What do you think?
Rate this book
Guardians of the Tall Stones #3
Shadow on the Stones
The riveting third book in The Sacred Stones series
Lady Kyra and Lord Khuren, priests of the Temple of the Sun, have guided their civilization to a time of spiritual strength, psychic energy, and communal peace. Yet there is a shadow on the Sacred Stones--the spreading influence of Groth, dark god of chaos and barbarity. Only the Temple priests have the means to resist the tide of destruction. And they must act soon--before Deva, the beautiful and headstrong daughter of Lady Kyra, is destroyed in its wake.This third novel in The Sacred Stones series brings vividly to life the ancient world of Bronze Age Britain, a time when it was believed that the cosmic energies of great standing stones could be directed toward good or manipulated for evil.
Lady Kyra and Lord Khuren, priests of the Temple of the Sun, have guided their civilization to a time of spiritual strength, psychic energy, and communal peace. Yet there is a shadow on the Sacred Stones--the spreading influence of Groth, dark god of chaos and barbarity. Only the Temple priests have the means to resist the tide of destruction. And they must act soon--before Deva, the beautiful and headstrong daughter of Lady Kyra, is destroyed in its wake.This third novel in The Sacred Stones series brings vividly to life the ancient world of Bronze Age Britain, a time when it was believed that the cosmic energies of great standing stones could be directed toward good or manipulated for evil.
168 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1978
4 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
Moyra Caldecott
60 books29 followersStarted academic career by obtaining degrees in English Literature and Philosophy.
* Briefly lectured in English Literature at university level.
* Raised three children and had a most interesting and stimulating life as the wife of Oliver Caldecott in London from 1951 to 1989. (Oliver was an editor at Penguin, Readers Union, and Hutchinson and founded his own publishing firm Wildwood House with his partner Dieter Pevsner. His last editorial post was at Rider, for Century Hutchinson. He was also a very good artist.)
* Took evening classes in palaeontology (geology always a favourite subject), religious studies and mythology.
* Was secretary of the Dulwich Group in the ’sixties, a most successful poetry reading group. Read a lot. Wrote books. Met many interesting people and had many interesting discussions. Travelled a lot.
* Her life has also been enriched by the interests of her children: Religion – Conservation – Art.
* She has had various experiences she considers to be ‘paranormal’, including a dramatic healing from angina. She gives talks to various personal growth and consciousness raising groups, and groups interested in the ancient sacred sites of Britain.
* Her most successful book so far, Guardians Of The Tall Stones, is set in ancient Bronze Age Britain, and is required reading for some groups visiting the sacred sites of Britain from America. It has been in print continuously since 1977.
* Myths and legends are a particular passion and she follows Jung and Joseph Campbell in believing that they are not ‘just’ stories but actually deep and meaningful expressions of the universal and eternal in the human psyche.
* Briefly lectured in English Literature at university level.
* Raised three children and had a most interesting and stimulating life as the wife of Oliver Caldecott in London from 1951 to 1989. (Oliver was an editor at Penguin, Readers Union, and Hutchinson and founded his own publishing firm Wildwood House with his partner Dieter Pevsner. His last editorial post was at Rider, for Century Hutchinson. He was also a very good artist.)
* Took evening classes in palaeontology (geology always a favourite subject), religious studies and mythology.
* Was secretary of the Dulwich Group in the ’sixties, a most successful poetry reading group. Read a lot. Wrote books. Met many interesting people and had many interesting discussions. Travelled a lot.
* Her life has also been enriched by the interests of her children: Religion – Conservation – Art.
* She has had various experiences she considers to be ‘paranormal’, including a dramatic healing from angina. She gives talks to various personal growth and consciousness raising groups, and groups interested in the ancient sacred sites of Britain.
* Her most successful book so far, Guardians Of The Tall Stones, is set in ancient Bronze Age Britain, and is required reading for some groups visiting the sacred sites of Britain from America. It has been in print continuously since 1977.
* Myths and legends are a particular passion and she follows Jung and Joseph Campbell in believing that they are not ‘just’ stories but actually deep and meaningful expressions of the universal and eternal in the human psyche.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 31, 2009
The Guardians of the Stones trilogy by Moyra Caldecott ends with Shadow on the Stones. In it, Isar and Deva, the children of Karne and Fern and Kyra and Khu-ren, take opposing sides on the invasion the followers of Groth. The Temple of the Sun falls under attack. Can it be saved?
With Wardyke dead there's a need for a new antagonist. Rather than make it another stranger, an individual with unknown goals with sinister results, the Groths are presented as a horde of infidels worshiping an evil god.
Where The Temple of the Sun had too little action, Shadow on the Stones has too much. After nearly four hundred pages of meditation and the preaching of tolerance above all, this Lord of the Rings style battle comes out of nowhere.
Besides the battle of good versus evil, there's the prophesied romance between Isar and Deva. From The Temple of the Sun, it is presented as fate and a tragic one at that. The romance tries raise the tension in the narrative but it didn't work for me. It felt forced and ingenuous.
To the book's favor, it doesn't end as predictably as it could have. After a book and a half undoing the free will message of The Tall Stones, the final chapter does a complete U-turn on the predestination thesis of the second and third novels. What could have been a very tight trilogy ends up being a muddle of themes.
With Wardyke dead there's a need for a new antagonist. Rather than make it another stranger, an individual with unknown goals with sinister results, the Groths are presented as a horde of infidels worshiping an evil god.
Where The Temple of the Sun had too little action, Shadow on the Stones has too much. After nearly four hundred pages of meditation and the preaching of tolerance above all, this Lord of the Rings style battle comes out of nowhere.
Besides the battle of good versus evil, there's the prophesied romance between Isar and Deva. From The Temple of the Sun, it is presented as fate and a tragic one at that. The romance tries raise the tension in the narrative but it didn't work for me. It felt forced and ingenuous.
To the book's favor, it doesn't end as predictably as it could have. After a book and a half undoing the free will message of The Tall Stones, the final chapter does a complete U-turn on the predestination thesis of the second and third novels. What could have been a very tight trilogy ends up being a muddle of themes.
Displaying 1 of 1 review