''The Hound and the Falcon'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

book trilogy by

Judith Tarr Judith Tarr (born January 30, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author. Life Tarr was born in Augusta, Maine on January 30, 1955. She is the daughter of Earle A. Tarr, Jr. (a waterworks manager and salesman of real estate), and ...

, containing the books '' The Isle of Glass'' (Bluejay, 1985), '' The Golden Horn'' (Bluejay, 1985), and '' The Hounds of God'' (Bluejay, 1986)."Tarr, Judith" in Stableford, Brian M. ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature''.Lanham (Md.) : Scarecrow Press, 2009. (p. 397)Kelso, Sylvia. "The God in the Pentagram: Religion and Spirituality in Modern Fantasy".''

Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts The International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA), founded in 1982 is a nonprofit association of scholars, writers, and publishers of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in literature, film, and the other arts. Its principal acti ...

''. 18(1) (pgs. 61-82). 2007. The books tell the story of the

elf An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...

Alf, who grew up as a monk in a monastery among humans, and how he meets love and comes to terms with who he is. The books contain elements of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

, including the

Sack of Constantinople The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusader armies captured, looted, and destroyed parts of Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the c ...

in the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

. The '' Alamut series'' is set in the same universe, and takes place before the events of ''The Hound and the Falcon''. King Gwydion and Prince Aidan of the elf-kingdom Rhiyana, minor characters in ''The Hound and the Falcon'', are two of the main characters in the ''Alamut'' series.

Reception

Reviewing ''The Isle of Glass'', John C. Bunnell stated, "Judith Tarr has written a strikingly thoughtful novel".Bunnell, John C., "The Role of Books". ''

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

'' Magazine,

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been ...

Issue 101, September 1985 (pg.25-6) Bunnell added, "It's a rare book that can blend a challenging tale of character study with a taut, suspenseful saga of fast-paced intrigue and adventure, but ''The Isle of Glass'' balances the two elements with singular effectiveness".

References

Fantasy novel series American fantasy novel series 1985 American novels 1986 American novels {{1980s-fantasy-novel-stub