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The Stone Prince (1997)

door Fiona Patton

Andere auteurs: Zie de sectie andere auteurs.

Reeksen: Branion (1)

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4141060,385 (3.63)4
Galactic Spectrum Award nomination * Locus Recommended Reading List * Epic fantasy series with character-driven intrigue and spectacular magic   The royal line of Branion have been blessed, or cursed, with the power of the Flame, a magic which--if wielded properly--none can stand against. But if called upon by one untrained, the Flame is as likely to destroy its human vessel as whatever foe it has been unleashed against.   Yet even the Flame is less dangerous than Her Most Regal and Sacred Majesty Melesandra the Third, an unyielding and terrifying ruler. No one understands this better than Crown Prince Demnor, who is convinced he is his mother's most-treasured victim. Often at odds with Melesandra, Demnor knows he will receive no support from her when faced with the prospect of an unwanted, politically motivated marriage.   But all his personal conflicts must be thrust aside when the realm of Branion is drawn into a far greater struggle as the eternally rebellious Heathland plots a bold new campaign of war. Only time will tell whether Demnor can survive the traitors within the Court and the ever-growing rebel forces--even as he strives to master the power which is his birthright.… (meer)
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1-5 van 10 worden getoond (volgende | toon alle)
Ignore what the book blurb says, this is really a story about Prince Demnor's personal journey from being a curious and sensitive child to a teenager dealing with between him and his mother to a country's proud ruler. All that stuff about Heathland and rebellion is really only a small part of the book. The plot moves slowly with lots of focus on the characters' inner thoughts and motivations, and plenty of flashbacks to give us the background on how Demnor became who he is now. The multiple POVs the story was told through meant we got to see different perspectives on the same scene, and I really like the fact that we were shown the villain's perspective as well. Overall, I enjoyed this book although I did at times wish the plot had a little more action. ( )
  serru | Oct 6, 2022 |
Over long and dull. A perfect book for learning how *not* to write a novel, sadly. There is a decent story, but it's buried under the overwhelming detail of the history Ms. Patton has come up with for her book. It's nice to have the background, but it over takes the main plot at times and makes it really hard see what she's driving at. This book could have used some of the lighter touches of Tanya Huff. ( )
  fuzzipueo | Apr 24, 2022 |
When I purchased this book, I did not notice the date it was published. I thought it was maybe 5-10 years old based on the amount books in the series (not sure how I thought that considering the cover design, but I did). Once I started reading it, I quickly realized it was older than I thought. That is not meant to be derogatory in any way. The theme, scope and world building of this novel simply has an older feel to it. It's definitely a sword and sorcery novel, draws heavily on British history in the world building, particularly the tensions between the scots and the brits and the protestants and the catholics. I'm not going to expose my lack of British history by attempting to point to any particular years, battles or monarchs that are used as a jumping off point. There is, unsurprisingly, glorification of battle and several characters clearly think violence is foreplay (think "honorable" violence like a duel or watching a fight not abuse). There is a high emphasis on honor, loyalty, and fealty.

The writing, plot and characterizations are quite solid and generally fall in line with what you might expect from a fantasy book of it's era with two notable exceptions that allows this book to stand out even today. Gender equality. This is a world where for the most part, gender discrimination does not seem to exist. People are treated the same regardless of gender. The same titles are used (expect in one case where a cleric is referred to as Sister), a Prince is a prince whether male or female, a priest is a priest. There is also a form of free love. One of the ways the society prevents unwanted pregnancies (if you are going to have gender equality in women going to war, this is key), the nobility have contracts with same gender courtesans (called companions). Some are in love with their companions, some simply use them for sex, and some companions are also contracted and nurses and nannies. There is in general quite a positive attitude to sex and love. This is not however, a steamy, sexy read. Any and all sex is fade to black (which personally I am ok with)

What keeps this from being five stars is that it definitely is pre Sanderson's law and there is some religious/sorcerous shannigans happening during some of the battle scenes that felt unsatisfactory to me due to being heavy on the symbolism and mysticism and light on the mythology and logic behind it. It's definitely the style of the time it was published, if this book was a recent novel, there might be more of an explanation on the mechanics of the sorcery or more focus on characters with sorcerous powers.

All in all, this was a solid 4 stars. Definitely recommend for readers looking for some fantasy with gay sub plot and not a gay romance set in a fantasy world (the second seems much easier to find). Also, for fans of sword and sorcery fantasy and for readers tired of patriarchal fantasy and interested in a different perspective on gender norms. ( )
  Sam_Ash | Jan 7, 2021 |
This book was intense. There was political intrigue, war, romance. Everything. My mind is still swimming. I was expecting an interesting read but I wasn't expecting a new book for my favourites list.

