The Stoneholding: First Book of the Talamadh (Paperback)

~ Mark James (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This expansive series debut, Baen's first foray into epic fantasy, employs classic tropes but speaks with a unique voice. When the Arvon king was slain and his queen and infant son abducted, the merchant council of the Mindal set vile power-hungry upstart Gawmage on the throne. Eighteen years later, the highlanders of the Holding still reject Gawmage's rule. Wilum, the aged High Bard, and his bright-eyed apprentice, Kal, hope to locate and restore the lost prince before the Holding falls to Gawmage's army. Plentiful action scenes, narrative dialogue and liberal use of songs and poems recall Tolkien and keep pages turning. Strong characterization, especially of ingenious, daring Kal, obscures some awkward prose and dubious plot revelations. Readers who enjoy Baen's military SF and alternate history may well be pleasantly surprised by this new direction. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

The Great Harmony of Ardiel lies rent asunder. Darkness looms over the ancient world of Ahn Norvys, a world steeped in legend. Kalaquinn Wright, green in years and understanding, is torn from his pastoral life in a remote highland clanholding and thrust out onto a broader stage in a journey of escape and discovery. As night covers Ahn Norvys, he must save what remains of truth and beauty and discover his destiny beyond the Stoneholding.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Stoneharp Press (October 24, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897130007
• ISBN-13: 978-1897130001
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,807,410 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dismal, July 25, 2009

By	M. Jacobs (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stoneholding (Legacy of the Stone Harp) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

This is teen wish-fulfillment fantasy that might perhaps be enjoyed by easily amused adolescent boys. I can't imagine anyone else actually liking this book. (Warning: spoilers follow, though actually there's very little to spoil here.)

The plot is simple to the point of being almost nonexistent. It consists of the Hero and his Buddy running around a small mountain valley, trying to dodge a mass of battle-hardened invaders led by a fearful tyrant while at the same time saving as many inhabitants as possible. The adults mostly stand around inertly while they do this. There are many valuable things to learn here about how to act while being chased around the countryside, such as 1) take a nap during full daylight on the side of a scree slope; 2) when you wake up from your nap, descend the slope and then yell at the top of your lungs to rouse your still-sleeping buddy; no one will see or hear you while you engage in this behavior; 3) dawdle around to watch a rat fight an otter; 4) let a guy who you know is working for the tyrant follow the refugees to your hiding place, and then act surprised when he hits someone important over the head with a rock, steals a vital magical artifact, and runs off; 5) let the guy back in afterward, ignore him when he starts jostling you for no reason, and then act surprised once more when he steals said artifact *again.* I could go on, but I won't.

In fairness, the bad guys aren't any smarter. Which is too bad, really, because if they had been, the book would be a lot shorter. A lot of page space is taken up by descriptions of every plant, bird, and rock formation our idiot heroes run across, as well as by tediously long-winded attempts at dialogue. It's less dialogue than it is a series of alternating monologues, a situation which makes the reader appreciate the precocious mute kid all the more. And as for female characters, on those rare occasions when you're actually able to spot one, she will be cooking, scolding, holding a baby, or wailing in grief. Like I said, dismal.

I would recommend this book only to my enemies. If you simply must read it, don't spend any money on it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth your time or money, August 23, 2009

By	G. Swift "97jedi" (Southwestern Missouri) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Stoneholding (Legacy of the Stone Harp) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

There are not many books that I simply cannot finish. Normally, it might take me some time to flog myself through it, but this is one that likely will join the short list of the unfinished.

There is really no shortage of flaws to cite in this book. The editors should have caught the many grammar errors, and maybe shortened the chapters by half. The writers should have put in a plot more complex than one which makes the linear plots of old Nintendo games look complex. Creating believable heroes also would have been a step in the right direction. Villains who are more than caricatures of bad guys from old serial movies would have served the story as well. Using something other than terribly long-winded dialogue for exposition would have been great. Putting some life into the fight scenes so they seemed less wooden would have been nice. How about some women with some impact to the story? Why are the only people who take action a decrepit old man and two young punks? Are all the adults in their prime not as tenacious as the dialogue seems to suggest? Where are the round characters?

For something purported to be in the vein of Tolkien, it's sorely lacking in a great many things. In this era of truly great epic fantasy, this book does not belong in the list of books worth reading. If I ever finish this one from sheer orneriness, I shan't be picking up the sequels.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars pass this one up, August 22, 2009

By	guitarchick24 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Stoneholding (Legacy of the Stone Harp) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I think mostly everyone's already said it - pass this one up. If you're a lover of high fantasy, "The Stoneholding" is just going to make you cry (and not in a good way). Wordy, characters that are dull and not engaging, and a plot that's bogged down by bad writing. If you want to read this one... just don't. Get it from the library if you must waste your time on it.