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Adventure set in Ancient China at the time of the Kublai Khan.
Haoyou's widowed mother is being forced to marry the repulsive Di Chou. Then Haoyou has a plan to at least postpone the wedding. He will get rid of Di Chou for a while. On the eve oif the wedding he persuades the captain of a ship to take Di Chou aboard for the voyage. Di Chou is drunk and Haoyou volunteers him to be the wind-tester. But captain says that Di Chou is too big and the wind is not right. So Haoyou volunteers to test the wind himself.
Testing the wind is a ritual carried out every time a ship sails. A giant kite -- it is actually a hatch cover woven out of palm leaves -- will be manipulated by a ground-team who will send it into the air. If it rises straight up the voyage will prosper, but if it flies out at an angle -- or crashes -- there will be problems such as storms, becalming, pirates or shipwreck.
But that is not all. A man is strapped to the kite. Usually a man who is either drunk or stupid. But Haoyou is so desperate to save his mother that, despite the danger, he is only too happy to volunteer himself. He is a kite-maker and he knows how to twist his body and make the best use of the wind. The kite makes a perfect flight and when the ship sails she carries Di Chou with her.
But there is another result for Haoyou. His flight has been witnessed by the circus master Jade. Jade goes to the head of Haoyou's family, and asks for Haoyou to be apprenticed to him. So Haoyou joins the circus as a kite-flyer.
So begins a new life for Haoyou as he travels with Jade's circus. Kite-flying is dangerous at the best of times, but it is even more so when Haoyou has to fly before the dreaded Kublai Khan himself. To add to his problems his greedy Great-Uncle Bo follows him and, as head of the family, demands all Haoyou's earnings as a right.
Eventually, while flying for the forces of the Kublai Khan, Haoyou crash lands in the middle of a swollen river. By this time Di Chou should be returning from his enforced voyage and Haoyou is anxious to get back to his mother to protect her.
What happens when Haoyou gets back to his home? Does he manage to save his mother? And what happens to the grasping Great-Uncle Bo? And Jade and the other members of the circus?
As well as the kite-flying this book gives an interesting picture
of Ancient China. The cruelty of the time is clearly shown --
both that of the Kublai Khan and also of the Chinese where a woman
could be strangled for disobeying -- or for even just speaking
disrespectfully to -- the head of the family.
But I cannot comment on the authenticity of the background because I do not know anything about Ancient China.
An unusual story which holds the interest.
Teenage
Set in Ancient China, this is an adventure story with a touch of fantasy.
While looking after the goats in the hills, the crippled Ping He makes friends with a falcon. He calls her Chaka - after the sound which she makes. He does not have to train her. He just tells her what he wants her to do and she does it. Because of his wonderful falcon the despised Ping He gets a chance to show what he can do for his country. The Great Wall is under attack from the Barbarians. The Chinese send messenger pigeons for reinforcements but these pigeons are killed by the hawks of the Barbarians. Chaka kills the Barbarians' hawks.
This is only the beginning. Chaka continues to amaze all who know her. While crossing the desert Ping He and the Major run out of water. Ping He sends Chaka to the water hole with a water flask. Later Chaka kills the fighting falcon of the Prince Asirius and thereby saves the valuable secret of the silk process. Then, when Ping He is kidnapped and left to die in the desert Chaka fights off the waiting vultures and then leads rescuers to him.
The story of Ping He and Chaka is played out against the backdrop of Ancient China:- the mud huts of the peasants, the city of Changdu, the Great Wall, the desert, the Emperor's falcons, political intrigue and the secrets of the silk process.
A gripping adventure story for ages nine to twelve.
The Falcon's Quest won the Kathleen Fidler Award.
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