Rating: 
Summary: An outstanding fantasy novel
Review: "What is the essence of stone, apprentice?" When young Kehan, the former goat-herd, is able to answer this question, he will be ready to withstand the worst that malevolent demons and evil sorcerers can throw at him.
Hale's first novel is a well-crafted fantasy. The characters are engaging and sympathetic, without being preciously perfect, and the world is vividly depicted and refreshingly different. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding fantasy novel
Review: "What is the essence of stone, apprentice?" When young Kehan, the former goat-herd, is able to answer this question, he will be ready to withstand the worst that malevolent demons and evil sorcerers can throw at him.
Hale's first novel is a well-crafted fantasy. The characters are engaging and sympathetic, without being preciously perfect, and the world is vividly depicted and refreshingly different. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Beverly Hale's THE ESSENCE OF STONE is a remarkably fine piece of fiction. She has succeeded in melding traditional fantasy (a wizard's apprentice and an enchanted princess among other elements), with exotic features (for one, the setting is not the usual western Europe but the Punjab), and excellent writing.
The characters are not only vividly drawn, they grow, although they still have very human weaknesses.
Hale is, in many ways, very true to life. She points out that whether one wins or loses the important struggles, other problems will remain.
While the threads are available for a sequel, and I'd eagerly buy and read one, I do not demand one because this book is such a superlative piece of work.
The essence of stone is not only the title of gthe book but a question posed to the apprentice, and the answer is appropriate.
First rate.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Beverly Hale's THE ESSENCE OF STONE is a remarkably fine piece of fiction. She has succeeded in melding traditional fantasy (a wizard's apprentice and an enchanted princess among other elements), with exotic features (for one, the setting is not the usual western Europe but the Punjab), and excellent writing.
The characters are not only vividly drawn, they grow, although they still have very human weaknesses.
Hale is, in many ways, very true to life. She points out that whether one wins or loses the important struggles, other problems will remain.
While the threads are available for a sequel, and I'd eagerly buy and read one, I do not demand one because this book is such a superlative piece of work.
The essence of stone is not only the title of gthe book but a question posed to the apprentice, and the answer is appropriate.
First rate.
Rating:
Summary: Not your average fantasy
Review: Bored with heroes that know everything? Bored with the barely disguised English castle and countryside? Try an exotic epic quest with an Eastern flair and a hero that has to learn as he goes.This story is not your average fantasy. Of course there's a crotchety wizard, but there's also a boy growing into manhood who wants to find his place in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Not your average fantasy
Review: Bored with heroes that know everything? Bored with the barely disguised English castle and countryside? Try an exotic epic quest with an Eastern flair and a hero that has to learn as he goes. This story is not your average fantasy. Of course there's a crotchety wizard, but there's also a boy growing into manhood who wants to find his place in the world.
Rating:
Summary: "Stone" carries the seeds of true fantasy
Review: ESSENCE OF STONE, the first full-length novel by Beverly A. Hale, is a wonderful coming of age story filled with all the things we want from fantastic literature--an unfamiliar setting with sweeping vistas, adventure in unexpected places, and mystery, high magic and frightening demons. STONE also has characters so real we're glancing over our shoulders for a glimpse of them, and excellent writing. Hale's knowledge of the Indo-Pak subcontinent gives this story an entirely new flavor. Our hero, Kehan, has been raised as the lowest of his village, his widowed mother suspected of infidelity because Kehan's coloring doesn't match his neighbors. Desperate for the respect of his peers, Kehan takes on the risky job of apprentice to the elderly, frightening sorcerer who lives at the foot of the local mountain. Despite occasional doubts by many, Xikander is respected as a powerful man--"powerful" being something Kehan knows all too well, having spent the night once as a cabbage in the garden. There should be partnership between the priests and the sorcerer to protect the villagers from mountain demons, but Xikander is obsessed with and looking for **something**--something the blind man drives his apprentice to seek in books Kehan cannot understand and visions he can't remember. When Xikander becomes