The Greenstone Grail (Sangreal Trilogy) (Paperback)

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• This item: The Greenstone Grail (Sangreal Trilogy) by Amanda Hemingway

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• Traitor's Sword (Sangreal Trilogy) by Amanda Hemingway

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• The Poisoned Crown (Sangreal Trilogy) by Amanda Hemingway

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Traitor's Sword (Sangreal Trilogy) by Amanda Hemingway £5.49

The Poisoned Crown (Sangreal Trilogy) by Amanda Hemingway £6.39

Poison Study (Book 1 in The Study Trilogy) (MIRA) by Maria V. Snyder 4.5 out of 5 stars (40)  £3.00

Magic Study: 1 by Maria V. Snyder 4.1 out of 5 stars (22)  £3.66

Fire Study (Book 3 in The Study Trilogy) (MIRA) by Maria V. Snyder 3.4 out of 5 stars (17)  £3.68

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Review
Praise for Prospero's Children:'Prospero's Children is a piece of pure magic -- a charming, eccentric, and powerfully imaginative work of fantasy which will enchant readers for years to come' Clive Barker'A lyrical, captivating first novel of mermaids, magic, lost worlds, and found souls. I read it with deep appreciation for the author's storytelling skills, her memorable images and language, and her ability to make me feel so strongly about her characters. Once read, this book will not be forgotten' Terry Brooks

First entry in the Sangreal Trilogy by UK fantasy writer Hemingway (The Poison Heart, 1990, etc.). In a prologue, young Nathan Ward enters the Darkwoods with his ageless mongrel Hoover and falls through a hole into an ancient chapel now buried under great roots. A small goblet gleaming with green gemstones in a green halo floats toward him: Christ's cup of blood, full to the brim! But Hoover pulls Nathan back, the cup fades, and after Nathan climbs out he can no longer find the hole. The story proper starts a decade earlier as a homeless young woman struggles along a country road with a suitcase and a baby. She becomes the very long-time guest of bachelor Bartlemy Goodman, who turns out to be a 1500-year-old albino. He senses destiny at work in forlorn Annie Ward and baby Nathan. Bartlemy opens a small secondhand bookshop for Annie to run. Meanwhile, he intuits that humanly fatherless Nathan was actually incepted beyond the Gate of Death and has a great deed ahead of him. Hmm, what could that be? Annie senses a nameless threat hanging over her. Can it turn on the fabled Thorn family, who built this village centuries ago before their fortunes faded? Were they in truth a satanic cult, and does the greenstone cup not hold the blood of Christ? Would Christ's homely Grail be encrusted with emeralds? Bartlemy? He's a culinary genius who discovered chocolate, worked for the Borgias and even taught Escoffier. The Cup? Stolen by the Nazis, it is now on auction at Sotheby's. Can the Thorns get it back? A promising start. (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
The first book in a brand new trilogy from the author of Prospero's Children. Bartlemy Goodman is approximately 1500 years old. An albino of Greek parentage he was born in Byzantium amidst the decline of the Roman Empire and now resides at Thornyhill house, England, with his dog, Hoover. Bartlemy is one of the Gifted. But long experience has taught him the perils of the power of the witch-kind and so throughout the ages has channelled his considerable talents into cooking, his culinary prowess becoming the stuff of legend: he worked for the Borgias, was among the first to discover chocolate and even taught the likes of Escoffier. On a warm evening in 1991 a young homeless woman holding a baby turns up on Bartlemy's doorstep and he senses destiny at work. The woman's name is Annie Ward and her son, Nathan, is an exceptional child as Annie cannot account for his conception. Her husband Daniel died in a car accident so Nathan cannot be his. Soon Bartlemy comes to believe that the boy was created beyond the Gate of Death by a superior being for a special purpose, one that may threaten all of witch-kind and that it is his job to protect him. Whilst Nathan grows and Bartlemy continues to watch over the small family, strange occurrences begin to plague the village. The Thorn family, who gave their name to the village have lived close by since pre-Christian times, were once the guardians of a strange cup of greenish stone and set with jewels. When it was lost; sold to a Jewish collector in Austria by the black sheep of the family who absconded with it in the 1920's, the family's fortune soon followed suit. Rumoured to have been stolen by the Nazis during the war it has now turned up at Sotheby's and the last of the Thorns is determined to get it back by proving the original sale false. Bartlemy joins his friend, Rowena Thorn, in her campaign. But the matter becomes complicated and sinister when Nathan discovers the body of the Austrian owner in the wood nearby and begins to experience disturbing visions involving the cup itself.

