review
Falcondance is the third book in the Keisha'ra series. The entire series is an elaborate re-imagining of were-animal myths. After focusing on the Hawks and the Snakes, this book focuses on Nicias, a Falcon who is coming into his power untrained, which makes him dangerous.
Falcondance consists largely of world building. While taking into account the short length of the book (barely over 200 pages) and the fact that this is the third in the series, the amount of time spent learning about rules and places seems extreme. This seems to be on par with the rest of the series though. Each books looks at a different race of the same mythological world meaning that each book needs to set up the basics for those races. While this is the norm for the series, it makes for little in the way of depth of plot or intense action.
With each book, I keep waiting for the series to culminate into something more. The information learned in each book is relevant to the next, but not in any important way. These books are mildly interesting in their take on were-animals, but unless something major in later books brings everything together, I don't really see the point.
Rating
Sounds interesting and fun, but like a series to start only if there is really nothing else to read.
ReplyDeleteThis was probably my least favorite in this series. I just don't think she could ever beat Hawksong and Snakecharm. I mean Wyvernhail was good, but it felt so scattered that it was sometimes hard to follow.
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