convinced he can find what he seeks, he abandons the village and starts off for the big city, dragging his apprentice in tow. Kehan ends up on a quest for an artifact of immense value, his companions the foul-tempered wizard, an enchanted princess named Arcana (with cat's claws and a sharp tongue to match) and a peaceful warrior named Hadi. Together, these three companions and the folk met along the way teach Kehan much more than the average quest story ever achieves. Hadi has no glory for Kehan in fighting, only understanding of his fellow man. Kehan's first sword lesson is painful, and the lesson is "The sword is not dangerous. The man is dangerous--or not." Those words will save Kehan's life more than once. Arcana, once a brilliant scholar, now a prisoner of Xikander's spell, helps him learn the meaning of the words he is forced to repeat endlessly, while Xikander teaches Kehan more than he ever wanted to know about obsession, madness, and the results of unchecked magic. In the end, Kehan finds that what he sought--power that would gain him the respect of others--comes with a very high price tag, and isn't what he thought it would be, anyway. Now he has ties and oaths--and then there's an artifact of terrifying power out there, destined to be part of his fate. Nothing worthwhile comes easy, and being a hero often boils down to doing what needs to be done when it needs doing--no matter how uncomfortable, embarrassing, or dangerous the job. It's the hero's tale, the hero with a 1,000 names--and Kehan is one of those heroes. Highly recommended. I look forward to more of the story. Mature junior high students, high school and adult readers will enjoy this tale--very young readers might find the demons and Xikander's treatment of his apprentice frightening.
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy With a Twist
Review: I had largely given up on reading fantasy because I had read so many that they all started to blur together--vaguely English/European medieval backgrounds, epic quests against an all-powerful evil, etc.--nothing but copies of copies of copies of Tolkien. I felt like I'd seen it all; like I could predict their storylines in my sleep. But THE ESSENCE OF STONE is different. THE ESSENCE OF STONE takes the ages-old quest plot and gives it a fresh twist by setting it against an Asian Indian-flavored background, giving it a grittiness, and presenting its young hero with moral dilemmas of loyalty and trust that are seldom encountered in such stories. I found myself constantly surprised by the plot's twists and turns. The characterization of the novel's protagonists--an uncertain teenage apprentice, a cantankerous wizard, a catty (literally and figuratively) princess, and an unflappable swordsman--is particularly strong. Each has his/her own individual voice and motivations; each feels like a real person (even--or maybe especially--the cat). In her cover blurb, Hugo award-winning author C.J. Cherryh calls THE ESSENCE OF STONE "a delightful fantasy with authentic other-culture insights, a wonderful cat--well, just ask her--and a wizard with an attitude. I thoroughly enjoyed it." And who would dare argue with her?--certainly not me.
Rating:
Summary: Fun to Read
Review: If most tales of quests leave you feeling dissatisfied and wondering "How does everyone just know what to do? Do these characters exist in a social vacuum with no families or friends? Don't they ever have to go to the bathroom? Why don't any of these people have a sense of humor?" then this is the book for you. Beverly Hale writes with a strong sense of place without overdoing the descriptive detail. She makes the characters and the setting seem real. The characters are interesting and entertaining, and like the rest of us they face ambiguous situations and have to make decisions without knowing all the facts. You'll find yourself enjoying their company and caring about their fates. (And you'll probably find yourself craving Indian food, too.)
Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly different!
Review: This book was a breath of fresh air. A different culture, a different feel. I like that the conflict point did not have a clearly defined solution. They had to go with what they FELT was right, and in doing so, only hope and pray. I like that not everything is wrapped up neat and tidy. Sometimes the good guys win, but not without some losses. It is a hero story, a coming of age piece, and it is writen with a tender hand. the language is accessible for a younger audience, and would make a FABULOUS read for young men and women who are coming of age themselves. My only problem, and it was minor, was that I didn't realize that there was a VERY helpful glossary/appendix in the back that sorts through the cultural differences of language. ie "Amaq = idiot" You want something different, something engaging and fun...you want this book!
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