Just Finished Reading: The Language of Stones by Robert Carter

In an England that is not quite England, in a 15th Century that is far from our 15th Century, trouble is brewing. Prophecy says that The Realm is approaching a crossroads in its history, a crossroads that could lead to an age of peaceful plenty or to an age of war and death. At the centre of this prophecy is a young boy – Willand – an orphan brought up in secret, a child with an unknown past and a difficult future, a child who may be the reincarnation of The Realm’s greatest hero – Arthur. But before prophecy can play itself out Willands protector – the aging wizard Gwydion (also know by some as Merlin) – must both teach him about and protect him from the many dangers abroad in the increasingly troubled land.

This is by far the most standard Fantasy novel I’ve read recently. It is in large part very reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I’m fairly positive that I picked up on some straight references to the one text that birthed them all. Of course it’s just as possible that both texts rely heavily on the original Arthurian legends which is where at least some of the similarities come from. Although derivative to a great degree this by no means indicates that it’s a poor knock-off – it isn’t. Language of Stones is actually quite a page turner. Despite its size – at just under 600 pages – I managed to ‘blast’ through it in just over a week (which at the moment is very good indeed). Both the main and the many subsidiary characters are well drawn and are believable in context. The dialogue is well constructed and is full of the kind of pagan wisdom I would expect from this sort of book. The retelling of history of this place that is not quite our world is fascinating and the underlying story is very believable indeed. On just about every level this is an interesting and highly enjoyable read. I have recently discovered that this is, rather inevitably, the first book in a trilogy (though it can actually be read as a totally stand-alone work) and I will see about getting the other two books. I’m interested to know who things turn out which is always the sign of a good book. Recommended to all classic Fantasy fans.