Today I am the stop for Resa Nelson's tour for Stone of Darkness. I'm going to be reviewing the book, then there is (not-so) mini-interview with Resa to follow! To see all stops so far, click
here.
This may contain some very mild spoilers
from Book 1, but mostly remains without spoilers pertaining either to this one
or preceding books.
4
In Stone of
Darkness we return to Astrid and follow her as she tries to discover exactly
what the Stone of Darkness is, and in process finds herself embroiled in the
conflict with the Krystr- something she has never avoided, but never found
herself heavily involved in. She has accepted her role as a Dragonslayer, but
she still doesn’t know truly who she is, or her own heritage.
It was like
a breath of fresh air to return to Astrid after almost 6 months, and I’m glad
to say she’s still as fantastically riveting and interesting as ever. I
struggled in places to remember people since I only remembered some of the main
side characters, such as Lenore, Randim, Drageen, The Alchemist, Norah,
DiStephan, Vinchi and Margreet. Other ones I didn’t remember I often did in
time, but the first 40 or 50 pages or so were a bit confusing due to my
incomprehension, but I managed to keep going and figure out who everyone was
without going back to the first few books. But admittedly, I would advise
anyone has read the others to perhaps read them again prior to this, just so
it’s all fresh in your mind!
The story
itself followed the similar track of the last two books of travelling between
settlements and reading accounts of the events and conversations that take
place. It means that Resa strikes a great balance between detailed, traditional
fantasy and the faster more action-orientated modern fiction. It stops you from
being other bored or overwhelmed, which once again makes this book a joy to
read.
I was
perhaps a little disappointed that the blacksmithing didn’t come into the story
as much. I accept that the other side-stories perhaps are more important and
indeed we could say her pre-occupation of being away from home precedes the
necessity of not allowing for a great deal of blacksmithing- since she would
need her own tools and smithy. Yet still I missed what was almost a learning
experience when it came to the blacksmithing.
The world created by Resa is one of a complex heritage, and
through Astrid we really get an idea of just how large this world is- very much
beyond the village of Guell. Astrid feels the same way some people do when they
travel for the first time to a foreign country- not being able to speak the
native language and not knowing exactly where you might be brings home the fact
that were you come from is small in comparison to the world. But it also
highlights how foreigners aren’t aliens or all bad. This was part of book two,
and perhaps book three merely enlarges the scale of this realisation.
Mystery is a
theme in the book from the start, and as it continues new problems or questions
arise- only some of which are answered and even then only partially. Originally
a Blacksmith, Astrid’s problem lies in the fact that blacksmithing (I think) is
a straightforward art. Doing one thing will lead to an (expected) consequence.
But the chaos that grips Astrid’s world- both in a large scale and a small
scale- makes it difficult for Astrid to know what to do. And we must also
remember she is still relatively new to Dragonslaying too.
But Astrid
is as commendable here as with most of her qualities. She’s not perfect (boy,
is she not) but she feels a great deal of loyalty and responsibility to the
world and the people around her. She comments in the first book (I think) that
a blacksmith is responsible for everyone in a village because they make the
tools used in other trades and the weapons used for defence. This duty
transfers itself to the whole world and Astrid, in everything, is assured of
this. She is very much a heroine in her ideas of the world and what is right,
but she still remains damnably human and makes mistakes fairly often.
So, in
conclusion, it was a great sequel to books two and one. I don’t think someone
could just pick up this book and manage; you’d need to read the others. It
wouldn’t be impossible, but I think it would overcome your inevitable
confusion. But the merit of these books lies in the fact that they manage to
give you a brilliant read in less than 300 pages and even manage to combat
question on free-will and feminism which all appeal greatly to me as a reader.
Intelligent, concise and entertaining. What more do you want from a book?
Mini-Interview
·
Where did
the idea for the Iron Maidens come from? I felt, personally, that they did make
sense ideologically, but did you set out early on to do them or decide whilst
writing?
The Iron Maidens showed up out of the blue. When I was writing The Stone of Darkness, my
main character Astrid ended up in a real bind.
Even though I write fantasy, I want to make the action and the world as
realistic as possible. Astrid was in
such a tight spot that I couldn’t see a believable way for her to get out of it
by herself. Normally, I like Astrid to
solve her own problems, but everyone needs help once in a while. So I started thinking about who might be
travelling in the region where she was located that could help her, but I
couldn’t think of any good solutions.
