I am aware that it is a bit redundant to say I was hoping to like a book - why else would I even begin reading a book, to not to like it? Well, I really did want to like this book. A time traveling twist on a centuries’ old mystery sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately, for much of what I read, I was more lost than the main character who was dropped in the 14th century and left to figure out the how and why for himself. Granted, this is probably more reader error than anything that can be pinned on the author. Walter H. Hunt does a good job of moving the story along, it was just one I lost interest in… and it’s too bad too, because he can write rather well - his sci-fi “Dark Wing” series is now on my radar and will certainly be bought and read at some point in the future. I am fairly sure this book would appeal to readers who liked The Da Vinci Code (I never read it but did enjoy Angels & Demons) and who are looking for a little more depth and speculation in their mysteries. I would guess it should also appeal to those who enjoyed Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book - although to be fair, Willis’s work seems to include more sci-fi elements, and A Song in Stone leans more towards the esoteric.As a side note, A Song in Stone by Walter H. Hunt is published by Wizard of the Coast who apparently has a new line of books which are quite different from their Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms related books. I think this is a great thing and am happy to see a niche publisher branching out - I was only ever, at best, a passing fan of their Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms/Ravenloft/Magic books - and I believe their new “Discoveries” line should appeal to a wider range of readers.
2 comments:
there's no "the" in the title, by the way . . . I'm sorry to hear that you lost interest; perhaps you could try it again.
WOTC has terminated the Discoveries imprint; my book was the last one to be published - they're sticking to RPG related material in 2009 and beyond. This book was very much a new direction for me, and I thank you for your other nice words. I hope you will reconsider your lack of interest, as independent reviewers and readers provide the greatest encouragement for writers, particularly when they take chances.
Walter.
Walter, thanks for stopping by… OK, I couldn’t help myself - I cleaned up the erroneous “the’s” - lazy work on my part - and a bit embarrassing. Yes, this is a book I plan to revisit sometime in the future, although probably not until I give the mentioned “Dark Wing” series a shot, which seems more up my reading alley. Also, looks like I gave praise to WOTC a bit early - that’s too bad - seems to be tough times in the publishing industry as of late.
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