by
Rebecca Lochlann
438
pages, Erinyes Press
Review
by Melissa Conway
Falcon Blue is book six in
author Rebecca Lochlann’s eight-book mythic historical fantasy series Child of the Erinyes. This is the epic story
of Athene’s Wanderers reborn into the Early Middle Ages following their first incarnation
in the Bronze Age.
Eamhair
is the only daughter of Bericus, brutal chieftain of the fortress of Dunaedan,
perched high on the wind-swept northwestern cliffs of Gaelic Scotland. Promised
to the king when she was an infant, her reputation among men has been
deliberately cultured by her father as that of a “goddess among women.” Despite
this deception, her true status is that of a lowly servant, with no more value
to her father than that of a bartering tool. To countermand her bleak existence
and even bleaker future, Eamhair clings to the fanciful tales of magic her
mother regaled her with as a child – that the Seolh-king would someday come to
take her away to his kingdom in the sea. She attributes her mother’s influence
to her occasional glimpses behind the veil of an incorporeal place, completely
unaware that she was once Aridela, Queen of Crete.
When Cailean, a mysterious blue-eyed warrior
from a foreign land arrives at the fortress atop his imposing stallion Bharosa
and accompanied by his wolf Vita, Eamhair is immediately struck by an
intangible sensation of familiarity. Cailean himself is inexplicably enchanted
by the untouchable daughter of his new lord. Like her, he has no recollection
of his prior life as Menoetius.
At the same time, unbeknownst to either of them,
a monk named Taranis has also found his way to Dunaedan. He’s been skulking in
the hidden passages of the fortress, stalking Eamhair. Of the three, he’s the
only one whose memories of his life as Chrysaleon of Mycenae are intact, but
this impossible knowledge drives him to the brink of insanity. He cannot resist
his undying obsession with Aridela – born in this time as Eamhair.
As each of them struggle to reconcile these
otherworldly notions, Harpalycus is drawn to Dunaedan and Eamhair as surely as
Cailean and Taranis were. After centuries jumping from body to body in an orgy
of malevolent indulgence, he is now masquerading as Fathna, powerful brother to
the king, and is determined to seize the opportunity to even the score with the
hapless trio.
In true Rebecca Lochlann feminist fashion, Falcon Blue immerses the reader in an entangled
saga of magic, eternal life, and divine prophecy, while shining harsh light on male
dominance throughout history. As always, her novels are highly recommended by
this reviewer.
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