The Singing Stone

by O.R. Melling

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Canada, Time Travel, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 29, 1987

About the author

Born in Ireland, raised and educated in Toronto, Canada along with my seven sisters and two brothers, now living back in Ireland again. I have a beautiful daughter, Findabhair, doing her M.A. in Marine Biology and a beautiful cat, Emma, who would love to eat the fish Finn (great name for a marine biologist, eh?) wants to protect. My favourite author of all time is CS Lewis. I've read everything he ever wrote including non-fiction and adult fiction, but the Chronicles of Narnia are the best of all.

Reviews

[Alma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I myself picked this up from my school's woefully mediocre library on a turning shelf. The book was well worn at that time already and smelled of better days. Lovely.

I read this in one sitting while neglecting my homework. I was hooked. Like Kay, I took my own journey to the Isles and can say that when I returned, found that I had left my heart behind me.

[Alexis Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

This book was a magical find for me. I was in London for 10 days this past month, and I visited a little used book shop in a gorgeous park. It was there I picked this book-- kind of at random-- because I thought it sounded interesting and I needed a new book for the plane home. It wasn't until I was in the airport that I noticed it had been signed by the author. Super cool! And she's active on twitter. Even better!

I wish I had read this book when I was younger, because it's something that most definitely would have made my childhood list. Still, I think it came to me at just the right time, when I'm needing to believe in creative magic the most. I won't go into spoilery details, but I loved that this book was written in the "older style" YA that I grew up with. It took my imagination back to that of a child or preteen, when I lived fondly in my own head.

Published in 1986, this book actually predates Outlander, but definitely bears some similarity with the idea of a young woman going back in time in a Celtic land. Though this book is undoubtedly unique and stands on its own, it is like a fun mix of Outlander and the Legend of Zelda with a dash of Tolkien delivered in a YA way. There were so many poetic and beautiful lines of description that lent to the magic. The only reason I dock half a star is because the ending felt a bit rushed, especially in light of some HUGE bombs that were dropped in terms of character and story. I would have liked more time to ruminate and understand those bombs earlier on.

This book does something that a lot of modern books fail to do. It has two strong female leads who do their thing boldly and bravely without making a big stink about it. Most contemporary female-led books tend to be on-the-nose with their feminism. They end up just *telling* us in a loud voice how strong a female character is, rather than *showing* it by letting the character be themselves. They also tend to follow the recent trope of the strong female who can kick butt, yet isn't emotionally as multidimensional. The girls in this story do not have those issues. They are powerful and determined, but also aren't afraid to be vulnerable or embrace traditional romance when it stands before them-- very handsomely I might add haha. I especially loved the lead character, Kay, and could really relate to her. She is the type of protagonist I enjoy writing myself.

As a screenwriter and (apprentice level) director I could totally see this as a film or miniseries. I was casting it and location scouting in my head as I read haha. Like most wonderful books I read, I would love to see it come to life on the screen.

All in all, The Singing Stone is a rich, Celtic tale full of ancient history, folklore, and whimsical teen fantasy. ♥

[Klimtchick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destined re-reading: when I mentioned Malta to Maija and Meaghen, in separate conversations, they both said "The Singing Stone. So you know.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book over & over again when I was young! I absolutely loved it. A great adventure & quite mysterious. It was fun to be taken on a journey to far away times & places.

[Bam Jam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Only when the four treasures are united will their true power shine forth. Then will my hall and memory be rekindled and then each of you will find what you seek" - Fintan Tuan; The Singing Stone, O. R. Melling

I picked this book up at my work's "free box" so it was a little worse-for-wear but I get a really nostalgic feeling when I see tattered books; flashbacks to my childhood grabbing book after shabby book from the school library makes me fond of such the threadbare look! The name 'K. Matthews' was written in blue pen on the first page at the top which gave the book an extra bit of history that made me feel just so giddy.

The cover is simple, with a nice illustration set in the middle of our heroes, and it gave me the sense that this was a book more tilted towards children than young adults but that certainly doesn't deter me from reading any book. Sometimes you need a break from the 'adult' books.


