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The Seeing Stone
 
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The Seeing Stone [Audio Download]

by Kevin Crossley Holland (Author), Samuel West (Narrator)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
List Price: £13.00
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Product details

  • Audio Download
  • Listening Length: 3 hours and 41 minutes
  • Program Type: Audiobook
  • Version: Abridged
  • Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Limited
  • Audible Release Date: 5 May 2006
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B002SQAX06
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

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Product Description

The year is 1199, the place the Welsh Marches, where young Arthur de Caldicot practises his tilting and archery, learns to be a dutiful page to his father, and waits impatiently to grow up and become a knight. One day his father's friend Merlin gives him a shining black stone. When Arthur starts to see stories in the stone, his life quickly becomes entwined with that of his namesake, the boy who pulls the sword in the stone.

In the many-layered novel of which this is the talking book, King Arthur is seen as a figure for all time, an exemplar to his namesake, a mysterious presence influencing not just one time and place but many. The 100 short chapters are almost like sound bites, not only of the mythical past of King Arthur but the real, earthy, uncomfortable Middle Ages. The turn of the century; uncertainty about the future; war and peace; Christianity and Islam; rationalism and superstition; the sharp contracts in the lives of rich and poor; all these issues impact on the life of a boy in a medieval manor and give the book its uniquely contemporary feel.

The Seeing Stone is a unique and brilliant new take on the Arthurian story-cycle. The author is a magician with words and his light, speedy narrative is as easy to listen to as it is poetic.

©2000 Kevin Crossley Holland; (P)2000 Orion Publishing Group Ltd.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was a good book and i can't wait to read the 2nd and 3rd books. The book was about a boy called Arthur who was 13. He is the son of the Lord of the Manor. His biggest wish is to become a squire to another lord. His friend Merlin gives him a Seeing Stone where he follows a story about another boy called Arthur (the classic Sword in the Stone story). The book was written in the medieval period during the Crusades.It was obviously very well researched and i could relate to a lot of it as i studied the medieval period last year at school, in history. My only complaint would be that it was written in 100 short and i would say random chapters. I would have prefered, say, 50 longer chapters. It was a good book to get into on holiday.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was probably one of the best i have ever read. I couldn't put it down and read it astonishingly quickly. This novel is full of twist and turns and if like me you are thinking that it is for children, as an adult, i urge you to reconsider. For persons 8+ in my opinion.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
The Seeing Stone is the first in a trilogy, which tells the story of two Arthurs, one living in 1199, the other the king of legend. Arthur de Caldicot is growing up on the border of England and Wales, and is about to find out some very surprising things about his family. At the same time his life becomes more mysterious when he is given a stone. When he looks in it he can see the unfolding story of his namesake.

Crossley-Holland has written a wonderful story, with some fantastic characters, even those who appear only briefly. The book includes a list of characters to help the reader keep track of who is who, a word list of Medieval terms, and lovely maps of Caldicot Manor and the land surrounding it.

The Seeing Stone is a real treat for readers of 9 up to adult. I just hope the next two books are as good!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
pleasant and enthralling read with something of a Tales of Canterbury...
A captivating and imaginative story that weaves the life of a 13 year old boy in England, near the Welsh border in 1199 and 1200. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Gary Selikow
brillent book.
This book is brillent it is for adult and children between the ages of 8 ands upwards. it nice hereing another book about Arthur from another propestive. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ms. Sarah F. Langridge
Watch your cat
The author really knows how to write creepy stories. It makes you want to sleep with one eye open. There is nothing cutesy like Harry Potter and or ridiculously dumb like the "So... Read more
Published on 4 April 2010 by bernie
A colourful and captivating tale of medieval life
Winner of the 2001 Guardian Children's Fiction Award and shortlisted for the 2000 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year, "The Seeing Stone" is the first instalment in Kevin... Read more
Published on 15 Nov 2009 by The Wanderer
Faultless - medieval immersion!
I found this book amazing - the thoughts, feelings, customs and practicalities are brought vividly to life. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2009 by Mr. M. Jones
Arthurian Legend seen from the eyes of a 13-year-old boy
Young Arthur, at the age of 13, in the year 1199, is given a beautiful obsidian stone by a man named Merlin. Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2007 by S. Barnes
Absolutely brilliant!
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Due to the author's fantastic descriptions and vivid depictions of medieval manor life, you feel as if you have been temporarily... Read more
Published on 17 Aug 2006 by S. Nawrat
The King Who Was and Will be
A literary masterpiece, a book of historical fact and a retelling of the classic Arthur stories all rolled into one fantastic novel. It's a children's book like never before. Read more
Published on 12 Oct 2002 by Jon Rowson
The best book I read last year (and I read plenty)
Though as luminously vivid as a stained-glass painting or medieval tapestry, 'Arthur: The Seeing Stone' conjures up much more than a frozen window on time. Read more
Published on 23 Sep 2002 by "cdje"
A highly recommended read.
As a children's librarian I read many children's books. This book rates as highly as those of Philip Pulman. Read more
Published on 18 Mar 2002
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