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The Language of Stones (Hardcover)

by Robert Carter (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 568 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; 1st Edition edition (22 Mar 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 000716923X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007169238
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.6 x 4.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 214,519 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Robert Carter's debut fantasy The Language of Stones tackles the magic-haunted Matter of Britain, not in King Arthur's dark ages but in an alternative 15th century where the wizard Merlyn struggles to prevent the Wars of the Roses.

Gwydion, as he's now known, walks through lovingly evoked countryside with baleful energies beneath--a network of ley lines and ancient stones. Once benign, these old powers were warped by the invading Slavers (to us, the Romans) who broke the pattern with their inhumanly straight roads of stone. So "battlestones" that used to guard our island now sing a different song, of rage, dissent and war...

This lesson is learned by Gwydion's new apprentice Will, as he follows his enigmatic master through a land whose very spirit can erupt from the ground as the giant Alba, where an erring lord is cursed with a boar's head and water-hags lie in wait for the unwary. At first reluctantly, young Will learns the lore of magic, chivalry, weaponry and medieval hunting (reminiscent of The Sword in the Stone). But why does Gwydion call him Child of Destiny, hinting that he's an incarnation of another promising lad whom the wizard taught nearly a thousand years before?

Seeking out and dealing with battlestones is exhausting work--dangerous, too, because there's powerful opposition. One of the ancient wizardly order has chosen the dark side and for reasons of his own wants war. He's tremendously powerful: there seems no way to block his malign influence over the key confrontation that in our world plunged England into 30 years of war. But this is not our world.

The Language of Stones is full of charm and the magic of landscape. Real places and features, such as the Rollright Stones or the Uffington White Horse, are echoed under other names. There are real people, too: the author recommends checking the cast list of Shakespeare's King Henry VI. All this added texture and depth makes a refreshing change from standard commercial fantasy and contributes to an enjoyable read. --David Langford



Review

In a mythical fifteenth century, dark forces are threatening the throne of England. Young Willand, newly apprenticed to the mysterious stranger known as Gwydion, is quickly learning that his apparently safe world is precariously balanced on the edge of war. The standing stones which pepper the landscape are linked by the lorc, an ancient earth power. But the turbulence of centuries has disturbed their delicate balance and poisoned the lorc; the malicious battlestones are invading the minds of men, stirring up conflict and confusion. Gwydion and Will must find each one, before madness takes over and the rightful king toppled. As Will discovers his own special talents, he becomes increasingly aware that he and Gwydion have met before - and this is not the first time that the pair have saved the country from catastrophe... A spectacular rewriting of the Arthurian legends, set in a richly realised world, combining authentic history and place with magic, myth and heroes - simply stunning. (Kirkus UK)
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy in the Style of Tolkein, 18 Mar 2005
By J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Language of Stones (Paperback)
For those who like Tolkein or White this book is a must. It takes place in a mythical 15th century Britain. The realm is about to enter a dark time of war and savagery (the Wars of the Roses). Nothing it seems can avert this disaster for the people . . .
The book begins with Gwydion, who in a former time was known as Merlin taking a young boy Willand from the two people he had always regarded as his parents. Willand does not willingly go with Gwydion and harbours thoughts of escaping at the first opportunity. But after a while on the journey they set out on together Willand begins to take a liking to the old man who seems to know everything that has happened in the past and what will happen in the future.
There are stones in the earth throughout the land, they are known as the battle stones and this magic is what is calling the people to war. It is the job of Gwydion and Willand to find the stones and make them safe, but there is a sorcerer as powerful as Gwydion set against them . . .
This book may not be to the taste of the purists of British history, but I found it an enjoyable if somewhat unusual read.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An immense start, 16 Mar 2006
This review is from: The Language of Stones (Paperback)
Oh, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Spied it quite by chance whilst browsing through a shop the other day with its catchy cover, bought it, sat down and read in two sessions. Quite a remarkable first novel.
Robert Carter’s The Language of Stones is set in an alternative fifteenth century England. One where a thirteen year old lad named Willard has his world rudely turned upside down on Beltine when a gandalf-esque character looms out of the darkness to claim his protege. This sorceror/warlock/wizard (Will is not sure what he is) goes by a multitude of names down the generations but is recognisable under more familiar pseudonyms as Jack O’Lantern or Merlyn , though know n throughout the novel Gwydion. The legend of King Arthur is reborn.
A forced march to the Wychwood dumps poor Will in the hands of Lord Strange with his boar’s head for six months where the rebellious streak in the lad means he learns some mild naming magic and promptly nearly gets killed by a marsh hag whilst waiting for Willow, a girl of equal age that he has confused feelings for. Just in time Merlyn reappears to take Will with him as the land prepares for a coming war. A trip to meet King Hal and a last minute escape from the overly boorish Duke Edgar lands Will and Gwydion off the Irish coast whence they learn what they must do. Namely discover the battlestones that sit on the lorc lines. What follows is a coming of age for Will as he continues to prove his inheritance before ending up at Fotheringham castle under the guardianship of Duke Richard, pretender to the throne, training as a squire to the overly thuggish firstborn, Edward. Schroolroom fights and taunting later he finds himself grown to a young man, learning from the Wortmaster and struggling to deal with his feelings for Willow who has reappeared.
Gywdion returns and has fallen out of favour with the Duke after passing the exquisite diamond they found at Leir’s tomb to Queen Mag. War is coming and he takes Will in a desperate attempt to locate the Doomstone, that evil-harbouring piece of granite that is driving the Realm towards War. After finding the lesser Plague stone and discovering more about his inner self Gwydion and Will find themselves at Badon Hill as Duke Richard prepares to assault the town harbouring King Hal, Duke Edgar and the Queen. A short nasty fight finds many prophecies fulfilled and Will has his own sorcerous battle at the heart of the Sightless Ones with the Doomstone cover of St Swythyn’s tomb before returning to his own Shire will he enemies defeated but not vanquished.
What is sparkling about Carter is that here is clearly an author well versed in English and Celtic myth as he transcribes many names, places and myths into his own versions that are immediately recognisable to the knowledgeable reader. His finest effort is Gwydion’s reference to Iuliu the Seer (or Julius Caesar to the historian) but the novel is littered with altered names and celtic mythology that seeks to demonstrate how easy it is to twist the facts by word of mouth. The lengthy author’s note at the end goes into some detail about the parallels he draws with British geography and the times that preclude the Wars of the Roses. Carter is a fine author and the sequel to this opener is one novel I’ll definitely be shelling out the extra for the hardback version as soon as it is out in May.
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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Carter Debut an amazing read, 19 April 2004
By Gareth Wilson "drosdelnoch2" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Set up for a Trilogy this series of novels has had a great begining. Robert Carter has throughout this novel presented the reader with something that I beleive will make this series a hit with fans of the genre. Whilst many novels based on a celtic belief system with druidic influence seem to dive straight to the mete of the matter we are presented with a novel that takes its time to explain the nuances of this ancient world and allows the reader to understand the events that are being played out at the same time as the principle character who is being guided by an older more knowledgeable being.

