Customer Reviews

The Stowaway: Stone of Tymora, Book I

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

RA Salvatore has made a distinguished career with his Forgotten Realms stories, particularly those centering on the drow elf Drizzt Do'Urden.

And with his son Geno Salvatore, he makes a decent effort at a young adult novel in "The Stowaway: Stone of Tymora Book 1." It's a resolutely middle-of-the-road story that doesn't really have a conclusion, despite a few moments of lyricism in its descriptions. And it really helps to be a longtime reader of Salvatore's prior works.

A young orphan is captured by pirates, and tells the captain his story: pursued by a malevolent demon, he stowed away on a ship and encountered the drow elf Drizzt Do'Urden and his companions.

Then the narrative takes a backward leap, exploring the boy's formative years -- he was raised by a forest witch, and passed on to the mysterious wandering warrior Perrault. Perrault was determined to keep the boy -- whom he named Maimun -- safe from all harm, and to give him a magical stone that was his by right.

Unfortunately, with the stone comes an old enemy -- the evil demon Asbeel, a shapeshifting creature who is after both Maimun and his magical stone. And when Perrault is badly injured in battle, Maimun flees into the world of the high seas, unsure where to go or what to do. And wherever he goes, there are enemies pursuing him.

Most young-adult spinoffs of a series try to serve as an introduction in themselves, letting new readers understand what this universe is and what's going on. Unfortunately, the two Salvatores sort of let this slide -- the entire book is full of people and places that seem very significant, but whose lives and roles are never really explained.

And Geno Salvatore spin up a straightforward yarn with some chilling moments (the scaly troll who talks like Gollum), lots of chases and fights, and lyrical language ("All I could see was two point of burning lavender flame"). Unfortunately there's little actual plot in "The Stowaway," since most of it involves Maimun racing frantically from A to B, hanging out for awhile and then having to rush to C and D. And it ends on a big fat "To Be Continued."

Maimun himself is a rather typical fantasy boy-hero -- he has no idea what's going on, and he struggles to merely keep himself alive and to hold onto his despised Item of Power. But he becomes somewhat less sympathetic at the midway point, when he abandons a dying father-figure to save himself, and only feels remorse a few days after.

And despite Drizzt's appearance on the cover, his presence is completely disposable -- he merely travels on the same ship as Maimun for a few days, and dispenses some Yodalike wisdom. That's all. He and his companions don't really play any part in the story.

"The Stowaway: Stone of Tymora Volume 1" is only a warmup with a Drizzt cameo -- it has potential, but little more. Here's hoping the rest of the story is a bit more gripping.

Captured by pirates, Maimun begins telling his story to the captain. Orphaned as a baby, Maimun has constantly been on the run for his life. A demon is after the boy and the stone that must carry. With the help of some friends along the way, Maimun is thrust into one adventure after another. All to protect a stone that he knows little about.

Written mostly as a first person narrative from Maimun's point of view, the style is easy to read and fast-paced. Maimun is an easily sympathetic character who is brave and loyal. Tragedy befalls anyone close to him, so he thinks of the stone as a burden and curse. And yet his given name means "twice lucky," which is ironic considering the danger he is constantly in.

The supporting characters and villains are eccentric and fun. The story is action-packed and suspenseful. A certainly quick read (I read the 300-some pages in less than 2 hours), young fantasy fans are sure to enjoy this exciting new series full of mystery and magic. And with a cliffhanger ending, I'm already impatient for the next installment.

I was very curious on this book being that R.A. Salvatore's son wrote it along with R.A. Salvatore.
You can easily discern what each of them wrote as they have different writing styles. Nonetheless, they are both exquisite writing styles. It surprised me as young Salvatore has the same writing gift as Salvatore Sr.
A must read for Realms Fans!

Ok it was a decent story but not worthy of a single book. This book was printed in large font and double spaced to give it the impression of being a full book. It had to be a ploy to get R.A.'s kid published and profitable. All three of these stories should have been put together in a single book. At least then it would not have been a marketing scam to get the reader to buy three books. I will not buy another book with the kid as a co-author.