Plot

Kay Warrick is an orphan, friendless but intelligent, with the power to see images when she looks at people and with dreams that feel more like visions. One day, she receives a parcel of books detailing stories of mythical quests, Celtic legends and the history of Ireland. Convinced these stories will answers her questions about her parents and where she came from, and why she has these powers, she embarks on a journey to Ireland, where she stumbles into the past, to an Ireland ruled by the Tuatha De Danaan, a race of mythical people ruled by a monarchy and the magical Druids. But this land is in turmoil as war with foreign races looms. Kay, and the young changeling red-headed child named Aherne, are sent on a quest by the elderly and mysterious Fintan Tuan to retrieve the four lost mystical items of the Danaan: the Sword, the Cauldron, the Spear and the Singing Stone. When these items are reunited, they will reignite the power of the Danaan.

I'm such a sucker for these kinds of old-school quest stories! I love the sense of adventure, the camaraderie that builds between characters in the group and between the characters and their allies, and the final conclusion when they reach their goal. It's nice, simple and linear, when you look at just the bare skeleton of the plot. But this book gets a tad more complicated when you realize that not all is as it seems. The Danaan are not the innocent victims of a savage attack on their land, but ruthless dictators who've oppressed the aboriginal people of this land and other lands through their magic and superiority complex. These oppressed people have just no turned around with the intention to reclaim their lands through war while the Danaan are torn between themselves. I was excited to see the idea of the heroes thinking they were fighting for the right people realizing they may be fighting for the wrong people after all, and feeling conflicted because of this.

This is the first book I've read in awhile that wasn't in first-person, and not only that but the narrative was omnipresent so we got to see the thoughts and feelings of every character and not just Kay, so it was a bit jarring for me but I quickly got used to the style.

While the "plot twists" could be easily spotted from a mile away, I could let this book get away with it because it's a) the writing and the story are very much geared towards children, and b) the book is only around 200 pages; I think I'd be less forgiving if the plot twists were easily spotted from a mile away but the author took 500 pages to get to them. Nevertheless, the twists add more depth to the characters and the story in an interesting way, which I was thankful for. Anyone else tired of "twists" placed for shock value and added no real value to anything in the story?

The plot was well-rounded, made sense, was smooth and concluded well!

Plot

The characters reflected the plot in that they were pretty 1D with just a touch of depth here and there. But, again, this was a short book clearly made for children, and while I don't for a second believe children can't read and/or comprehend books more complicated than this one, with the book being the genre that it is and with the time restraint, I believe the lack of exploration into the characters made sense. That's not to say there weren't dimensions to explore.

Kay Warrick is our protagonist who starts off the book feeling aloof and standoffish though we quickly learn it's because she's an orphan who's bounced from foster home to foster home, never really staying in one place for long, and feeling detached from any human connection. On top of that, she's lived her life have bizarre but vivid dreams about another place and being able to sense a person's persona through metaphorical images that play in her head when she concentrates on them. Despite having no formal high school education, she is a quick learner and well educated, and more so after she receives the parcel of books that sets her on her path. I thought Kay was a decent protagonist, smart and resourceful with a focused drive towards her goals. You can tell that being a solitary person caused her to have less patience with people's excuses and attitudes, and she's definitely not shy about voicing her opinion on such matters, but over the course of the book, she does learn to soften up and, better yet, be able to deal with taking care of another person besides herself. I was glad she was able to open up over time and be able to form and keep connections with her friends, something she's desperately wanted but always feared she'd never have to her unique characteristics. We also get to learn that she is quite the powerful mage, able to use her mind to make connections with people, and project her thoughts into their heads and vice versa. There was a nice contrast between the beginning of the novel, with Kay contemplating her quest alone and traveling to Ireland alone, and the end, where she's more friendly and candid and her ability to travel through time lending her the tools to lighten her life starting with her own apartment room.

