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The Story of Stone
An adventure of fate and choice in a mythical world.
A loner by nature and handicapped by her “fits,” young Nela chooses to forgo a typical woman’s path and dedicate her life to archeology. On an expedition to discover the origins of her civilization, she falls under the spell of a mysterious black stone. Can the secrets of the past contained in the stone change Nela’s uncertain future?
A loner by nature and handicapped by her “fits,” young Nela chooses to forgo a typical woman’s path and dedicate her life to archeology. On an expedition to discover the origins of her civilization, she falls under the spell of a mysterious black stone. Can the secrets of the past contained in the stone change Nela’s uncertain future?
335 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2005
About the author
N.M. Browne
12 books67 followersI was born in Burnley, Lancs (England) and lived not too far from Pendle Hill - the haunt of witches and all manner of strangeness. This may have had an effect on my imagination.
My father was a painter and teacher and my mother was a teacher too. Both were Welsh and this has probably had an impact on my imagination too. The whole family headed for Wales every holiday so that even now Wales is inextricably linked with long car journeys, holidays, family and general happiness.
I still support Wales rather than England in most things, particularly rugby, much to my husband's annoyance. I have one sister (a very good painter), one husband, four children, one (mad) dog, a bearded dragon and eight nieces and nephews. I live in South West London.
I believe passionately that education is a good thing and just wish that mine made more impact on my thinking. I went to Edge End High School then Nelson and Colne Sixth Form College, both in Lancashire. After an uneventful 'gap year' – trying and failing to get to grips with accountancy, retail (the Co-op bra department) and pharmaceuticals ( the pharmacy at Burnley General Hospital,) I went to New College, Oxford to read Philosophy and Theology and then to King's College, Cambridge to learn how to be a teacher. I taught - briefly - before going back to college – this time to Manchester Business School to get an MBA. After that I worked for an oil company as a kind of all-purpose executive person, but left before I learnt anything that might have been useful either to the company or to me.
When I was seven I knew exactly what I wanted to be but I forgot all about it until some time after I had my second baby when I suddenly remembered that I had always wanted to be a writer. I was lucky enough to be on a corporate career break at the time and my broken career never got mended. Writing is the best job I've ever had.
--N. M. Browne was born in the North of England to Welsh parents. This background inspired a fascination with all things Celtic and an interest in how earlier societies survived the bleakness of a northern winter. Ms. Browne lives in London, England and is the author of Hunted (Bloomsbury 2002).
My father was a painter and teacher and my mother was a teacher too. Both were Welsh and this has probably had an impact on my imagination too. The whole family headed for Wales every holiday so that even now Wales is inextricably linked with long car journeys, holidays, family and general happiness.
I still support Wales rather than England in most things, particularly rugby, much to my husband's annoyance. I have one sister (a very good painter), one husband, four children, one (mad) dog, a bearded dragon and eight nieces and nephews. I live in South West London.
I believe passionately that education is a good thing and just wish that mine made more impact on my thinking. I went to Edge End High School then Nelson and Colne Sixth Form College, both in Lancashire. After an uneventful 'gap year' – trying and failing to get to grips with accountancy, retail (the Co-op bra department) and pharmaceuticals ( the pharmacy at Burnley General Hospital,) I went to New College, Oxford to read Philosophy and Theology and then to King's College, Cambridge to learn how to be a teacher. I taught - briefly - before going back to college – this time to Manchester Business School to get an MBA. After that I worked for an oil company as a kind of all-purpose executive person, but left before I learnt anything that might have been useful either to the company or to me.
When I was seven I knew exactly what I wanted to be but I forgot all about it until some time after I had my second baby when I suddenly remembered that I had always wanted to be a writer. I was lucky enough to be on a corporate career break at the time and my broken career never got mended. Writing is the best job I've ever had.
--N. M. Browne was born in the North of England to Welsh parents. This background inspired a fascination with all things Celtic and an interest in how earlier societies survived the bleakness of a northern winter. Ms. Browne lives in London, England and is the author of Hunted (Bloomsbury 2002).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 4, 2012
A random pick at the library -- it just caught my eye and I thought, well, why not? I didn't know that N.M. Browne also wrote The Warriors of Alavna, which I remember owning as a teen and never getting into. I'm glad I didn't know that; it might have kept me from a good read. The Story of Stone is a one-shot fantasy story, so far as I can tell, and certainly the story was complete in itself. It has three narrative threads which slowly weave together. There was a lot I appreciated about it: a disabled protagonist (she has fits), some commentary on gender roles (she chooses to be a "non-woman" for freedom), a male character caring deeply for children (who are not even his own), a woman who cares for her children and is also a fierce fighter in battle. There are several strong female characters and they all have different roles and strengths.
