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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Glowing "Grail", December 27, 2005
Though you may not know it, Amanda Hemingway is already a well-known fantasy writer -- her pen name is Jan Siegel, author of books that blend modern settings with mythic heroes, villains and magic. And that also sums up "The Greenstone Grail," which gives a new spin to Grail legends. Hemingway keeps things interesting with alien universes, water demons, mysterious deaths, ancient magic and a hero who is almost as mysterious as the grail itself. And, of course, lush writing and well-made characters. Annie and her infant son Nathan arrived in Thornyhill, with invisible pursuers following them. Thirteen years later, Annie and Nathan are living peacefully there, near their friend Bartlemy's house. But their lives are disrupted when the legendary Greenstone Grail is located, and its rightful owner is trying to get it back. To make things worse, Nathan has begun to dream himself INTO other worlds, even bringing a drowning man back into his own world. And he soon learns that the dying world of Eos -- where magic is "like electricity" -- has a connection to the Grail. What he doesn't realize is that a water demon and a sinister dwarf have an interest in the Grail as well... and in him. The legend of the Grail -- in this case, the Sangreal -- gets a fresh feel in this book. Though Hemingway peppers her plot with pop culture references, there is a feeling of ancient magic and mystery to this book. Her writing is fresh and vital, even when taking a sci-fi twist on the burned, poisoned planet of Eos, or in the buried chapel of the Sangreal. Hemingway takes her time setting up her plot, with plenty of foreshadowing and descriptions of the everyday lives of the characters. Then, she slowly infuses those lives with magic and otherworldliness, even if only by a sentence. The only flaw would be the jibes at organized religion, which don't seem to serve any purpose in the plot. Hemingway's biggest challenge is Nathan -- she describes him as a natural hero, brave and tall and intelligent, as well as being magical. It would be easy to hate this kid, but she makes him genuinely likable. Annie and Hazel serve as undeerstatedly strong characters, although Bartlemy is too nebulous a character at present. While "Greenstone Grail" can stand on its own as a world-hopping, taut fantasy story, there are half a dozen loose threads left at the end -- incuding two magical items yet to be found. Tantalizing and entrancing.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent start to series, April 17, 2006
If one has to accept the fact that almost all fantasy books are now the beginning of a series (and we're just about to that point), then at least The Greenstone Grail is a compelling enough beginning to leave the reader wanting more while still resolving at least this portion of the story. Grail opens nicely with a bit of suspense and mystery as Annie Ward, carrying her infant son, is chased/herded, down a dark unfamiliar road by things dark and barely seen. She stumbles across a haven in the form of the small home of Bartleby Goodman, whose sight clearly has some power. From there we jump to when Nathan is thirteen years old and about to embark on the adventures of the trilogy. Half the story involves a local legend regarding the Greenstone Grail, a family legacy lost centuries ago that seemingly has returned and is about to be auctioned off. The resurfacing of the cup leads to a legal battle, some strange mystical events, an old, usually harmless witch ("grat-grandmother" to Nathan's best friend) biting off more than she could chew, and eventually a murder or two. The other half of the story involves Nathan's emerging and improving ability to dream himself into a strange dying world where magic exists and whose inhabitants (steadily decreasing) are becoming more desperate to find someplace to move where the encroaching "virus" that has killed off most of their universe won't find them. It doesn't take the most astute reader to figure out that eventually the two stories will have something to do with one another. Meanwhile, toss in a vengeful waterspirit, a mysterious couple who just moved into the small town, Nathan's best friend Hazel who is both repelled and compelled by her own potential Gift for magic, a dog who is more than a dog, an old-time bumblingly benign inspector, an otherworldly princess, and a host of other items and you have a book whose numerous parts mesh together wonderfully well. The plot is both complex and nicely compelling. The coming-of-age portion of the story is handled subtly and with humor. The characters could do with a bit more edge or vividness, with the exception of Annie who comes across strongly. If Nathan seems a bit too good or too wise/eloquent for the typical 13-yr-old, the author gives us a built-in reason for this. All in all, Greenstone Grail stands out as one of the best of the many, many offering in young adult fantasy--better written, better plotted than most. It doesn't quite achieve the quality of the Bartimeus trilogy by Stroud or the Gregor series, and falls somewhere in between the two with regard to target age (though can be enjoyed by older teens/adults), but it is a welcome addition. Highly recommmended.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Beginning To What Seems Like A Stellar Series, April 14, 2005
The Greenstone Grail is book one of The Sangreal Trilogy. The trilogy is set up right away by the tale of Nathan Ward. He is a smart lad who has strange dreams of another world: Eos. Eos is in big trouble. Years of magic use have contaminated the world. In a dream he pulls into our world, Eric. He is a very comical character. Nathan also has dreams of a cup. A cup that has mysteriously returned to England. The Grimthorn Grail as it is called in our world is shrouded in mystery and legends say it is the Holy Grail. But it's power is not this world and belongs to Eos. It along with a sword and a crown are the three items that can save that other world from destruction. Throw in an underlining plot of a murderess water spirit and a bumbling police investigator and you have the makings of a great English fantasy trilogy. There is also magic in the form of a witch and a old man named Bartlemy. He takes Annie, Nathan's mother in when she is running away from unseen enemies in the prologue. These enemies are discribed in detail later in the novel. All and all this book is a building on a fantasy genre that has instances of Arthurian legends. And I can't wait untill The Traitor's Sword (Book Two) is released in the U.S.
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