All of a sudden, the Iron Maidens popped into my head. I immediately knew who they were and why they
were there and how they came into being.
That’s one of the things I really love about writing. Sometimes magic happens.
·
How do you
feel writing from the point of view of the Krystr? These hateful misogynists
make my blood boil just reading them, and I wonder how you feel writing them.
Angry? Sad? Accepting?
Alex, thank you so much for asking me this question.
I’ve been hoping someone would for the
longest time!
I believe that villainous
people in real life (for example, Hitler) typically thought (or think) they’re
100% in the right and that they’re doing the world a favor.
I wanted to show how every man who’s a Krystr
has a background and experiences that shaped who he is and what his opinions
are.
I wanted to get into their heads
and understand their point of view.
They
feel justified.
They believe they’re
doing the right thing.
They see
themselves as heroes.
And when I
researched the Middle Ages, I learned that women were considered to have less
value than some animals!
That tells me
that men must have felt that women were on the same level as animals, not human
beings.
So the Krystrs are based on how
many real men thought and acted in medieval times.
While I was writing, I started thinking about
how we often learn our first opinions and beliefs from our families, and how some
people never really change those first opinions and beliefs.
I know there have been some ancient cultures
(such as the ancient Egyptians and the Vikings) that treated women well, but as
far as I can tell, most didn’t.
I
thought about how for thousands of years people have considered women as “less
than” men and how these beliefs go back to times when women were considered to
be on the same level as animals.
All of
a sudden, I thought about how difficult it is to change beliefs that have
lasted in families for hundreds and thousands of years.
It takes strength and courage and a strong
sense of self to form your own opinions and to break hundreds or thousands of
years of traditional thought.
All of a
sudden, I felt deeply sorry for my Krystr characters because they don’t have
that kind of strength or courage or sense of self.
They’re just doing what other men before them
have done without question.
I think the
most tragic figure in the series is Gershon because he comes so close to doing
the right thing only to cave into peer pressure by Krystrs who are simply
manipulating him for their own purpose.
He almost does the right thing, but he fails.
I think he’s keenly aware of what he’s done,
and it will haunt him forever.
He never
forgives himself.
Ironically, writing
the Krystr characters has taught me to have compassion for men who act like
them in our world.
I feel sorry for them
in the same way I feel sorry for Gershon and the Krystrs.
So writing these characters actually changed
part of who I am.
·
Can I ask
about the dragons? As you said in the first interview of the tour (which
everyone can see here) you’ve playing it close to the chest so far. I was wondering more
about where they came from? They seem omniscient and in many ways omnipotent.
Are they meant to be so superior?
About all I can say without ruining Book 4 is that there are
serious reasons for the dragons to be the way they are. Once you learn that reason, I think
everything will fall into place and make sense.
I know I’m not really answering your question, but I can’t figure out
how to talk about them without ruining the last book in the series. I will say that there are a lot of answers in
Book 4. And some surprises that I didn’t
see coming until they happened!
·
Less to do
with the story, but…
When
you write, do you set out to right books at the length you do? I assume you’d
write what needs to be written and not worry about the numbers, but I’ve always
been amazed at how you do so much in such a short book- and it’s especially odd
for me since I’m so used to long fantasy novels. I just wonder about your
writing process and whether you feel it has an impact on the book length?
I think my writing reflects my personal
impatience with reading. I love
mysteries and thrillers. My favorite
modern-day author is Harlan Coben, who makes me want to turn every page. When a new Harlan Coben book comes out, I set
aside a weekend to do nothing but read, because I know I HAVE to read his book
without interruption (except for sleeping) until I finish it. I like books that move at a good clip. I get bored easily. I need a book to capture my attention and
keep it. I feel the same way when I’m
writing. The last thing I want to do is
bore anyone who reads my work – and I can’t stand to be bored while I’m writing
it! When it comes to my process, I begin
by daydreaming about what the book might be like. Then I nail down some specific things: what I want to do thematically, the
beginning, a few important things in the middle, and the end. I also need to understand the overall journey
of the main character and sometimes other characters – what they learn, how
they grow and change because of what happens in the book. But when I sit down to write each chapter, I
feel like I’m in a movie and I’m just frantically writing down everything I see
that’s happening all around me. So I
don’t really aim for a specific number of overall pages in the book. I just want to make it long enough to feel
like a novel and short enough so hopefully no one gets bored!
***
Some extra little links...as a reward for having read everything above!!!:
4