The plot itself I found... somewhat predictable, in that I saw where it was going from the minute certain things were learnt by one of the protagonists, but I enjoyed the journey there anyway. There were some interesting moral ambiguities and a lot of things I'd like to have seen more development of, but I enjoyed it.
The plot itself I found... somewhat predictable, in that I saw where it was going from the minute certain things were learnt by one of the protagonists, but I enjoyed the journey there anyway. There were some interesting moral ambiguities and a lot of things I'd like to have seen more development of, but I enjoyed it.
July 25, 2015
This book ended up being a million times better than I expected.
When I first started it, I was immediately frustrated and confused after the first 20 pages. I was planning on ditching it. I don't typically do well with books that are extremely convoluted.
However, I kept going and things began to make sense. And then (surprise!) I started to really enjoy it.
I really liked our characters: Jerat, Nela, Stone, Verre, Moss, etc. They were great and really developed characters.
I liked how it was all tied together and the two stories had to deal with each other in the end.
It was a great novel and I really enjoyed it. :)
When I first started it, I was immediately frustrated and confused after the first 20 pages. I was planning on ditching it. I don't typically do well with books that are extremely convoluted.
However, I kept going and things began to make sense. And then (surprise!) I started to really enjoy it.
I really liked our characters: Jerat, Nela, Stone, Verre, Moss, etc. They were great and really developed characters.
I liked how it was all tied together and the two stories had to deal with each other in the end.
It was a great novel and I really enjoyed it. :)
May 5, 2015
Another strange and magical tale by the talented N M Browne. I love her unusual characters who make alliances and unexpected friendships, I really enjoy her wierd worlds, and she is the master of the satisfying resolution.
December 23, 2013
A random picked. I had the urge to drop this coz the first part is so confusing! Glad I didn't though. I really enjoyed this.
February 19, 2023
I loved this story of Nela and Moss! Nela is the daughter of a Chief Findsman (think archaeologist of sorts) and wants to be a Findsman herself, though females do not have a path to such a destiny in her society. She has suffered from fits since childhood, which has enabled her to take a vow to be a non-woman, a decision she hopes will enable her to become a Findsman. Moss is a bondsman, who volunteered to be sold as a slave to ensure the survival of his family. They become aware of each other on one of her father's digs, when Nela finds a stone which appears to cause her to have fits, during which she becomes aware of a past during which the stone was the possession of a Singer from a much earlier time in their civilisation's past... Together, they have a chance to put right past wrongs, but will they have the opportunity? Read the book and find out!
February 4, 2020
I don’t read fantasy, fact, but I absolutely loved this book. Perhaps it was because I don’t like fantasy that I liked it but I would do a disservice to the author if I left it at that. So what made it enjoyable? Well, there are essentially 2 stories running through this book and within the 2 stories there are more stories so if you like an A to Z structure this may not be your cup of tea.
The characters are delightfully introduced , developed and interwoven throughout the various plots. The use of strictly defined roles within the societies is juxtaposed with traditional roles as we might know them in our current communities. Wonderful and thought provoking. I think this book will pass through at least 3 of my 4 other family members before being passed to my book group.
The characters are delightfully introduced , developed and interwoven throughout the various plots. The use of strictly defined roles within the societies is juxtaposed with traditional roles as we might know them in our current communities. Wonderful and thought provoking. I think this book will pass through at least 3 of my 4 other family members before being passed to my book group.
August 22, 2017
A great book! Really enjoyable read with a fast, skilfully entwined plot and wonderful, believable worlds.
Nela finds she can 'see' into another girl's life, a girl from her ancestral past, through holding a spiritual stone. The story is largely about the past but Nela is linked to it and has to find a way to try and find a resolution for both of them.
I particularly enjoyed the way the two lives are separate for some time and as a reader you are waiting for the way they connect. When they do it is wonderful and you are carried away by the story, wondering how it will conclude.
Nela finds she can 'see' into another girl's life, a girl from her ancestral past, through holding a spiritual stone. The story is largely about the past but Nela is linked to it and has to find a way to try and find a resolution for both of them.
I particularly enjoyed the way the two lives are separate for some time and as a reader you are waiting for the way they connect. When they do it is wonderful and you are carried away by the story, wondering how it will conclude.
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April 20, 2022I don’t know how I feel about this book, I just couldn’t get into it and it seems such a dreary world, albeit somewhat unique. I quit about halfway through. I’m just not vested in the characters, either.