The writing is good. The story flows very well and the language isn't too much or lacking. The characters are all pretty fresh and interesting. I fell in INSTANT love with Kelahnus. He was literally everything in this book for me. My enjoyment of the book was literally hinging on how his story progressed. I cried a few times because of him. Everyone else was pretty awesome too. Even the evil guys. I love how Patton shows so many POVs. Normally, I hate that with a passion but she does a really great job. Sometimes it goes into omniscient narrator but that never takes away from the book; only adds.

I described this book as "recklessly cute" as I was reading it. (Cute is my umbrella term for everything awesome, cool and badass.) Like, people do some really irresponsible stuff in this book but it all flies. Patton is magical in her character portrayal that way. I was even feeling for the bad guys. I mean, they kinda make sense a bit, you know?

I definitely recommend this book. Though, I would say steel yourself for the ride, if you're prone to emotional overwhelming like I am. ( )
  Isana | Jul 7, 2020 |
The chief conceit of the book is to set a high-medieval swords and sorcery tale in a land characterized by more-than-21st-century sexual equality and promiscuity, focusing partly on a bisexual love triangle between the protagonist, his male concubine, and his bride. A certain linguistic awkwardness arises from this: there are no Ladies in this world, everyone of any note seems to be either a priest, a warrior, or both, and terms such as Lord, Earl, and Knight are bestowed on those of either gender. This "RenFest" anachronism can be a little disconcerting to those for whom European tradition is more ingrained than it obviously is in the author; though it is carefully introduced without fanfare on the second page, and flagged a little blatantly in the matronymic family names (not MacDonald and MacKenzie but DeKathrine and DeSandra). It is weird, too, in a quasi-European context, to meet cider in American guise as a non-alcoholic drink. The author is overfond of repeating full names and high sounding titles (oh you Americans, how you do love aristocracy!), and of capital letters for Important Things which don't really need them. There is also a frequent focus on clothing, a feature said to be typical of female authors, though actually I find it quite helpful in forming a mental picture of the proceedings, so I'm not complaining.

I'm not sure whether it is helpful to the reader's expectations or just lazy on the part of the author to base a secondary world on such a very lightly massaged version of medieval-cum-renaissance Europe. The map shows the British Isles more or less simply reversed left-to-right with all the countries transparently renamed, and Scotland (alias Heathland) is - surprise, surprise - in a strategic and religious alliance with France (alias Gallia) against England and Wales (alias Branion and Gwyneth). Some of the other place names read a little oddly to anyone acquainted with real British toponymy. (One good joke for the philologists: the Faith in the Triarchy is know not as the Triarchic but the Triarctic religion, which etymologically would indicate belief in the Three Bears!)

But although I've sounded a bit negative, it's a good enough read, with some nice rivalries between the characters, who are variously bloodthirsty, scheming, or both. The reliance on flashback is initially unsettling and not well enough signalled -- I had to go back and read the datelines again to check when I was reading about -- but it does allow the depth of the story and its characters to unfold gradually without swamping the reader with background information. The sacerdotal royal family and its tense relationship with the mysterious Flame rather remind me of the semi-divine royal house of Geraldine Harris's 'Seven Citadels' sequence, though Demnor DeMarian is an older, harsher, and more sexually active figure than Kerish lo Taan. It's the first in a sequence of four novels, and I might look out the others.

MB 31-x-2016 ( )
  MyopicBookworm | Oct 31, 2016 |
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» Andere auteurs toevoegen (1 mogelijk)

AuteursnaamRolType auteurWerk?Status
Fiona Pattonprimaire auteuralle editiesberekend
Bonhorst, IreneVertalerSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd
Lee, Jody A.Artiest omslagafbeeldingSecundaire auteursommige editiesbevestigd

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As the new sun touched the spiral tips of the capital city an elder priest of the Most Holy Order of the Flame slipped into the temple's main sanctuary.
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Galactic Spectrum Award nomination * Locus Recommended Reading List * Epic fantasy series with character-driven intrigue and spectacular magic   The royal line of Branion have been blessed, or cursed, with the power of the Flame, a magic which--if wielded properly--none can stand against. But if called upon by one untrained, the Flame is as likely to destroy its human vessel as whatever foe it has been unleashed against.   Yet even the Flame is less dangerous than Her Most Regal and Sacred Majesty Melesandra the Third, an unyielding and terrifying ruler. No one understands this better than Crown Prince Demnor, who is convinced he is his mother's most-treasured victim. Often at odds with Melesandra, Demnor knows he will receive no support from her when faced with the prospect of an unwanted, politically motivated marriage.   But all his personal conflicts must be thrust aside when the realm of Branion is drawn into a far greater struggle as the eternally rebellious Heathland plots a bold new campaign of war. Only time will tell whether Demnor can survive the traitors within the Court and the ever-growing rebel forces--even as he strives to master the power which is his birthright.

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