THE STONE COUNCIL [Paperback]

Jean-Christophe Grange (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Unknown (2001)
• ASIN: B0028Q6SRS
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Nail-Biter!, December 22, 2003

By 

Jennifer Juday "Working Mom & Cook" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stone Council (Hardcover)

"Diane Thiberge has just 48 hours, not a minute more." THE STONE COUNCIL starts off fast, and gets faster and more complex as things go along. Inexplicable things start happening, and people start dying.

I loved it. The plot revolves around a 30 year old ethologist who specializies in the study of predatory animals. This knowledge serves her well as we unravel the mysteries of who this killer is, why they are killing, why they kill in the creepy ways that they kill, and finally how Diane came to be in the middle of this story. Unraveling all that leads us to explore telepathy, psychokinesis and how the Soviet state funded research in these areas. In the process, we see Diane come to know herself.

THE STONE COUNCIL delivers everything you want in a thriller, down to the surprise revelation at the end that brings all the disparate plot elements together at last.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars something very different, October 31, 2002

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Council (Hardcover)

this is an unusual book and a very compelling read. the translation is superb. although originally written in french, it is mercifully lacking in froggy aspects. there is plenty of action and excellent characterisation.
i bought this book in paperback in switzerland, and observe that paperback editions are available there many months before they come out in the usa or england, which is odd.
the occult and the exotic are mingled without descent into the unconvincing. an astonishing scope of geography and ethnology is encompassed.
the only fault in the plot is the ridiculous notion that the bad guy would fix up an elaborate car crash to kill the little boy, when that task could have been done much more simply. also the author seems to believe, perhaps a french notion, that there are five states of matter instead of the classical three.
nonetheless these are minor criticisms in a truly imaginative thriller that is wonderfully engaging and very well written, though one wonders how much that is due to the translator's skills.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Thriller Full of Grangé Touch, August 31, 2011

By 

Gre4t Moments (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Council (Harvill Crime in Vintage) (Paperback)

An assault victim herself when she was a teenager Diane Thiberge (Monica Bellucci played the role in the film version) is an ethnologist and a martial artist. She adopted an Asian child Liu-San, (she christened him Lucien), as part of her search for a meaning for life. When nightmares and Lucien's accident plunged Diane into another tragic path - a series of murders may have a relation to her adopted son, who might be a prey for supernatural forces.

Jean-Christophe Grangé is the author of unusual thrillers like Les rivières pourpres or Blood Red Rivers (film Crimson Rivers) and L'Empire des loups - Empire of the Wolves (made into film with the same name). His plots and unpredictable twists are a delight, and this novel is following the same path. However, there is a difference, unlike his previous works; Stone Council is progressing a bit slow. Which might irritate some readers but the thrill is there and Stone Council is still full of the unique Grangé touch. So I am giving full marks to this one.