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3 Reviews 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   5 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Glowing Grail, 28 Dec 2005 By  E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Greenstone Grail (Sangreal Trilogy) (Paperback) Though you may not know it, Amanda Hemingway is already a well-known fantasy writer -- her pen name is Jan Siegel, author of books that blend modern settings with mythic heroes, villains and magic. And that also sums up "The Greenstone Grail," which gives a new spin to Grail legends. Hemingway keeps things interesting with alien universes, water demons, mysterious deaths, ancient magic and a hero who is almost as mysterious as the grail itself. And, of course, lush writing and well-made characters. Annie and her infant son Nathan arrived in Thornyhill, with invisible pursuers following them. Thirteen years later, Annie and Nathan are living peacefully there, near their friend Bartlemy's house. But their lives are disrupted when the legendary Greenstone Grail is located, and its rightful owner is trying to get it back. To make things worse, Nathan has begun to dream himself INTO other worlds, even bringing a drowning man back into his own world. And he soon learns that the dying world of Eos -- where magic is "like electricity" -- has a connection to the Grail. What he doesn't realize is that a water demon and a sinister dwarf have an interest in the Grail as well... and in him. The legend of the Grail -- in this case, the Sangreal -- gets a fresh feel in this book. Though Hemingway peppers her plot with pop culture references, there is a feeling of ancient magic and mystery to this book. Her writing is fresh and vital, even when taking a sci-fi twist on the burned, poisoned planet of Eos, or in the buried chapel of the Sangreal. Hemingway takes her time setting up her plot, with plenty of foreshadowing and descriptions of the everyday lives of the characters. Then, she slowly infuses those lives with magic and otherworldliness, even if only by a sentence. The only flaw would be the jibes at organized religion, which don't seem to serve any purpose in the plot. Hemingway's biggest challenge is Nathan -- she describes him as a natural hero, brave and tall and intelligent, as well as being magical. It would be easy to hate this kid, but she makes him genuinely likable. Annie and Hazel serve as undeerstatedly strong characters, although Bartlemy is too nebulous a character at present. While "Greenstone Grail" can stand on its own as a world-hopping, taut fantasy story, there are half a dozen loose threads left at the end -- incuding two magical items yet to be found. Tantalizing and entrancing. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   4 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Good!, 11 Jul 2004 By  E. Gretton (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    To start with, this is a very good book: well written, with an intriguing plot, and believable, enjoyable/hatable characters. The story revolves around an adolescent boy and his mother, and the boy discovering a talent he has, for dreaming himself into other worlds. It also involves the Grail, a mysterious cup which is being argued over by three claimants. The story keeps its impetus, and is very well timed. Amanda Hemingway has produced an excellent novel. I do have one griping point. During the course of the book, she has the Grail carbon dated. But the Grail is made of stone, and stone cannot be carbon dated. I was puzzled that this was not picked up during the editing process, even if Hemingway didn't know herself. I was also surprised that she didn't even think to check on her own, because she seems an educated, intelligent person, judging by her writing. This did interrupt my enjoyment, but as it wasn't persistently referred to I managed to put it out of my head. But it is the reason I give only four stars to this book: otherwise, I'd give five. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   4 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars Seigel goes Hemingway, 1 Jun 2004 By  Gareth Wilson "drosdelnoch2" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    Having heard of Amanda Hemingway under her other pen name of Jan Seigel, I was interested to see how her writing style would adapt to this sort of novel. I wasnt left disappointed, the novel was crisp, fresh and added a new take on the Celtoi theme that seems to have recently become popular in the writing world, blending it with the dreaming powers used by Shamans to a marvelous effect. Although in places the novel seems to lose pace and slow down it shortly picks up again showing that the author has understood the premise about changing paces for the mood of the scene, which is something that many ignore who try to keep a novel so action packed that the reader soon loses interest. If your short of a tale and fancy a one off novel from a writer with much to offer, you cant really go wrong with this one. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 3 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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