Thankyou to Head of Zeus, Apollo and the author, Ben Crane, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Blood Ties in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I thought this book offered a good read. It was well thought out and beautifully written. i really enjoyed it.

One of the most perfect books I’ve ever read

“In the warm, womb-like space of the cottage, the light from the open fire flickers and casts dull shadows of birds across the wall. On my gloved hand is a slender, lightweight and beautifully patterned female sparrowhawk, to my left, a smaller but no less impressive male……”

It took me a couple of seconds to read these opening words. I was hooked. I became anti-social until I reached the final page.

I’m jumping ahead of myself, so let me return to giving you a proper review.

Ben Crane is in his forties. He is a falconer. Owns a goshawk, CC, which he has bonded with from birth. Takes in and rehabilitates birds of prey. Lives in a cottage hidden deep in the countryside. His companions, the birds and his two dogs. Etta is a Hungarian Vizsla, a working dog and Flash is a Cocker Spaniel. Flash’s job is to “crash through bramble thickets, nettles and thick cover to find the pheasants.”

It wasn’t just a sudden awakening that Ben had before he got to the point of training and the rehabilitation of birds of prey. He has a teaching postgraduate degree from Cambridge. Taught for years. Had been in a relationship, which broke up when his son was born. He couldn’t cope with fatherhood. Had seen and been treated by different psychologists from the age of fifteen and finally, got to understand his complex behaviour at the age of forty-two, when a psychoanalyst diagnosed him as autistic.

Ben’s love of falconry has taken him to many places, particularly Pakistan where he learnt the ancient art of falconry from men who have had the art passed down to them from their forefathers. Their knowledge goes back thousands of years. He learnt not just how to fly the birds and get to understand their psyche, but the equally ancient art of making the paraphernalia that falconers use with their birds, down to the art of making the bells.

He followed falconers with their Harris hawks whose range is from the “tip of South America up through Mexico, Texas and California”. In Croatia, Ben joined Viktor, one of the country’s leading authorities on falconry and met and flew his first sparrowhawk. Austria and Slovakia introduced him to eagles. While in Slovakia he joined a group of falconers. Some were hunting with goshawks and falcons, but he was mesmerised by the owners with their golden eagles. “Some creatures are undeniably big. When open, an eagle’s wings stretch six feet or more. When the wings are folded tight and resting against their side, these eagles stand four feet tall. Their shoulders as wide as the trunk of a human torso. …. Without exception, each eagle is a withering presence dancing on the outer edges of extreme violence. A lion or tiger with wings, dressed by nature in a delicate bronze-crested necklace and a golden crown of filigree feathers.”
I mentioned earlier that Ben had abandoned his son shortly after his birth. It took him years to realise what had triggered his behaviour and thanks in part to his ex-partner’s understanding, he started to see his son and build a relationship with him. A relationship where he learns about the meaning of love, the special love which happens between a parent and a child.

This is a book in two halves. Ben Crane the falconer and Ben Crane learning to be a father. Both are powerful tales. His writing is sheer brilliance. I’ve included some excerpts hopefully enough to give you a flavour to this truly extraordinary story of the meaning of love. Love of the wild. Love of nature. Love of children. And the ancient love of falconry.

Imbali

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

A fascinating and personal account of one man's relationship with birds of prey , and how those experiences became part of a shared interest that helped him to develop a relationship with his son.
It is clear that birds of prey and falconry have played a huge part in Ben Crane's life, and he speaks about his birds and his wonderful experiences travelling around the world with a passion matched only by the passages where he describes moments of wonder and love shared with his young son, While reading this book I learned quite a lot about falconry, a subject I admittedly knew nothing about before picking up the book, and while this was interesting, for me the real heart of the book is the author's personal struggles , particularly when it comes to building a relationship with his son.
I read and reviewed a copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.