The Stone of the Stars (The Dragon Throne, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alison Baird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Alison Baird, a fresh new voice in the fantastic tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley, presents the first volume in a wondrous new trilogy of adventure, magic, and mythic beasts... The City of the Dragons Ravaging the once peaceful world of Mera, the evil God-King Khalazar and his army of barbarians seek a legendary talisman of unfathomable power called the Stone of the Stars. But the only clues to its location are contained in an ancient scroll, which rests in the hands of four young fugitives. Now this quartet of innocents-a storyteller, a priest, a runaway slave, and a visionary-must find and uncover the real nature of the Stone. Pursued by Khalazar's fanatic warriors, these travelers will journey to a long-vanished mystical isle where humans once dwelt alongside dragons. And it is here, amid the haunted ruins of a city built by a forgotten race, that their quest-and their destinies-will truly begin...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian author Baird blends an accessible style, typical of her popular young adult novels (The Hidden World; The Dragon's Egg), with a rich mythology in this delightful fantasy for adults, the first of a new series. In the ancient history of the almost excessively Earth-like planet of Mera, the world was ruled by the magic-using Elei. When a rain of meteors destroyed their exquisite civilization, the few survivors clung to two prophecies: one of an evil avatar of the dark god Modrian, and one of the Tryna Lia, a young woman who would use the powerful Star Stone to defend against him. Now, hundreds of years later, the last descendents of the Elei believe they have found the Tryna Lia just in time to defeat a cruel tyrant who proclaims himself favored by Modrian, but only a few people know the Star Stone's location: Ana, an old woman who claims to read minds and wield magic; Damion, a priest of the One God Aan who finds his faith troubled by evidence of strange powers and old gods; and Ailia, a young student who loves fairy tales but has a hard time believing that they can come true. The vowel-heavy Elei names are too easily confused or forgotten, but this is a minor flaw. Baird has produced a real winner, sure to please current fans and appeal to many new ones.
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.

Review

"Baird has created a stunning fantasy world using Celtic myths and legends, but with her own unique twist." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446613029
• ISBN-13: 978-0446613026
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,543,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Teenage fantasy, July 14, 2005

By 

Allen J. Gainsford (Wellington, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stone of the Stars (The Dragon Throne, Book 1) (Paperback)

The writing is technically competent. The story is the problem.

I don't know how old Alison Baird is, but this book certainly reads as though it were written by a 16-year-old girl. There is little about the story that can be called original; even the surprise twist at the end is perfectly obvious by a third of the way through. We are given a hodge-podge of poorly-blended elements that, the competency of the writing excepted, closely resembles teenage fan fiction. Magic stones, dragon riding, hidden destinies, a token black character -- and, of course, the certainty of two more volumes to come.

This book is sure to appeal to a great many teenagers. Grown-ups may find it tedious.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Was it just me?, August 3, 2005

By 

Jessica G. "lilac_jive" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stone of the Stars (The Dragon Throne, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought this book was fairly good. Its true that the "twists" weren't too difficult to figure out, but in my opinion the storytelling itself outshone all of that. There were a lot of characters presented, but it's obvious when reading that they are not important.

In the beginning I was immediately reminded of the "Silmarillion," but fortunately that stopped about two pages in. And as for teenage fiction, apparantly this book is classified as Young Adult (or, at least, her previous books were written for that age group). There's plenty of good YA fantasy out there, and I don't see it as a bad thing.

In reality though, this book isn't for everyone. If you absolutely hate predictability, don't pick this up. But if you are looking for a good story, I think this book was wonderful. Baird's descriptions were vivid, and she did a good job intertwining her own imagination with other mythical elements.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A few flaws in this Stone, but lots of fun, August 13, 2008

By 

Kelly (Fantasy Literature) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Stone of the Stars (The Dragon Throne, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

_The Stone of the Stars_ is a fun, if imperfect, high fantasy with gently feminist overtones, a coming-of-age theme, and a slight hint of romance.

The beginning is...well, inauspicious. There's a Prologue that has the feel of warmed-over Tolkien as seen through the lens of the "back in the good old days, everyone was a peaceful Goddess-worshipper" myth. Then, in chapter one, we meet our heroine, Ailia, in a scene that has "Mary Sue" written all over it, right down to the color-changing eyes. Fortunately, it gets better.

_The Stone of the Stars_ consists of two parts. The first section deals with Ailia's journey from her small island to the larger world of higher education. While there, she meets the four others who will be her companions throughout the tale: Damion, a priest having a crisis of faith; Jomar, an embittered slave; Lorelyn, a tomboyish orphan with mystical powers; and Ana, an eccentric old woman reputed to be a witch. This section is necessary to set the scene, but it takes a while for the story's events to get rolling, and the dialogue in Part One is often stilted and infodumpy. I have to give Baird credit for originality in her setting, however; her story is set in her world's Age of Enlightenment rather than its Middle Ages, and so many of the characters don't believe in the supernatural until it's staring them in the face. Sometimes not even then.

Part Two is stronger. In this section, Ailia and her companions embark on a dangerous quest. The pace picks up, and the story becomes an exciting McGuffin adventure. It's still not perfect. There's some more Sue-ishness, some clichés, way too much cluelessness on the part of the characters, and the most ridiculous name for a mythical beast I've ever run across. (An antelope-type animal called a _pantheon_? Seriously?) However, Part Two is a fun ride, and I was glued to the page as the good guys raced against the bad guys to find the mysterious Stone.

One of the things I thought was done particularly well was Ailia's preconceptions of gender roles. While she chafes against the idea of a conventional "female" life, she doesn't immediately put all of her ingrained ideas aside as soon as the adventure starts. She's quite shocked at some of the things Lorelyn does. I think that makes Ailia realistic. It would have stretched belief if she'd become a riot grrl overnight.

The prose is serviceable with occasional moments of transcendent beauty.

Alison Baird wrote several novels for young adults before writing the DRAGON THRONE series. While _The Stone of the Stars_ is billed as a fantasy for adults, it strikes me as a great novel for young girls. I'm 30, and I enjoyed it. At 13, I'd have treasured it, enthralled by the struggles of the two very different heroines, bookish Ailia and tomboyish Lorelyn, as they left their preordained lives and searched for their true selves. There's no sex, and the violence is not explicit, so there's nothing that would be inappropriate for a girl of 12 or 13, and I think that's the age group that would like _The Stone of the Stars_ best.