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berenikeasteria 's review for:
Stonehenge
by Bernard Cornwell
I should note firstly that this is the first time I have ever read, or should I say listened, to a book as an audiobook. I enjoyed the reader, and I think a lot hinges on a good reader to make an audiobook a pleasant listen – before one even gets into the writing – although I found his attempts at female voices rather strange. On to the actual book.
This was definitely a book of two halves, for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half. At the book’s opening we’re thrown into the thick of events straight away and the characters and scenery snap vividly to life. As the story progresses, we learn more about the strange, unfamiliar world in which the characters move, full of mysterious but fascinating people and unexpected events. The tension and risk in the first half of the book remains high – bad things happen to good people, no one is safe, and the twists and turns really kept me on my toes, I had no idea what was going to happen next and the surprises were well done and unexpected. I really warmed to the lead character, adolescent youth Saban, who comes across as quirky and interesting, and as something of an underdog you do root for him. I cared about what happened to him, and when misfortune came his way I felt at once sympathetic but also intrigued because those events shook things up considerably. This is a real turning point in the novels’ direction, a shift in the story. Unfortunately, it’s a shift that, for me, marked a downturn.
All the risk and tension goes clean out of the story. One ceases to feel like the protagonist faces any danger or uncertainty. The story suddenly became dull and predictable, in my opinion, and I was no longer surprised by events, and the story started to feel quite uninteresting and grey. Many years pass in a chunk, swept aside with a few lines of narrative, with very little interesting happening apart from the construction of Stonehenge, which, by itself is not enough to hold the story together – history, great, but I need a compelling plot and well-written characters too if I’m to make a story out of it. The ending seemed fairly summary, and was achieved all too easily. It also seemed slightly strange and illogical, though I won't go into that as I don't want to give spoilers.
Cornwell, professional that he is, includes an author’s note at the end, discussing the history behind the story, which is nothing less than I’d expect from any decent historical fiction author. Cornwell clearly demarcates between fact and fiction, which action I appreciate, and muses over the evidence and possible historical interpretations. Cornwell argues that Stonehenge could have been constructed in one man’s lifetime – which occurs in the book – citing as support the human drive to complete great projects, but whilst I agree with Cornwell that it could have been possible to construct Stonehenge in one lifetime I don’t think it is the likeliest scenario. Occasionally Cornwell lets slip an incautious comment – about ancient sailing, for example. However, when discussing Stonehenge itself, Cornwell cites a number of academic publications, for which I give him credit, as it’s always good to know that I can research the topic for myself and find the most authoritative works on the subject.
Ultimately, Stonehenge gets just over half marks from me. A novel of two halves, the first half is interesting, surprising, thrilling and engaging, whilst in the second half all the tension seeps away due to a misjudged characterisation and the story seems predictable and to drag – though the basic language use remains solid and competent throughout.
6 out of 10.
This was definitely a book of two halves, for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half. At the book’s opening we’re thrown into the thick of events straight away and the characters and scenery snap vividly to life. As the story progresses, we learn more about the strange, unfamiliar world in which the characters move, full of mysterious but fascinating people and unexpected events. The tension and risk in the first half of the book remains high – bad things happen to good people, no one is safe, and the twists and turns really kept me on my toes, I had no idea what was going to happen next and the surprises were well done and unexpected. I really warmed to the lead character, adolescent youth Saban, who comes across as quirky and interesting, and as something of an underdog you do root for him. I cared about what happened to him, and when misfortune came his way I felt at once sympathetic but also intrigued because those events shook things up considerably. This is a real turning point in the novels’ direction, a shift in the story. Unfortunately, it’s a shift that, for me, marked a downturn.
All the risk and tension goes clean out of the story. One ceases to feel like the protagonist faces any danger or uncertainty. The story suddenly became dull and predictable, in my opinion, and I was no longer surprised by events, and the story started to feel quite uninteresting and grey. Many years pass in a chunk, swept aside with a few lines of narrative, with very little interesting happening apart from the construction of Stonehenge, which, by itself is not enough to hold the story together – history, great, but I need a compelling plot and well-written characters too if I’m to make a story out of it. The ending seemed fairly summary, and was achieved all too easily. It also seemed slightly strange and illogical, though I won't go into that as I don't want to give spoilers.
Cornwell, professional that he is, includes an author’s note at the end, discussing the history behind the story, which is nothing less than I’d expect from any decent historical fiction author. Cornwell clearly demarcates between fact and fiction, which action I appreciate, and muses over the evidence and possible historical interpretations. Cornwell argues that Stonehenge could have been constructed in one man’s lifetime – which occurs in the book – citing as support the human drive to complete great projects, but whilst I agree with Cornwell that it could have been possible to construct Stonehenge in one lifetime I don’t think it is the likeliest scenario. Occasionally Cornwell lets slip an incautious comment – about ancient sailing, for example. However, when discussing Stonehenge itself, Cornwell cites a number of academic publications, for which I give him credit, as it’s always good to know that I can research the topic for myself and find the most authoritative works on the subject.
Ultimately, Stonehenge gets just over half marks from me. A novel of two halves, the first half is interesting, surprising, thrilling and engaging, whilst in the second half all the tension seeps away due to a misjudged characterisation and the story seems predictable and to drag – though the basic language use remains solid and competent throughout.
6 out of 10.