The Arm of the Stone

by Victoria Strauss

Book Overview

Long ago, when the worlds were one... So begins the Tale, the ancestral legend Bron's family has guarded for a thousand years. Once, they were the keepers of the Stone, the most sacred object on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568658257
• ISBN13: 9781568658254
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: AVON BOOKS
• Length: 426 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Gripping

When I first started this book I saw many of the typical fantasy themes: the lost magical artifact of incredible power, and the boy born of prophesy to change the world. Then suddenly the action kicked in and the whole plot was turned on its head. Wow.I loved the world, so richly portrayed and thoughtfully flesh-out. I loved the main character, who was never predictable, always rethinking his notion of the world. I loved the suspense of what is in many ways a spy story - that rush of being deep within the lion's den and the fear of immanent discovery.As a reader you get to see the point of view of two very different people, both of whom are sympathetic and engaging. Can they both "win" or will one inevitably bring the downfall of the other?By the end of this book, I had to shut myself away from the world and read non-stop. The last page had me so moved I was wiping away a tear. This is a great book, with a strong, character-driven plot, always surprising and never dull!

What is good, what evil??

Interesting take on good vs. evil - and the ambiguities between them. A young boy whose family is exterminated has a VERY good idea of what evil is - and makes it his lifes ambition to infiltrate the group who killed his family and destroy it. That is, until he is finally accepted into this group - and comes to understand why they exist, and what they are trying to accomplish. He becomes a revered leader. Again - until he is re-united with his brother and realizes that there IS inherent evil in the group he now leads...Extremely lyrical prose makes the book even better!

Kept me up all night

A gripping story which takes a standard fantasy story - the hero's quest for some stolen magic artifact - and makes it new. Lots of unexpected twists. I was especially intrigued by the world which Strauss created. The story is told from two points of view - one male and one female. Both characters are fully realized, complex people with conflicting goals.Read it just for kicks and you won't be disappointed - but thoughtful readers will also find lots to ponder here. Highly recommended.

Fascinating and different--not your run-of-the-mill fantasy

This book was recommended to me by a friend. I must admit I didn't expect much from the cover art and the uninformative back cover blurb, but I found myself very pleasantly surprised and pleased by this book. It's a real page-turner, with thought-provoking concepts, a fully-realized world, and a gripping plot. The author's take on the prophecy that drives a good part of the action is interesting and unusual. I read the whole thing in two nights--and I usually take a week or more to finish a book. I have to say that I was surprised to see the comments of a couple of the reviewers below--that there wasn't enough character development over the course of the book, or the characters weren't fully realized. In my opinion, the characterizations are one of the best things about this book. The main characters are real, believable people, who change and grow over the course of the narrative. The hero's story--in which he starts with a dream of revenge, becomes seduced by the philosophy of those he wants to revenge himself against, and ultimately moves beyond both views to find an entirely new perspective--is especially finely-realized.In sum: highly recommended!

Best book I've read in a while

I never heard of this writer until I bought this book, but now I'm hooked. This book is tremendous. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. It's a powerful, character-driven story which also has an exciting plot. Ms Strauss builds a convincing and unusual world from the idea that a group of Spanish Inquisition-like enforcers keep technology at a deliberately medieval level. She also writes very well, which you don't find often enough in fantasy. I hope there's a sequel!