I loved this book--I couldn't put it down I was so involved with the characters and story. I read so quickly I'm now re-reading to pick up what I missed in the first reading--it's just as good the second time.

"Sparrowhawk" is a thrilling adventure, that reveals the soul of the American Revolution.

Book 1 is the story of a young hero, Jack Frake--pauper and son of a prostitute, nurtured to intellectual manhood on the bleak Cornish coast by noble smugglers, whose daring defiance of the Crown and of arbitrary law makes them both heroes and enigmas to those around them.

In the furtive underworld of British smugglers, a master of disguise and a merchant with a price on his head struggle to understand what makes them different from the people around them--what brought them together in "a covenant of defiance," "to live free, or die." In Jack Frake they see a younger version of themselves--an outcast who takes sides with them because "a man's life is his own." As the plot unfolds, and a vicious bureaucrat closes in on the gang, the tension becomes almost unbearable--until, in a wrenching climax, the boy's heroes pass on to him their legacy--that someday, perhaps in America, he will find the words to justify their rebellion.

"Sparrowhawk" is, as the author says, the story of "what kind of spirit makes possible rebellion against tyranny and corruption."

Also not to be missed: "Sparrowhawk - Book 2: Hugh Kenrick," whose hero, a young British aristocrat, also rebels against the view that his life belongs to others.

And this time next year, look for "Sparrowhawk - Book 3," which shows what happens when Jake Frake and Hugh Kenrick meet in Virginia! (Author Ed Cline has let me read this in manuscript.)

Edward Cline has invented an action hero for todays men of the mind. In this neo-non-spy thriller, the hero, Merrit Fury takes on anti-capitalist evildoers with satisfying adeptness and a moral certainty normally reserved for Ayn Rand heros.

This is truly refreshing work -- I would love to see a sequal to this one. Meanwhile, I just bought Cline's book "Sparrowhawk" from Paper Tiger books and am looking forward to more great writing.

First, I liked Vol I very much. I like Vol II, although it's a lot wordier than it needs to be: sort of like floating down the Rhine on a barge with periodic stops near objects of great interest, at which time something happens to break the progress (think of all the Germans on the barge starting to sing when they approach the Loreli Rock). Still and all, a good read with much detail about the period.

The annoying part has to do with constant references to incorrect detail, speciifcally, the British Peerage and other hereditary and non-hereditary titles. Cline is all over the place, and it's confusing and distracting to an otherwise interesting plot. Cline is obsessed with earls, barons and baronets, and that and other titles are strewn about with abandon, sometimes landing upon one character, sometimes upon another, always at random. There is Hugh's uncle, the Earl of Danvers, Hugh's father, the Baron of Danvers, the evil Marquess of Bilbury (or more precisely, his son, who is frequently referred to as the Marquess as well). Then there is Hugh himself, who is alternatively referred to as Hugh or Mr. Kenrick, a baronet, and a banneret.

Here's how it works:

1) earls outrank barons. Despite what Cline asserts, they always have, and there are fewer of them. Earls were the great magnates from the time of William I; they were the greater barons, if you will. Think of Willian (the) Marshal in Henry III's reign; think of the Percys (Earls of Northumberland); think of Talbot, Earl of Shrewsburg; think of Warwick the "King Maker." Read Shakespeare.

2) Cline makes a big deal about earls being created by Letters Patent, which he implies makes them less than barons. All peers came about in one of three ways: a) in the early feudal period by grants of land which were deemed to constitute an earldom or a barony, b) after the rise of Parliament, by Writs of Summons to Parliament in the particular style of baron or earl, c) Letters Patent - which didn't become much used until the late 14th century, and have pretty much been the only method used since Henry VIII's time.

