The Stone of the Stars (Dragon Throne) [Paperback]

The writing is technically competent. The story is the problem.

I don't know how old Alison Baird is, but this book certainly reads as though it were written by a 16-year-old girl. There is little about the story that can be called original; even the surprise twist at the end is perfectly obvious by a third of the way through. We are given a hodge-podge of poorly-blended elements that, the competency of the writing excepted, closely resembles teenage fan fiction. Magic stones, dragon riding, hidden destinies, a token black character -- and, of course, the certainty of two more volumes to come.

This book is sure to appeal to a great many teenagers. Grown-ups may find it tedious.

I thought this book was fairly good. Its true that the "twists" weren't too difficult to figure out, but in my opinion the storytelling itself outshone all of that. There were a lot of characters presented, but it's obvious when reading that they are not important.

In the beginning I was immediately reminded of the "Silmarillion," but fortunately that stopped about two pages in. And as for teenage fiction, apparantly this book is classified as Young Adult (or, at least, her previous books were written for that age group). There's plenty of good YA fantasy out there, and I don't see it as a bad thing.

In reality though, this book isn't for everyone. If you absolutely hate predictability, don't pick this up. But if you are looking for a good story, I think this book was wonderful. Baird's descriptions were vivid, and she did a good job intertwining her own imagination with other mythical elements.

_The Stone of the Stars_ is a fun, if imperfect, high fantasy with gently feminist overtones, a coming-of-age theme, and a slight hint of romance.

The beginning is...well, inauspicious. There's a Prologue that has the feel of warmed-over Tolkien as seen through the lens of the "back in the good old days, everyone was a peaceful Goddess-worshipper" myth. Then, in chapter one, we meet our heroine, Ailia, in a scene that has "Mary Sue" written all over it, right down to the color-changing eyes. Fortunately, it gets better.

_The Stone of the Stars_ consists of two parts. The first section deals with Ailia's journey from her small island to the larger world of higher education. While there, she meets the four others who will be her companions throughout the tale: Damion, a priest having a crisis of faith; Jomar, an embittered slave; Lorelyn, a tomboyish orphan with mystical powers; and Ana, an eccentric old woman reputed to be a witch. This section is necessary to set the scene, but it takes a while for the story's events to get rolling, and the dialogue in Part One is often stilted and infodumpy. I have to give Baird credit for originality in her setting, however; her story is set in her world's Age of Enlightenment rather than its Middle Ages, and so many of the characters don't believe in the supernatural until it's staring them in the face. Sometimes not even then.

Part Two is stronger. In this section, Ailia and her companions embark on a dangerous quest. The pace picks up, and the story becomes an exciting McGuffin adventure. It's still not perfect. There's some more Sue-ishness, some clichés, way too much cluelessness on the part of the characters, and the most ridiculous name for a mythical beast I've ever run across. (An antelope-type animal called a _pantheon_? Seriously?) However, Part Two is a fun ride, and I was glued to the page as the good guys raced against the bad guys to find the mysterious Stone.

One of the things I thought was done particularly well was Ailia's preconceptions of gender roles. While she chafes against the idea of a conventional "female" life, she doesn't immediately put all of her ingrained ideas aside as soon as the adventure starts. She's quite shocked at some of the things Lorelyn does. I think that makes Ailia realistic. It would have stretched belief if she'd become a riot grrl overnight.

The prose is serviceable with occasional moments of transcendent beauty.

Alison Baird wrote several novels for young adults before writing the DRAGON THRONE series. While _The Stone of the Stars_ is billed as a fantasy for adults, it strikes me as a great novel for young girls. I'm 30, and I enjoyed it. At 13, I'd have treasured it, enthralled by the struggles of the two very different heroines, bookish Ailia and tomboyish Lorelyn, as they left their preordained lives and searched for their true selves. There's no sex, and the violence is not explicit, so there's nothing that would be inappropriate for a girl of 12 or 13, and I think that's the age group that would like _The Stone of the Stars_ best.