Pillar of the Sky: A Novel of Stonehenge (Paperback)

by Cecelia Holland (Author) "THE SUN WAS RISING..." (more)
Key Phrases: Harus Kum, Pillar of the Sky, Buras Ram (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A first-class storyteller, Holland convinces the reader that only someone obsessed with building a gateway to the heavens could have created something as incredible as Stonehenge." --People

"[Holland] is at all times a superb storyteller, and her talents have never been better displayed. She not only re-creates a prehistoric people with every aspect of their life opened up for us; she also makes us share that life." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Politics in prehistoric times is Holland's theme in this intelligently and lushly developed saga. [Pillar of the Sky] moves with great energy but without neglecting rich detail; the dim past springs to buoyant and believable life." --Booklist

"With her engrossing narrative, some nicely developed characters, and excellent descriptions of the primitive lifestyle, Holland succeeds in stretching our imagination; she has breathed new life into those forty-ton monoliths that for all these centuries have been standing so mutely on the Salisbury Plain." --Los Angeles Herald Examiner
-- Review

Review

"A first-class storyteller, Holland convinces the reader that only someone obsessed with building a gateway to the heavens could have created something as incredible as Stonehenge." --People

"[Holland] is at all times a superb storyteller, and her talents have never been better displayed. She not only re-creates a prehistoric people with every aspect of their life opened up for us; she also makes us share that life." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Politics in prehistoric times is Holland's theme in this intelligently and lushly developed saga. [Pillar of the Sky] moves with great energy but without neglecting rich detail; the dim past springs to buoyant and believable life." --Booklist

"With her engrossing narrative, some nicely developed characters, and excellent descriptions of the primitive lifestyle, Holland succeeds in stretching our imagination; she has breathed new life into those forty-ton monoliths that for all these centuries have been standing so mutely on the Salisbury Plain." --Los Angeles Herald Examiner

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (July 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868871
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868871
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #802,816 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars fans of pre-history novels will love it, December 4, 2004

By	MKK Books "Matt Dawdy - Check out our Amazon ... (Saratoga Springs, UT) - See all my reviews

Cecelia Holland is one of my favorite authors because of her book Until the Sun Falls, which is a novel from the Mongol perspective about their invasions of Russia and Europe. It is on my top five list definitely.

In fact, because of that book, I have bought several of her other books and I have come to the conclusion that she is one of the best novelists in the world at doing what she does. And what she does is take an event or a person or a group from history and recreate them as accurately as possible in novel form. She does this whether it makes them more interesting or less, whether it aids the novel or makes it worse.

And, so as I look for Until the Sun Falls part two I chanced upon Pillar of the Sky, a novel about a man living in ancient Britain who tries to build something great. There are many interesting forces at work in the novel, including the difficulties the protagonist faces as he confronts his primitive peers and even his own nature, which is slightly more developed than those around him but is still prone to many of their weaknesses.

The writing is smooth and powerful and if you like historical, or in the case of Pillar of the Sky, pre-historical, novels you will probably find it excellent. The characters are interesting and realistic, the main character even has flaws and makes mistakes!

However, being the weakminded pulp media reader that I am I wouldn't mind if she wanted to make the book a little more exciting by adding a few more fights or even a battle. I guess my problem is I am still looking to find Until the Sun Falls part two.