For the first part of the book, I'll be both brutal and frank: it read like fan fiction. Don't get me wrong, I like fan fiction, particularly the well written variety. But whether from a desire to gear things down for a younger reader or difficulties in adapting prior characters back into their prior attitudes, I was left with the feeling that I'd seen something like this before and could we please hurry up to something new.

Fortunately, the scene does shift from something I'd expect on a fansite and we are left with Maimun and the parent figures in his life, which wasn't a bad thing and provided a welcome bit of background to the narrator. Unfortunately, just when I was getting interested in the characters, particularly the villainous Asbeel, the book ends. I had the mental equivalent of walking into a glass door. It left me with the feeling that this was exactly half a book and makes me wonder why it isn't longer.

Overall the pacing was good. The original characters, while a bit under-explored, were interesting enough to keep me reading throughout. It was a decent read even if it does feel somewhat unfinished.

I purchased this book for myself because it was R.A. Salvatore and Drizzt. Unfortunately, I was disappointed in the book, perhaps because I had not realized it was penned for a young adult audience. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of R.A. Salvatore's novels, but The Stowaway barely kept my attention instead of demanding it as with previous novels. A book does not need Drizzt to succeed, but the cover and reviews conveyed Drizzt as an integral part of the book and was completely misleading.

Perhaps unfairly, but I expected more from the book in every aspect, character development, excitement, battles, and plot. I thoroughly enjoy all of the aforementioned components from previous Salvatore novels. If the book had not been such a quick read, I doubt I would have finished it.

I do not plan on getting the sequels.

I love R.A. Salvatore's work and have been following his stuff since the Crystal Shard. This book may have been glanced over by him, but he had nothing to do with the writing. It is simplistic at best and states the obvious so many times that it becomes annoying. I haven't a care in the world what happens to the main character, Maimun, because he has no depth. The only way this book makes it close to 300 pages is that the double spaced font size is large enough so grandma doesn't need her glasses to read it and the text is surrounded by generous 3/4" columns. I am doing my best to complete this book but may pull the plug as other reviews have stated, it ends in a cliff-hanger. I'd rather just throw Maimun over the cliff and be done with it!

A fast read. Any average reader could finish this in a day. If you have read The Halfling's Gem by R.A. Salvatore, then you may find this story of great interest. It takes place during the same time and stories cross carefully. Too, the main character of this story emerges in The Pirate King by R.A. Salvatore.

Overall, I did find this story compelling. It was hard to lay the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

'tis a good page turner but I found myself finishing this in a fraction of the time that I usually do Bob Salv's originals.

This quality of writing is good for younger readers, however it lacks the pop that successful artists targeting the youth sector have. For instance lets look at the character depthness:

Main character: Inquisitive and bland
Main characters father: Quiet and Bland
Main villain: Typical bad guy. Overcocky, and ultra powerful.


There is no character development really. You read it almost devoid of emotion that RA has been able to put through even the shorted pieces of work.

The cameos by Cattie Brie and Drizzt seem forced. The dialoge between the main character and Drizzt seems bland. Drizzt during the era was going through profound emotions about his heritage, etc. It seems bizarre that hes seemingly a copy of the main characters father. A robot that parrots a few phrases.

The introduction of Robillard seems to be a completely different person. Robillard was supremely cocky. I was sure surprised to see him working as a guard in memmon. The attempt at cocky demeanor was there, but it was without Robillards typical spark. I am also confused as to how he and Dudermont forged a strong relationship that is seen later in the various Drizzt series. I will have to reread to see when he was brought on, but him being a dock worker/guard seemed out of place.

As stated by another reviewer, the book is an extremely quick read.

And what I am not used to seeing is the generic cliff hanger that sounds like it came from a saturday morning cartoon "Find out what happens next"


However, regardless of its flaws, the story is based in a world with some of the best fantasy characters ever penned. It is worth reading.

Perfect for a plane ride :)