November 18, 2021
Did not enjoy the book fully since the organization of the story is very complex
March 24, 2022
I THINK ITS COOL
May 5, 2012
Jaret is a member of the Brood Trove, the children of his father's four wives who live in cold and squalor below the luxury of his father's apartments in the Tier House at the centre of his father's lands. His society is feudal, his upbringing brutal, at the age of 3 the Brood Trove are separated from their mothers and placed in the Brood Trove, if they survive they are trained to fight and protect their father and his territory, but many don't survive. Warlike farmers and mighty warriors the Lakesiders are fearful of the Night People who live in the unfamiliar forests that boundary their lands.
Separated from Jaret by a gulf of time Nela is searching with her father for traces of the history of their civilization. She is unusual, in her society women marry and have children, but she is unlikely to find a husband as she fits which appals those around her She has shaved her head as a sign that she is not marriageable and she and her father move in a small band with his apprentice Findsmen and a bondsman, a slave tethered to the boundary of their camp.
On the shore of the same Lake Jaret lived beside they find a stone, a stone which conjures in Nela fits filled with visions of the life of Stone, a Night Person, and the narrative begins to move back and forward between Jaret and Stone's lives in the prehistory of Nela's world, and Nela's own life. As Jaret and Nela's lives come together on the death of his father and the casting out of much of the Brood Trove a terrible spell is unleashed on their world.
I felt the book needed to be a little longer, there was sometimes confusion and I felt there was not enough development in the climax of the story. However, all the characters were brilliantly deliniated and I always wanted to turn the next page and know more.
Separated from Jaret by a gulf of time Nela is searching with her father for traces of the history of their civilization. She is unusual, in her society women marry and have children, but she is unlikely to find a husband as she fits which appals those around her She has shaved her head as a sign that she is not marriageable and she and her father move in a small band with his apprentice Findsmen and a bondsman, a slave tethered to the boundary of their camp.
On the shore of the same Lake Jaret lived beside they find a stone, a stone which conjures in Nela fits filled with visions of the life of Stone, a Night Person, and the narrative begins to move back and forward between Jaret and Stone's lives in the prehistory of Nela's world, and Nela's own life. As Jaret and Nela's lives come together on the death of his father and the casting out of much of the Brood Trove a terrible spell is unleashed on their world.
I felt the book needed to be a little longer, there was sometimes confusion and I felt there was not enough development in the climax of the story. However, all the characters were brilliantly deliniated and I always wanted to turn the next page and know more.
July 20, 2016
I found this book incredibly interesting, once I got into it. It was a little confusing at first, with not only POV changes, but leaps in time and culture. But it also fascinated me, with the unique world and civilization, so I kept up with it and discovered a beautiful, intricate story.
The writing was lovely, from the description to the world-building. I really enjoyed how emotions were expressed, and how song and legend were used to build an incredible legend. The characters were all unique and interesting, with personal struggles that were very human, even heartbreaking.
My only complaint was that the ending felt rushed. Once the main characters finally discover their purpose, everything happens so fast, and then it's over. The subtle hint of affection between the two protagonists suddenly becomes a full-blown romance, and it seemed somewhat cliche. I was hoping for more, as the rest of the book had very good pacing and seemed very aware of the character's feelings and motivations.
However, despite the criticism, overall it was a satisfactory conclusion and I really enjoyed the book as a whole. I'm already searching to see if there is more work out there by this author.
The writing was lovely, from the description to the world-building. I really enjoyed how emotions were expressed, and how song and legend were used to build an incredible legend. The characters were all unique and interesting, with personal struggles that were very human, even heartbreaking.
My only complaint was that the ending felt rushed. Once the main characters finally discover their purpose, everything happens so fast, and then it's over. The subtle hint of affection between the two protagonists suddenly becomes a full-blown romance, and it seemed somewhat cliche. I was hoping for more, as the rest of the book had very good pacing and seemed very aware of the character's feelings and motivations.
However, despite the criticism, overall it was a satisfactory conclusion and I really enjoyed the book as a whole. I'm already searching to see if there is more work out there by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2016
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to finish this book. The historical names and terms seemed difficult and made it hard for me to get into the story.
I decided not to give up when I came to the second storyline in this book. As I got used to the words and terms and the story lines started to develop, I became more and more intrigued.
I decided not to give up when I came to the second storyline in this book. As I got used to the words and terms and the story lines started to develop, I became more and more intrigued.
May 11, 2010
browne has a lovely voice and a knack for truly novel world settings and cultures. nice intersecting triptych of narratives.
April 9, 2011
It's pretty good so far. I wish they'd talk a little more about Nela, and the way Stone is written is not my favorite, but the story overall is well-thought and detailed.
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December 12, 2008slightly hard to follow
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews