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A review by lyndsie_clark_author
The Skystone by Jack Whyte
4.0
Overall, this book was enjoyable, though the beginning of it was a bit slow with a lot of backstory, and several slightly confusing flashbacks. Though, I guess the backstory was needed to set the scene, and once that was set, it flowed in a much more linear fashion, which I found better for the story even though the pace was definitely on the slower end.
I did like the character of Publius Varrus and found him sympathetic, likable, and generally somebody I could identify with. additionally, it does a good job setting the stage for the Aurthurian legend to begin, though it definitely takes its time doing that. I’m not sure how many of the books I’d want to read if they all seem to go this slow, but I did like this kind of Arthur/Camelot origin story.
There were two main negatives of this book that detracted a bit from the overall pace and flow of the story.
The first one is probably a product of its time, both the setting of the book in Roman Britain, and also the decade in which it was written (early-00s). This was Publius’s relationship with his main love interest. The whole “love at first sight,” “her beauty made me love her,” “I will give up a decade of friendship for the love that I’ve only known a short time” trite garbage. This is not romantic. This is obsession and a little creepy and definitely written by a guy. But it was a small part in the book overall so I guess it’s forgiven.
The next drawback was Publius’s actions at the end of the book. It didn’t seem like he grew much from the middle conflict that kicked off the second half of the book. And while I was disappointed in that lack of growth, I realize later it could be meant as a tragic arc where the character doesn’t learn anything until the very end. However, it did seem to leave a cliffhanger in his reaction at the end where, rather than being satisfied, he realize that he effed up. I suppose there’s a second book that maybe will deal with this more, so I guess I have to reserve my judgment until I read that one.
I did like the character of Publius Varrus and found him sympathetic, likable, and generally somebody I could identify with. additionally, it does a good job setting the stage for the Aurthurian legend to begin, though it definitely takes its time doing that. I’m not sure how many of the books I’d want to read if they all seem to go this slow, but I did like this kind of Arthur/Camelot origin story.
There were two main negatives of this book that detracted a bit from the overall pace and flow of the story.
The first one is probably a product of its time, both the setting of the book in Roman Britain, and also the decade in which it was written (early-00s). This was Publius’s relationship with his main love interest. The whole “love at first sight,” “her beauty made me love her,” “I will give up a decade of friendship for the love that I’ve only known a short time” trite garbage. This is not romantic. This is obsession and a little creepy and definitely written by a guy. But it was a small part in the book overall so I guess it’s forgiven.
The next drawback was Publius’s actions at the end of the book. It didn’t seem like he grew much from the middle conflict that kicked off the second half of the book. And while I was disappointed in that lack of growth, I realize later it could be meant as a tragic arc where the character doesn’t learn anything until the very end. However, it did seem to leave a cliffhanger in his reaction at the end where, rather than being satisfied, he realize that he effed up. I suppose there’s a second book that maybe will deal with this more, so I guess I have to reserve my judgment until I read that one.