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Spirit + Stone
Welcome to a world called Melior. A world of many places and peoples, a world where familiar technical and technological marvels coexist with homes set in stone. A world where the resilient Dwarrow and eidetic Elves keep and defend their realms against greenskins, Trolls, and more besides.
The world of Melior can roughly be divided into two groups of lands. Three if you distinguish between the Allied Realms and the Orcish Nation that lies awkwardly to the South of them. Melior's people, save a scant few who form its true elite, break their world down into those two groups of lands, and the proverbial Everywhere Else.
At this time, one of the most important figures in the Allied Realms is the Dwarvish King Trór Gravewater. Trór's first challenge as described in this public history of the Allied Realms was to wrest his Kingdom away from his ancestor and provide it with the government he felt it deserved. But just as a warlike man attacks himself in a time of peace, Trór receives numerous lessons to the effect that ascending to the throne of the realm is the easy part. It is the retention of that throne that poses the true challenge.
With the aid of numerous allies, including the Elvish King Novannon and his daughter Maränwe, Trór continues to steer his realm more in the direction he feels it ought to go, until one of his most vulnerable allies calls for his aid.
In the history of the Allied Realms, an event called the Battle of the Sleeping Village is given such importance that historians will count years by it. For example, Trór Gravewater's birth is counted as having taken place eighty-six years before the Battle of the Sleeping Village, or 86 BBSV. How he conducts himself in that battle, why he fights it, numerous other aspects of Dwarvish life and how Dwarrow relate to those around them, are dealt with in this history of the Allied Realms.
A Dwarf feels the ancestors that flow in their blood. A Dwarf is confident that whatever they are hit with will break before they do. A Dwarf knows that if he should fall to the sword, his clansfolk will come to take his place.
Spirit, stone, and infinity.
The world of Melior can roughly be divided into two groups of lands. Three if you distinguish between the Allied Realms and the Orcish Nation that lies awkwardly to the South of them. Melior's people, save a scant few who form its true elite, break their world down into those two groups of lands, and the proverbial Everywhere Else.
At this time, one of the most important figures in the Allied Realms is the Dwarvish King Trór Gravewater. Trór's first challenge as described in this public history of the Allied Realms was to wrest his Kingdom away from his ancestor and provide it with the government he felt it deserved. But just as a warlike man attacks himself in a time of peace, Trór receives numerous lessons to the effect that ascending to the throne of the realm is the easy part. It is the retention of that throne that poses the true challenge.
With the aid of numerous allies, including the Elvish King Novannon and his daughter Maränwe, Trór continues to steer his realm more in the direction he feels it ought to go, until one of his most vulnerable allies calls for his aid.
In the history of the Allied Realms, an event called the Battle of the Sleeping Village is given such importance that historians will count years by it. For example, Trór Gravewater's birth is counted as having taken place eighty-six years before the Battle of the Sleeping Village, or 86 BBSV. How he conducts himself in that battle, why he fights it, numerous other aspects of Dwarvish life and how Dwarrow relate to those around them, are dealt with in this history of the Allied Realms.
A Dwarf feels the ancestors that flow in their blood. A Dwarf is confident that whatever they are hit with will break before they do. A Dwarf knows that if he should fall to the sword, his clansfolk will come to take his place.
Spirit, stone, and infinity.
ebook
First published January 26, 2015
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March 29, 2015
Spirit and Stone I picked on the cover, which I love. While I enjoyed the characters and the snarky chapter headings, the backdrop was the most intriguing element of the book. The author says that this story is intended to serve as an introduction to the Stoneworld.
While the premise was interesting, it seemed to me 90% of the book was spent on what the main character Tror (I've written this without the accent) was doing, travelling from place to place, seeing different cultures and building things, and general world-building – massive chunks of world-building. The author tells about an interesting world, but nothing is actually happening for the reader to drive the narrative forward. The plot needed to be far sharper to hold a reader’s interest, I felt.
Tror is a Dwarrow Prince finding his way in the world, who has to battle his psychotic father for the kingdom. Unfortunately for me this pivotal battle scene falls flat (I won't spoil by saying why, but there was a lack of tension and emotion about the whole affair. Later in the story, the battle for the Halfling village is cannon fodder against organised armies. Sadly, no tension. The reader knows it’s just going to be a slaughter, and while protecting a minority population is laudable, the event as a whole seemed to lack significance. Again, there could have been political intrigue to spice things up, but none materialised.
However the world-building is exemplary and beautifully detailed. There's a particularly intriguing intersection between technology and magic. While the manuscript is generally sound I fear that the weak plot and lack of action might turn other readers off, which is a shame, because the Stoneworld deserves to be explored in all its richness. I thank the author for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
While the premise was interesting, it seemed to me 90% of the book was spent on what the main character Tror (I've written this without the accent) was doing, travelling from place to place, seeing different cultures and building things, and general world-building – massive chunks of world-building. The author tells about an interesting world, but nothing is actually happening for the reader to drive the narrative forward. The plot needed to be far sharper to hold a reader’s interest, I felt.
Tror is a Dwarrow Prince finding his way in the world, who has to battle his psychotic father for the kingdom. Unfortunately for me this pivotal battle scene falls flat (I won't spoil by saying why, but there was a lack of tension and emotion about the whole affair. Later in the story, the battle for the Halfling village is cannon fodder against organised armies. Sadly, no tension. The reader knows it’s just going to be a slaughter, and while protecting a minority population is laudable, the event as a whole seemed to lack significance. Again, there could have been political intrigue to spice things up, but none materialised.
However the world-building is exemplary and beautifully detailed. There's a particularly intriguing intersection between technology and magic. While the manuscript is generally sound I fear that the weak plot and lack of action might turn other readers off, which is a shame, because the Stoneworld deserves to be explored in all its richness. I thank the author for a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest, non-reciprocal review.
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