Fantasy and Horror
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Leaf bound by Intrif II, a maddened delinquent obsessed with the early Hedonistic Historians, the ancient poem ‘Eyes of a Hawk’ follows the demise of the woeforging, lifedraining, soulsearing Valestian Primacy at the sword-bitten hands of Ilyia, Hawk, and their amassed force.
In the final battle abreast the snow laden fields of the Untyal Valley, under the watchful eye of the eternal green emerald-dragon Yggdrasil, the blinding judgment of an eternity is unleashed. Their arduous journey through smouldering conflict simmers over a century, taking Hawk from the petty and poverty-stricken colonial hinterlands of Askilt, along the vivid and blossoming village steeped forests and bird stoked steppe lands of the Shorelands, through to the plague-ridden and flame-stained city of Yeli, before its tragic fall and violent purge.
Fighting monsters and giants, demons and despots, aberrations, cultists, soldiers, and tyrants, Hawk in his duties as a member of the Guild is forced to confront the chaos of crises in command. From blackouts to plague-pox, ambushed by assassins, beasts, and climatic tavern fights, the catastrophic fall of the Valestian Primacy is the slow death of an empire founded upon violence and subjugation, sealed, and incinerated, as all are, by a divine, celestial force.
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Sean Crowe throws down a literary gauntlet, challenging the reader to work through the complex premise of a translation of an epic poem by an ancient history society...trying times produce trying texts... It quickly moves into the hero Hawk's recollections of previous adventures the night before a decisive battle. Each chapter follows a distinctive format, painting extraordinary civilisations with troubles for Hawk to resolve one way or another. Hawk's character appeals through his humour and indifference to his strength and employment. His ironic social and environmental commentary has many modern parallels. I loved the references to the data gathered by the archaeologists and historians working on the translation including the review mid point through the book. It's a multi layered book and hopefully one of the many characters encountered will be explored in future. A dictionary of all the people and places would be brilliant, perhaps the Yeli Archaeological Society have already prepared one.
Eyes of a Hawk tells the mythical history of Hawk, the legendary hero. Not the whole story, obviously, just some of the best bits as he travels the world being righteous and kicking backside. There's deep lore, dragons, curses, a plague (not a commentary on Covid, if you read it as that, its on you), a witch, more alliteration than you're used to, and a hot warrior chief. If you like beautifully written high fantasy with world building stretching back before time had any meaning, then this is probably for you. There's also a few sneaky references, probably more than I understood, but I caught at least two hitchhiker refs!
