The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day - Scott O'dell

"His name is William Tyndale."

The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day , Scott O'Dell

 

 

I have no idea why this book was called "The Hawk That Dare Not Fly By Day." Not a clue. The word Hawk wasn't even mentioned. I figure it has an indirect meaning.

 

Originally I though I wasn't really going to like this book. I read The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell  some time earlier this year (read my review on it here !) and it was okay, not superb. But this book was different - I really enjoyed it.

 

It was good from the start. Martin Luther was mentioned a few times... so it was even better. However, as you may have guessed from the quote above, the book wasn't about Martin Luther. Slowly we meet William Tyndale, the man who translated the Bible into English. The story is told from an interesting perspective. It is told looking through the eyes of a sailor. A sailor whose uncle is particularly greedy for some cash, which means he'll smuggle the Bibles into England. Although this is the main plot, the whole story doesn't revolve around it. There's another issue going on. An issue about wills and property. It's really interesting to see how things pan out.

 

The book was a historical fiction, my favorite. I love to see how actual historic people weave into a fictional story. We see references to Henry VIII (and his wives), and other people who played a sneaky role in William Tyndale's life, like Henry Phillips. I actually forgot that Henry Phillips was a real person, but the story had much more impact once I realized he was real.

 

It also opened my eyes to the life during that time. The rules were strict and anything opposed to the Catholic church was heresy. Now, evidently Bibles are allowed in England, and other modern countries. It was a time of chaos! Everyone was being watched - literally! In the book, there were spies for other spies!

 

We also get a glimpse of William Tyndale's character. Despite this time of chaos, he always appeared to be at peace. He did not show panic, but instead was always peaceful, calm, collected  no matter what kind of trials he faced. He was never rushed. It would've taken amazing faith to live like that now, let alone during a time where everything was heresy.

 

In all, this book was a surprise. It surpassed the expectations I had for it and gets a well-done from me. Read it, you won't be disappointed.