Aherne is the changeling child who called out to Kay in Kay's dreams for help to save Aherne's people. However, when we first meet Aherne, she has no memory of who she was before stumbling in the forest, lost and alone. She joins the quest for the four treasures of her people so she can discover who she is and also to save the Danaan race. I'd argue she's the one that develops the most, which isn't a surprise when you follow her story. She starts off rather whiny and childish but certainly just as fierce and determined as Kay. Over time, her courage grows and her desire to help her people solidifies as they get closer to the end of the quest. She also begins to open her mind and realize the damage the Danaans have done to people, and to accept that they deserve the fate of war that they've brought down upon themselves. It was interesting to watch her go back and forth with her feelings, knowing that her people have done wrong but unwilling to accept their doomed fate and side with the "enemy". The strong connection and support that is built between her and Kay helps her grow incredibly and places her in her rightful place to save her people and bring peace to those the Danaan's have oppressed. I love female-female friendships, especially when it's so essential to both characters' developments, so of course I liked and focused on Aherne and Kay's relationship. Their connection is explained at the end, but I'll keep thinking that they are naturally really close friends.

The rest of the supporting characters are predictably less developed but were fun and essential to the plot.

Fintan Tuan is the old mage who lives far from civilization who really helped orchestrates the whole quest from beginning to end. He's only around for the beginning and the end, but his aid was much needed. I get the feeling that his explanation at the end of the book for why he did what he did was not all-together steeped in wisdom but more of a last-ditch effort that he didn't fully think through, which I found charming and a little break from the typical mysterious-but-secretly-very-powerful-wizard trope. Eolas is one of the Cheif Druids and the foster-father to the new Queen, called the Rising Queen. Unlike his villainous fellow Druids, Fokmar and Fiss, he is a kind mage who dearly loves the Rising Queen and is heartbroken when he is told that she will betray the Danaans to their enemies. His fatherly feelings were sweet, a contrast to the air of danger and fear that surrounds people when they mention the Druids. Radarc is one of three Sentinel of Danu the goddess, an elegant humanoid giant who's features--antler attached to his brows, a stag for a companion--feels so very Hayao Miyazaki, which I love! The Sentinels are summoned and commanded by the Danaan queen and the Druids. Radarc and the two other Sentinels were summoned to kill the next Queen as per the orders of our villain Druids, Fokmar and Fiss, but they don't have much of a role to play until the end when the missing Rising Queen is discovered. Even then, they didn't feel dangerous. It was nice that we got to know Radarc a bit; it helped humanize the Sentinels but I think I would have preferred to keep them at arms length to keep this shroud of mystery and mystic about them, but that's just my opinion.

Liag Finehair is the tough and stern queen of the Formorians, a group of people persecuted by the Danaan. While I felt bad for the plight of her people, I didn't like her as a person at all--she wasn't badass as much as she was cruel--especially when she got her men to completely destroy a town and steal the woman who would be used like cattle to bear children (definitely non-consensually). I wasn't sad to see her go. Amergin is the prince of the Gaedil people, the aboriginals of the land who were enslaved by the Danaan people and who intend to wage war against them to get their land back. He's very tenacious and stubborn, and though he loves Aherne as much as she (begrudgingly) loves him, when it comes to the war, he is very professional and determined to fight for his people's cause. I liked his charm and his insistence that he still wants to be with Aherne despite her technically being the enemy--he seems the type to work hard to get what he wants. Cahal Umor is the just as determined and strong-minded High Chieftain of the Firbolg people, another aboriginal group allying themselves with Amergin to reclaim their land from the Danaan through war. He is also the ancestor of Alan Manduca, a man who befriend Kay before she left for Ireland and who has feelings for Kay and vice versa. It was a bit odd to read about Cahal catching feelings for Kay, too, when she has Alan, and even when she returns to her time to be with Alan, it feels like she just sees Cahal in him rather than Alan as himself. Well the romance wasn't too heavy so I could glide over this.

The villains weren't memorable or complicated at all. Fokmar and Fiss are two out of the three Chief Druids of the Danaan who plot to kill the next Queen and start a war with their enemy. They're really not the brightest villains, and I didn't get any sense of foreboding, even when their treachery is revealed. I was more nervous about the girls collecting the items than the Druid's plans.


