«Desert Falcon» by Beeley Fergus, Leslie Goodyear

Through lyrical literary voice honoring an Arabic poem… the legend of Desert Falcon, an historical allegory rich with travel and adventure tells the story of Rashid, a seemingly skill challenged Bedouin boy who witnesses his father's murder in the heart of the desert. He journeys through a new life of discovery through the middle eastern empty quarter and Arabian deserts around Abu Dhabi, Dubai and what is now the United Arab Emirates, to an uncle he never knew, and learns that he has a gift for the ancient art of falconry. His story and his gift earn him the admiration of a mysterious Sheikh and secret assistance of his enigmatic youngest child. Fortified by a caravan leader's tale of warriors and mercenaries and the legend of a lost tribe of an honorable brotherhood, Rashid faces down his father's killer with the one sacred falcon that would be his key into their world, and teaches us to question the drive for what we desire against the heart of who we truly are. This mystical tale carries its question by way of the mysterious art of falconry and it's universal kinship that has endured with mankind for more than 4000 years, tying people to people and present to past. The falcon remains constant, reminding us that in our depths, we too remain steady, tied together through our humanity and to our past, and borne with the ageless elegant tradition of magical desert lore upon the legend of the longwing. With the rich language and exotic storytelling, this is truly a story that stays with you. It completely sweeps you up into another time and place.  I haven't been this entranced since reading “The Alchemist”. Denise Baddour, Discovery Communications, Light Path Media