3) While not impossible, it would be highly unlikely that the brothers Kenrick (Hugh's uncle and his father) could be respectively, an earl and a baron. If they were, Hugh's father would have to have been created such by the king, and he, himself, would have been a peer and a member of the House of Lords, just as his brother is. Otherwise, as the younger son of an earl, Hugh's father's title is 'The Honourable' and nothing more. Also, if the king did give him a title, it wouldn't be Baron of Danvers when there is already an Earl of Danvers. It would be 'Baron Kenrick of X in the County of Y', as only earls and above get to be Earl 'of Danvers' or Marquess (in the 18th century spelled Marquis) 'of Danvers' or Duke 'of Danvers.' He'd also be referreed to as Lord X, not Baron X, unless he were a Baron of the Exchecquer, which is not a peerage title, but an office.

4) Hugh is not anything more than Hugh Kenrick, Esquire, as the son of a baron. He is not "my lord," not a baron himself, not a baronet and not a banneret (which is a kind of superior knight, who for great martial prowess and because he was able to attract a large number of knights to fight with him, had the privilege to having the points of his pennon cut off to form a banner - thus the name. This was not an hereditary title, and , as I recall, not conferred at all after about the late 15th century).

5) The estate of a baron is called a barony, not a baronetcy, which is the estate of a baronet. Moreover, one is not a baronet of a particular place, which is reserved to peers. Baronets came into existence in ca. 1621, when James I needed money to colonize Nova Scotia. He sold them to the gentry, originally without the prefix 'Sir', but later with. When they got their 'Sir' their wives got to be 'Lady' and they sold like hotcakes.

The trouble with period pieces is that have to be accurate, or we nit-picking purists get cranky. If Cline had either not gotten carried away with all of this erroneous information, or done the research better in this one area, people like me wouldn't have become so worked up about it and we could have lost ourselves in an otherwise good story with an engaging writing style.

WPB

Where to begin? First, it's easier to be a critic than a writer (for one thing, you don't have to write as much). Second, I enjoyed the first volume in the series, and this one is pretty well written, too. I like the concept, and the period is likewise interesting.

What is naggingly annoying about a book dealing with (in this case) an upper-class protagonist are the misstatements in the first part of the book regarding the English upper classes and how they got to be that way by the mid-18th century.

First, Cline has this thing about barons, and he consigns earls to a kind of lesser status after the Norman Conquest "because they were created by Letters Patent." Not true. William's principal vassals were earls (a title taken from the Saxons in lieu of count, which was a continental term). To be sure, there were greater and lesser barons (as a generic term), but the earls were always in the former category, and it had nothing to do with Letters Patent: it had to do with land and men. The great magnates were earls. Think of William (the) Marshal during the reign of Henry III in the 12th century, the Percys (Earls of Northumberland), Talbot (Earl of Shrewsbury), and Warwick the "King Maker" during the 15th centure. Indeed, creations by Letters Patent were not used to any degree until the late 14th century under Richard II, and didn't really come into vogue until the Tudors. Most men were called to Parliament under Writs of Summons.

Second, Cline makes a point the the Earl of Danvers' title (by Letters Patent) had a limitation to heirs male as if this were something special. Virtually all such grants were in fee tail male (male primogeniture), although most of the barons by Writ were were in fee tail general (women could inherit if there were no males). Why mention it if you're not going to get it right? Also, he keeps referring to "baronetcys" when he means to say "baronys." Baronets are not barons, they are one step below, being the first level of hereditary title. They are not peers, and didn't exist until the reign of James I (ca. 1620), who needed the money (he sold the titles to the untitled gentry) to colonize Nova Scotia. Originally, they weren't even called "Sir," just baronet. James didn't sell enough of them, so he had to give them a handle to add to their names. Sales surged, especially as their wives got to be called "Lady."

Lastly, while it was not completely uncommon in the higher levels of the peerage for a younger son to get a title of his own, it didn't happen as a matter of course, so Hugh's father would not be a baron (a peer himself) simply because his father (or his brother) was a earl. He'd be an "Honourable," which is the courtesy style accorded to an earl's younger son. As a younger son, and especially if he were a baron (as we are told) he could not engage in "trade" as directly as Cline suggests without losing social status. He could certainly manage the estates (or anything to do with land and like property) and even have private arrangements with smugglers, but dealing with "Cits" (as the London merchant class was known) would have to be far more circumspect.

