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Axel Aylwen

In the dog days of the reign of King Narai the Great of Siam, the vultures begin to close in to see what can be snatched for their own advantage. The Siamese tradition of polygamy for the rich and powerful men of the Kingdom often muddied the issues of succession and inheritance and this is the case with King Narai, known universally as the Lord of Life. Those who are candidates are flawed, to say the least, and there seems to be little chance of avoiding a civil war of some sort, not to mention the threat of war with France, as the French troops under General Desfarges make themselves safe and secure in their Bangkok fortress. In this situation, the Anglo-Greek Constantine Phaulkon (Falcon), who had risen from the position of cabin boy to become the leading minister of Siam – the Phra Klang or Barcalon, as the office is known to foreigners – must try to navigate a safe course for the ship of state. This proves to be extremely difficult in the face of numerous opponents and the machinations of the various women in his life. Those aware of the history of the period will know what the ending inevitably must be, although others will probably be able to guess what is going to happen, especially since Falcon meets a powerful fortune-teller who announces how many days he has yet to live.

This is the third and final part of Axel Aylwen's always entertaining history of Falcon in Siam. It is, sadly, the weakest of the three books. Errors of research have started to creep into the text, as well as some errors of continuity – someone, not saying who, has arms pinned behind the back by powerful soldiers and then a few lines later is pointing here and there, for example. This did not happen in, especially, the first book, which is by far the most impressive. The introduction of the characters of Nellie and Mark also seems to be a mistake. They crowd the action and, although their presence is used as a solution for various plot twists which might otherwise be difficult to explain, it also fills up the narrative space and reduces further the role of the Siamese characters. These now take the form of the King, Phaulkon's household, the villains and the background figures of slaves, soldiers and others with walk-on parts. There are now no Siamese voices or representations of alternative means and methods of thought apart from those mentioned above and that means the narrative has become too much black and white. The third party interests of Indians and Persians and Malays seem to have disappeared altogether. It is as if the book has been completed in a hurry or else the author lost interest in the project altogether.

Readers are urged to read the first book in the trilogy, The Falcon of Siam, and only if deeply hooked by the plot continue to the other episodes. If necessary, consider the first book as a stand alone novel. It is certainly the best work available from a western novelist on historical Siam and anyone who finds that an interesting subject is urged to seek out the book.

Idioma Inglés
Publicación 2006
Editorial Falcon Press
Categoría Narrativa


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