Setting

I could not even pronounce half the words of the places the girls went to but still I could admire the land. Melling does a great job of describing the setting in short, concise sentences instead of using flowery poetry which surely would have stretched the book. You could see how much research went into getting the place, the history and the legends accurate, though Melling states, in a short excerpt at the end of the book, that at the point of her book, historians weren't quite sure where to place the Danaan legends in Celtic history.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned, this book plucked enough nostalgic strings for me to really find myself enjoying it, but my age allowed me to see it for what it was, and I'm glad it didn't try to be more than that. It was a fun book that I would recommended being read out to an elementary or even middle school class, as it's not too violent, the language is clean, and the subject is fine.

You can find my review for this book, and others, on my blog: Sweaters and Raindrops

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kay Warrick is lead to Ireland to find out about her past. Her quest draws her into the doomed world of an ancient Celtic race. She and her friend Aherne must search for treasures of power before they can both discover their past. Celtic legend is hard to follow at times, story is quite exciting and fast paced

[Care · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS (IMO) AWKWARDLY LAID OUT. THE CHARACTERS, SETTING AND CONFLICT WERE SPOT ON, BUT THE STORY HAD NO FLOW TO IT. IT WAS AWKWARD TO READ, AND AT TIMES CONFUSING. WOULD HAVE BEEN AN EXCELLENT BOOK IF THE FLOW WAS SMOOTHER.

[Vesna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knjiga je sicer zanimiva, ker se dogaja na Irskem, sicer pa je res čudno napisana. Liki spreminjajo čustva in celo prepričanja iz minute v minuto, glagoli in pridevniki so izbrani kar tako povprek. Škoda, ker bistvo knjige ni tako slabo.

[Angela Bedard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a favorite of mine as an adolescent. It was nice to revisit and start the year off with it.

It combines fantasy, time travel, and Irish mythology, with two females as the lead characters. It is a quick and adventurous journey for young readers.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have fond memories of this story. It was the perfect fantasy novel to me when I was growing up.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first (and favorite!) O.R. Melling book.

[Darshana Unnikrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a book that took me reading to the other fiction's group other that the nancy drew n enid blyton... the book is nice n a good read :-)

[Kettle · Rating 4 out of 5]

On of my favourite books as a pre-teen. Re-read it a number of times over the years.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty enjoyable and interesting. I liked it more than The Druid's Tune, but not as much as The Hunter's Moon.

March read for my bookeclub: https://www.bookeclub.com/496/
They are kindly sponsoring my channel.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been having a hard time focusing on reading lately. Pandemic weirdness, I guess. So figured I’d go back to childhood loves to see if I could end the drought. Did the trick.

My grandmother bought me this book when I was nine. I remembered loving it, but nothing else. On this re-read, this felt relevant to our times - there is a thread about coming to terms with one’s people’s shitty history and poor treatment and subjugation of others.

[Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A blast from the past! I loved this so much as a young teen, and have enjoyed it again as an adult.

One star knocked off because I had an instinctive dislike of the part of the story where (if I’m being very reductive) some tall ‘fair’ people become the gods of some brown people they had previously mistreated and enslaved. That said, the book was written a while ago and I’m possibly being sensitive to something that wasn’t meant in the way it comes across (?).

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite good. An enjoyable read. Would read again.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Singing Stone by O.R. Melling starstarstar 203 pages

Nice little tale based on Irish mythology. Bit nostalgic for me as read her books when I was younger and they've never left my shelf!

[Dermo]

Ooohh I loved this book as a kid

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this rich and detailed mythological treasure. The Singing Stone was a heartwarming adventure with female friendship at the center of the story. I'm so happy I found out about this author.

[Mitchan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can imagine I would have really enjoyed this when I was younger, it is very Bilbo Baggins and the Irish history re druids was interesting.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talented re-construction of the myths of the Duatha de Dannaans based on the Lebor Gabala

[Scarletwolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally enjoyed this book. The beginning, I found, was a little slow but as the story progressed it got better and more interesting.