The metaphor of falconry unites the three books Passager, Hobby, and Merlin. In Hobby, Merlin makes the transition from passager, a young falcon or hawk, to hobby, a young adult bird that may become a full-grown falcon or hawk. His growth involves coping with birders, as represented by Fowler (a birder), who would tame him and make him do their bidding for their personal profit. When Fowler proposes renting Merlin out as a servant, to bring in money, it sounds as if Merlin is a falcon trained to make a kill and bring the carcass to its master for his dinner. In Hobby, Merlin manages to evade those who would enslave him, and as he implies when he calls himself "a hawk among princes," he is close to mastering his gifts by the novella's end.

The characters of Ambrosius, Viviane, and Vortigern are all taken from...