Customer Reviews

Stone Maiden

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved this book! In fact, I love the way Susan King writes, and I'm definitely going to get her other books! I read The Stone Maiden very quickly, since I was so wrapped up in the story and came to love her characters, and I did not want to leave them when it was over. The twelfth century seemed very real, not vague or shallow, and I read a lot of medieval settings, especially Scottish, which Susan King is known for writing. The Stone Maiden is a beautiful romance, not only because of its great research, but because I honestly felt the emotions of the characters, and could feel the love between Alainna and Sebastian as it grew. This book will melt your heart. Very special!

In 1170 in the Highlands, Clan Laren is dying after generations of a feud and raids from Clan MacNechton. There are no young people left except for the clan leader, Alainna MacLaren. The legend of the nearby STONE MAIDEN is that after seven centuries of protecting the Laren clan, their safety will end unless Alainna marries a warrior willing to adopt her name by the spring.

Desperate for help, Alainna petitions King William for a heroic Scottish husband. William sends Breton Sebastien Le Bret, who has a beloved son living in Brittany, a good enough reason in his mind not to adopt Alainna's name. As Alainna and Sebastien fight with each other and war with their common enemy, they fall in love. However, the surname remains an issue as she believes in the legend and he loves his five-year-old son.

THE STONE MAIDEN is an exciting Medieval Highlander tale that centers on duty, honor, and love. The story line is filled with excitement that picturesquely provides the audience insight into clan life, survival and period politics. The lead couple is a warm pair even though Sebastien's patience with Alainna seems stretched. The support cast augments the tale with a feel for the twelfth century. Susan King shows why she is considered by fans and critics to be one of the monarchs of the sub-genre.

Harriet Klausner

I love romance, and I prefer novels with depth, meaning, and sophistication. THE STONE MAIDEN offers all of that and more, one of the most satisfying historical romances I have read in a very long time. The author drew me into the twelfth century setting, and the intricate, well-developed story and characters never let go until the last page. It's fascinating, thought-provoking, and multi-dimensional. It is not a quick, simplistic read. Ms. King has a lyrical style and a subtle command of her story. Very few stories can wring genuine tears from me anymore, and this one did. A special story, and a special talent, and definitely one to savor. Love the cover too--elegant and classy.

The Stone Maiden is a lyrical novel set in twelfth century Scotland, a tale of Celtic clans and Norman knights intertwined with the legend of an ancient maiden. With grace and style, Susan King weaves together the threads of fantasy, romance, and historical fiction.

After her father and brothers are killed in a feud with Clan Nechtan, Alainna MacLaren becomes the sole heir to Kinlochan, a vast but impoverished holding that sits like a gateway to the mountains of the western Highlands. Her clan is dying, with only her elderly kin surviving after so many generations of violence. The feud began in the fifth century, after a MacNechtan accosted a MacLaren woman. When faeries discovered the woman dying, they caught her spirit inside a granite pillar and raised it on the shore of the loch near her beloved home. For centuries, the Stone Maiden has protected Clan Laren. However, the spell can last only seven hundred years. Soon Alainna will chisel the final mark upon the stone, where the years have been counted. No one knows what will happen then. Will the feud die, will it rage anew, or will Clan Laren simply fade into the mists of time?

King William, the Scottish monarch, wishes to establish a Norman military presence in Kinlochan to ensure his authority -- so he sends Sebastien leBret, one of his Norman knights, to wed Alainna. Author Susan King skillfully uses Alainna, Sebastien, and the Stone Maiden as a metaphor for the uneasy alliances among the Normans and Celts in twelfth century Scotland.

Fantasy can be thought of as lying along a continuum. At one end are works told in broad strokes that emphasize events. These are big stories, often epic in scope, with characters moving within the framework of the plot like chess pieces on a board. At the other end are character-driven tales that focus on individuals; their personal stories inform and offer insight into the larger context. Although I enjoy fantasy drawn from all along that continuum, I tend to prefer works centered on personal relationships among the characters. The Stone Maiden weaves a romantic story around Alainna and Sebastien that brought the Celtic history and legends alive for me.

Celtic folklore abounds with legends that involve stone. In this book, those themes provide an allegory for the political backdrop of the story and act as a symbol of human spirituality. The stone also becomes a metaphor for Alainna, who is a skilled stone carver. King's subtle blending of mythology and the art of stone carving create a poetic mood, one enhanced by her evocation of the stark beauty in the Scottish countryside. The Celtic poem from Alexander Carmichael's Carmina Gadelica (Charms of the Gaels), which serves as a theme for Sebastien, embodies the story's mystical quality:

I am weary, and I a stranger,
Lead me to the land of angels.
Be my eyes in time of darkness,
Be my shield against hosts of faery,
Be my wings till I find my home.

The Stone Maiden is a magical tale of love, fantasy, history, pride, and honor. It offers to take the reader home on its wings of enchantment.

I'm having trouble believing that some of the previous reviewers read the same book I did. Susan King writes wonderfully, with beautiful, poetic language and a deeply layered understanding of Scottish history and culture. The book isn't paced like an MTV video, nor should it be, since that wouldn't suit this story. I've never read a Scottish historical that gave me a better sense of what it was like to live in the wild, remote fastnesses of Britain. (There's a battle in the snow that gives me chills even to think of it.)

Alaina and Sebastien Le Bret are both fully realized, believable characters, and their developing relationship was utterly convincing. As in all King's books, hero and heroine are unique, their conflict specific and rooted in their time and place. I think she's one of the best historical romance novelists writing today.

<sigh> Susan King is a remarkable, uniquely-talented author. She shares her Scottish devotion and knowledge in a sweet, memorable way in the story of Sebastien and Alainna in The Stone Maiden. From the first dreamy scene to the last, you will love every page-turning moment of this book. If you listen real close, you may even hear the bard's harp weep as the story of The Stone Maiden unfolds. I truly enjoyed this one!

Susan King has produced another spellbinding book of the Scottish Highlands. Her reasearch plots and characters are woven into a story that makes the reader believe they are actually living in the same keep as the characters. this is a must for readers of historical romance.

The Stone Maiden is a MUST read for both romance and historical readers alike. The story is riviting and the plot is complex enough to keep you interested without the feeling of reading a documentary that so many historical romances do.

I especially enjoyed the detail and authentic day to day living depicted in the book. Susan did her homework on this one as usual.

For you historical buffs: the detail of the stone cutting and carvings a correct (I looked them up.) And they intertwine with the love story in a unique and pleaseing manner.

Not only is this a must read but it is a book that you will want to read again and again. I sat down to read for an hour and read to the end of the book in one setting. I just could not put it down.

The Stone Maiden tells me that Susan King just gets better with every book she writes. I have read all her books and I look forward to every one. Her grasp of medieval Scotland is always flawless and her story of Alianna MacLaren, Celtic legend, and the Norman knight who falls in love with her is a magical tale and one not to be missed.

this book is in keeping with everything ms. king has ever done. fantastic! the parallel story lines of myth and the time period worked well on all levels.i esp.like the way she doesn't overload the story line with gratuitous sex just to move her books like so many do. always a pleasure to read and spent time with, her books are (i feel) for the thinking person to enjoy and they should be veiwed as the thinking persons romance. bravo, ms.king, keep up the quality work.