For me I loved this novel, I liked the way in which the narrative kept the pace to keep the reader glued to the novel and how at strategic points a whole new event was thrown into the forefront to not only confuse the principle protagonist but also let the reader see how each event was shaping the way in which the character was going to develop. In addition to this it also presented a world in which we could see how our ancient ancestors not only embraced the known but also feared the unknown and how the fae peoples shaped the beliefs that has travelled through to our own time in ancient ceremonies and bardic tales.

With such a rich source to explore it was clearly going to be a difficult novel to write with so many quagmires into which the unwary author could have become trapped. Carter not only navigated these possible areas of danger with skill he also presents them in a way to which many writers can only dream and presents a whole fresh area for exploration for subsequent followers.

I eagerly await the second outing for Carter although to the unwary it is always the second novel that is the harder of the two to write. I feel from what has been presented that it will not only continue this epic tale towards its conclussion but will soon set a president for others to follow and become a modern classic within a short space of time. Should you be looking for a holiday book, then I would probably say dont take this. Why? Upon starting this novel it will become almost impossible to put down and you'll find little time for anything else until you've devoured this literary offering from perhaps one of the futures leading lights in the genre.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Slow Starting But Novel Ideas
The cover does not really give a good guide as to the content, which is essentially an alternative history tale set around the onset of the War of the Roses. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Sir Furboy

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT read
This book caught my eye randomly in a magazine and I thought I'd invest...and what an investment it was!! A great start to the saga! A fantastic reminder of Tolkiens work. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Lesley-anne Murray

5.0 out of 5 stars from a historian's viewpoint, this is superb!
hard to put it into words, but let's try.
I read Mythago Wood many years ago and loved it. This is a few steps on from that, basing the myths and magic of the battle stones... Read more
Published 17 months ago by White Rose

4.0 out of 5 stars For Those Who Like Tolkein

For those who like Tolkein or White this book is a must. It takes place in a mythical 15th century Britain. Read more
Published on 17 Mar 2007 by J. Chippindale

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical Fiction meets Fantasy
I'm not a great fan of alternative histories, and this is really what this novel is about.
It's a kind of 'what would have happened if the Wars of the Roses were triggered... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2006 by A. Gothorp

5.0 out of 5 stars A medieval fantasy romp
Rob Carter takes you a romp through a mythological medieval Britain full of real places and real people and giants and magic.

A great read that drags you along with it. Read more

Published on 13 May 2004 by J. N. Barclay-jay

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