It wouldn't have taken much more time to consult somebody about these nagging innacuracies,. If you're going to write historical fiction, you'd better get it correct, otherwise people like me will gripe instead of immersing ourselves in the story.

...brillantly plotted with heroic characters and beautifully written.

Jack Frake (book one in the series) and Hugh Kenrick (this book)are true heroes comparable to any in the works of Ayn Rand and Victor Hugo. Hollywood should start producing movies of these books now.

All good writing is timeless and one of the many virtues of this book is that it shows there is very little difference between the power-seekers who controlled the UK then and those in power now-the detail may have changed the principles remain the same. Cline has also shown us the British Aristocracy in its essence for the period rather than in what would have been long uninteresting, unnecessary detail-this being a work of fiction and not a historic treatise.

I have already read both parts twice and am immensely looking forward to book three (due November 2003) and the rest of the series.

What a rare pleasure to read a new novel by an author who shares my values explicitly and consistently. It's been 20 years or more since I have enjoyed a reading experience as much as I enjoyed reading Edward Cline's just-published Sparrowhawk.

The hero of the story, Jack Frake, is introduced as a ten-year-old boy in the process of discovering that his mind can measure all things. His teacher has shown him a map of his homeland, and for the first time he realizes that there is more to the world than the range of his immediate awareness. There is a land called England, great enough to extend far beyond his vision and small enough to fit comfortably within his thoughts. The realization begins Jack's great adventure and ours.

Cline calls the moment when Jack realizes that there is more to the world than what he can see a "charge" that precipitates an event of startling perception in the boy's mind. "...Where before he had been aware only of hills, fields and cliffs...now he held in his mind an abstraction...Beyond that tiny realm lay the thrilling, unexplored empire of the island."

Cline describes this revelation in a manner that leaves no doubt as to its importance and its nature. We are witnessing a watershed event in the life of Jack Frake.

"It is when the fog clears," he writes, "and the moon and stars are brilliant, and the white sails of faraway ships on an invisible horizon are sharp and almost luminescent as they glide past on their grand, unknown errands, that a boy of ten may take stock of himself and of the world he knows. This is a quiet, precious time; he knows that the world is not so much focused on him, as he on it, through a special lens in his inchoate soul. The brevity and suddenness of this moment...signals its own importance, for its incandescent violence must make one passionately certain that one is a worthy crucible."

This is a brilliant and perceptive description of a profound intellectual connection; at once deeply personal and universal. I recall with clarity moments of my own such as this. They are the turning points of my life.

Cline tells Jack's story not as a group of isolated, random events but as a journey illustrating the self-making of a soul. He learns to trust his own judgment, that life is to be enjoyed to the fullest, that enjoyment is a selfish emotion that consists of achieving personal values, and that values are worth fighting for. He learns about the nature of evil and why one must oppose it. He learns these things for himself, with nothing to guide him but his ability to observe, make connections and apply his conclusions to his choices of action.

The writing is intelligent, clear, essentialized, eloquent, frequently poetic and always historically accurate. The characters are consistent, the action rational and often heroic.

This is a book and a series that deserves to be a big success. I highly recommend it.

For those of you who are curious, Ed Cline, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in 1968, has lived his life exactly as his characters -- beholden to no one and a man of self-made character.

I have to admit, having lost track of Ed (for about 24 years), I was reluctant to read the book, for fear of being disappointed. I was not disappointed -- it is a great read, with a promise of more good reading to follow.

30 years ago, Ed had a dream of being a novelist. He stuck to it and he is the genuine hero.

About the book -- the only other novel of worth that I have ever encountered which tried to explain the origin of the American Revolution is a very famous work, "The Young Titan," which is about the French and Indian War.

"Sparrowhawk" starts earlier, in England, and its characters deal with and are subject to a myriad of outrageous laws, customs and practices which estrange ordinary citizens from common sense and from each other.

