Spirit of the Stone: Book 2 of The Shadowleague

by Maggie Furey

Book Overview

From Maggie Furey comes this stunning new novel that continues the epic saga of Myrial. Here the survivors of a ravaged city attempt to save their fragile and miraculous world from apocalyptic doom.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055357941X
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.7" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

Pint-sized dragon steals the show!

Let this review cover both SPIRIT OF THE STONE and THE HEART OF MYRIAL, since I will not find the time to review both separately. This is a very good fantasy series. It reminds me a bit of the Rosemary Kirstein series of Steerswoman novels in that it is fantasy with a science-fiction world for a backdrop. It appears that the world of the novels was set up in a perfect balance countless ages before by some super race. Climate was perfect, and various different races and peoples were set on different islands with barriers between them called "curtain walls.' Now the balance of this world has gone way out of kilter and the world is headed for destruction. Even now the weather is so bad crops cannot be grown and starvation stalks some of the lands. In this setting, we have several most interesting characters on a dire mission, related to an effort by the "Shadowleague" to save the world. Naturally, there's a quest element -- the world cannot be saved if the heroes of the Shadowleague cannot come to a greater understanding of how the world got the way it is, and how it is controlled. Ironically, there is a scientific, central control center for the world which is totally misunderstood by the superstitious and ignorant peasants who now run everything. So this science center is NOW used as a magical temple for the priest class. I mean, sometimes you just want to THROTTLE these fools. The character that is SO MUCH FUN and really steals the show is Kaz, the firedrake. This character is a pint-sized dragon. Bright red, covered with scales, and with the toothy dragon's jaws and head. HOWEVER, the firedrake is only about the size of a rhinoceros. Big, yes. But not huge, if you get my drift. The firedrake is an intelligent character in the story who communicates with telepathy. He is also a magical creature and a fire creature -- he can launch jets of intense flame for 25 or thirty feet -- the heat is enough to even melt metal. He also has quite a personality, always sneaking off to eat a sheep or two. I mean, this firedrake is a big guy, and those fires need to be stoked, you know? Just for the record, the books have a few REAL dragons -- and I mean, these guys are really huge. Like about the size of a small freight train. Fortunately, to avoid going too far overboard on dragons and their firedrake cousins, the real dragons take something of a background role in the novels. Great fun, fast moving, very imaginative -- and Ms. Furey writes VERY well. Some of the other reviewers have complained there's not enough action, but action is a trade-off against characters. To build interesting characters you need lots of dialog, and to supply this the endless action occasionally has to be put on hold. For my part, I think the balance between action and characters is pretty well maintained in the book. I recommend both Heart of Myrial and Spirit in the Stone. Am looking forward to reading the third one ASAP.

Spirit of the Stone: book 2 of the Shadowleague

This is a good continuation of the first episode. Some interesting characters are introduced that I found are worth caring about. There are intriguing plot twists and tensions between characters that obviously aren't going to be solved in the scope of this book.

Great Book

This book is great. I would suggest it for people who liked the Wheel of Time and other similar tales. My favorite part about the book is that the main character is female. This book is great and filled with lots of laughs.

Awesome author

Wow! Furey is so real in her stories. The Aurian series was so colorful and epic. The characters she creates are all realistic, with very human personalities, instead of the typical idea of a heroin. Even the animals crack me up. Everytime she describes something, it makes me see and feel the magic. Often, writers describe something, and you can see it but not feel it. In the Heart of Myrial, Kaz is my favorite character, Followed closely by Shree. I love how she described Aethon's voice inside Zavahl's head. I don't remember her exact wording, but it was something to the effect of "honeyed music interlaced with flashes of metallic colored lights." Who would have thought about putting the word "metallic" into a description of a Dragon's voice? My advice to first time readers: If nothing else, read it because of the Firedrake Kaz! He's hilarious!

exciting epic sword and sorcery fantasy

Myrial is a place like no other; the ancients created this world as a refuge for species in danger of extinction. Impenetrable barriers known as the curtain walls separate the different realms from each other. The Shadow League led by Cergorn is the keeper of all knowledge both magical and mundane.Amarun a Loremaster in the Shadow League is branded a traitor and flees the land, traveling through the curtain into the realm of Callisora. There in the capital city of Tiarond, he builds up a power base with his ultimate goal to march into Gendival and take control of his former associates, the Shadow League.Through his machinations, the curtain is lowered and vicious flying creatures attack Tiarond, destroying the local army. Amarun travels back to his homeland intending to use whatever means necessary to take control of the Shadow League but to his surprise he finds unexpected allies who don't approve of Cergorn's rule. Fans of the Shannara series by Terry Brooks and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy will definitely enjoy Book 2 of the Shadowleague, SPIRIT OF THE STONE, an epic sword and sorcery fantasy novel. Told from the viewpoint of many different characters, both human and magical, readers feel at all times as if they are in the middle of the action in spite of some problems keeping track of whose whom. Maggie Furey is a talented storyteller who captures and keeps the attention of her audience.Harriet Klausner