The Stone Light (Dark Reflections) [Paperback]

Kai Meyer (Author), Elizabeth D. Crawford (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Dark Reflections | Publication Date: October 16, 2007

Evil forces have invaded Venice - the city that Merle and Serafin call home. Luckily, the two friends hold secrets that just might stop the pharaoh from destroying their ancient city.

Merle has within her spirit of the Flowing Queen, a mysterious legendary force who serves as her guide. Indeed, the Queen's voice has led Merle to Vermithrax, a winged stone lion. And together they are on a mission to Hell to enlist help from Lord Light.

Meanwhile, Serafin remains in Venice. He's joined a group of rebel boys who are plotting to assassinate the pharaoh. But can a group so small really kill the biggest, most powerful man on earth?

Though they follow separate courses, Merle and Serafin will both encounter unexpected betrayals and startling revelations. And together they learn that evil takes many shapes in the world of Dark Reflections.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5–7—Fans of The Water Mirror (S & S, 2005) will enjoy this wild ride of a sequel as Merle, with the Flowing Queen within her, is taken to Hell by the winged stone lion Vermithrax. As the Egyptian Pharaoh unleashes his army of mummies (unearthed dead bodies) on the city of Venice, Merle tries to find Lucifer, Lord Light, with whom she hopes to forge an alliance against Egypt, and her friend Serafin joins the rebels in a plot to assassinate the Pharaoh. With the appearance of the powerful sphinx woman Lalapeya, the plot twists and turns, so that readers, along with Serafin, do not know whom to trust. While this novel lacks the powerful sense of place that the Venetian scenes of the earlier title offered, Meyer shows great inventiveness in his portrayal of the environment and creatures of Hell. However, characters such as Junipa from the first book appear only toward the very end of this volume, and the water mirror appears only cursorily. The book ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving both Merle and Serafin's stories unresolved. While there is a great deal of action, the emotional heart of the novel seems to be missing. There is an occasional awkwardness in the phrasing that leaves the narrative feeling jerky. The British edition, with a different translation, reads much more smoothly. Although readers new to the series may be left unmoved, enthusiasts of the first book will fly through this one and await the conclusion of the trilogy.—Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

In this continuation of the Dark Reflections Trilogy, mirror-maker's apprentice Merle, who carries Venice's guardian deity inside her, travels to seek an alliance with the feared lord of Hell. Serafin, her friend and sweetheart, remains behind to help oust invading Egyptians. The serpentine plot twists resolve few of the major questions facing the protagonists, but the landscapes and creatures the characters encounter are jaw dropping, and readers of the first adventure will certainly want to go along for the ride. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (October 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689877897
• ISBN-13: 978-0689877902
• ASIN: 0689877900
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, December 18, 2006

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone Light (Dark Reflections) (Hardcover)

WARNING: This book is the second in a trilogy.

Okay, so maybe I'm the only one who missed that. When I finally figured it out (the words "Book Two" on the cover were a good clue), I had to run out and buy the first one, The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections). I read that one as fast as possible, so I could get to this one. The first book was fantastic and ended with a huge cliffhanger. If I hadn't already had this second book in my possession, I probably would have been quite frustrated. My point being, read The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections) first! There is a certain amount of knowledge that is assumed in THE STONE LIGHT. You might be okay without it, but the story certainly makes more sense with it. Also, if you haven't read The Water Mirror (Dark Reflections) yet, but intend to do so, you might want to stop reading this now.

Vermithrax, the flying stone lion, Merle, the orphan girl, and the Flowing Queen, who rather defies description, have escaped from Venice and the Egyptian army. Their troubles are far from behind them, though. If they want to save Venice, they'll have to locate the only possible ally they can think of, Lord Light. After the things the people of Venice did to Lord Light's messenger, though, he might not be so willing to help. Even if he does, what will be the cost? Before they can even really worry about all of that, they'll have to get to him. He makes his home at the bottom of Hell.

Back in Venice there is a small but strong rebellion growing. The kind of rebellion that could make enemies into friends, and even, just maybe, succeed. Provided the leader of the rebellion doesn't turn out to be the biggest enemy of all.

This is a good book, but I really wanted it to be a great book, like I thought the first one was. The characters are wonderfully, fully realized, the adventures are adventurous, the story progresses... It's just a very typical second book. There are more new questions than there are answers to the original questions and it feels like everything is just being set up for book three. Perhaps after the next book I can give you a different opinion of the trilogy as a whole. It's kind of like Star Wars, the old ones; everyone has an opinion of the separate movies, which is different from the whole.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

4.0 out of 5 stars A descent into hell with an array of unusual creatures, February 25, 2010

By 

Michelle Boytim (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Stone Light (Dark Reflections) (Paperback)

This is the second book in the Dark Reflections series and is the sequel to The Water Mirror. Merle travels with Vermithrax, the stone lion on a mission to visit Lord Light in Hell while her companion, the thief Serafin, joins a group intent on resisting the Eygptians occupation of Venice. The group is led by a sphinx who can appear as a woman. They plan to assasinate the pharoah and it is unclear if the sphinx can be trusted or if she has her own agenda. On their trip to hell, the group finds all sorts of unusual stone-like creatures, the Lilim who menace them and a man who claims to be Winter, in search of his love, Summer. In hell, Lord Light is surprising to them and brings back Junipa to the story. A horrifying doctor and the mysterious Stone Light also appear in hell. While the worlds and creatures portrayed are very imaginative, the translation seemed a little stilted and I missed the emotional connection that I had with the characters in the first book. The book ends in a cliffhanger on both stories, so I would recommend having the sequel at hand. On the whole, it was a good, but not a great book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Most wonderful book I've read for a while., September 22, 2008

By 

C. Jensen "Chick a Cola" (NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stone Light (Dark Reflections) (Paperback)

I'm not sure which number this was but I totally loved the whole series. It is a great story well up until the end but that is to be expected. Seems like all novelists decide to completely ruin the series with the last chapter. I'd recommend you don't read past the defeat of supreme evil dude. Anywho back to the non-ruining description. This is a supremely fictional book to my much regret. Who wouldn't want to live with majestic living stone lions and tyrannical Egyptians with their mummy hoards? The characters in this book lead you on a thrilling race to not only save their lives but the lives of all those they love plus the city in which they grew up.