For those who are familiar with Ayn Rand's work, it should be said that Mr. Cline, is not an appologist for Objectivism, but a worthy successor.

The characters, Skelly, Redmagne and of course, Jack Frake are dashing and memorable -- and I'll leave you to meet them for yourself.

First rate novels of the American Revolution are scarce. Edward Cline, author of First Prize and Whisper the Guns, has written just such a book. More exactly he has wrirren an epic series of five novels. The first Sparrowhawk: Book One-Jack Frake was issued on November 1st. The story chronicles the adventures and intellectual growth of an un-common "commoner" Jack Frake in 18th century Cornwall, England. The theme of the series, which all take place before the revolution, is to quote the author: "that the Revolution occurred in two stages: the war for independence, and the more subtle revolution in men's minds many years before the Declaration of Independence." This battle between the ideas of the Enlightenment and the medieval view of man is movingly dramatized in the virtues of Jack, "Reason, which his young mind was striving to enthrone in all matters that came under his purview..." versus a social system that valued conformity and obedience.

It's also the story of Jack's and his like minded comrade's fight to maintain their interity and independence against the best efforts of all the King's men. Jack Frake's comrades are the Skelly gang, an association of idealistic smugglers who instruct Jack on their profession and the ideas of liberty. This leads to a sub-theme: that societies that enshrine the ideas of the anti-enlightenment, to whatever degree, will inexorably destroy the best the human race has to offer, persecuting the most moral and inovative either with hanging at Falmouth for illegal trading or by anti-trust pogroms for the nation's most successful businesses. On a deeper level there is the cultural stultification of God, King and Country or the dominance of such creatures as Stephan King, emimen and Professor Stanley Fish. For an antidote to the latter Edward Cline presents the country with Sparrowhawk.

Has the same feel and flavor as Ayn Rand's "The Night of January Sixteenth" stageplay. It also share's Rand's philosophical principles -- which is fine with me. Unfortunately, it also shares Rand's humorlessness, and isn't really in the same league, as far as plot goes. Still, it's a decent effort, and it's refreshing to see some unapologetic moral certainty. If you haven't read Rand's books, this review won't mean much to you -- and in that case, I suggest you read some of her novels first (they're all great.) If you like Rand, then come back and look at Mr. Cline's book ... without that introduction, I suspect you'll find his detective's motivations inexplicable.

This is a fantastic story of a private detective who discovers the truth about a case that is anything but cut-and-dry. The protagonist is hired to find out where an author, the winner of an ostensibly prestigious award, has gone.

He meets this challenge, but then decides that the mystery is not quite resolved. By the time he's finished, all the loose ends are tied up, and the thrill of the hunt is with the reader throughout.

Cline can write a great mystery with a character that is driven by shameless pride in his work. It's nice to see such purposeful writing about such purposeful characters!

Edward Cline has set down an easy to read, fast-paced glimpse into the everyday Objectivist's world at a ground-level view. This is not epic fiction where the fate of the world hangs on the choices of the character's decisions, but certainly it is a fine example of how people are the product of their philosophies... or lack thereof. And it's refreshing in that the ability of the main character to solve the mystery he is confronted with depends entirely upon his commitmant to his own values.

I think one of the more enjoyable things about this story is seeing a man of principle confront each step of the mystery with rationality and determination to learn the truth... wherever it may lead.

Kudos Mr. Cline!

This book gives the information it claims to - the only problem is, a good portion of it is out of date. For example, the link for the government assistance catalogue leads you to an area of the Library of Congress website that indicates it's no longer maintained. When you finally find the link for the catalogue, it doesn't work.

This book was really helpful for me. It pointed me to many grant resources that I did not know existed before I read this book. One of the best parts of this book is that it shows you a variety of different places to find the same information, this is very important with the Internet changing all of the time. If you are looking for a general reference on where to find grants or information on grant makers, this book is a good place to start.