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mollyadele's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sammat's review against another edition
I could not get into it and the writing was all jumpy
liamkeith's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
exmareadastra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism
beltorres91's review against another edition
5.0
Leí este libro cuando era chica y lo amé! Me encanta que tome la leyenda del rey Arturo para contar una nueva historia.
stephilica's review against another edition
5.0
While this book's plot isn't terribly complex to someone familiar with Arthurian mythos, it is well-plotted, and the "dual timelines" between the "ancient" King Arthur in Camelot and the "modern" page Arthur de Caldicot during 1199 AD makes for an engaging and intertwined narrative.
The large cast of characters and fastidious attention to details of everyday medieval life make the setting feel lived-in and real. The "ancient" timeline, which has more of a fairytale-like atmosphere compared to the somber 1199 AD timeline, also intersects with the characters in a way that drives tension forward and provides food for thought in symbolic occurrences.
The protagonist, Arthur de Caldicot, is also incredibly likable. He's a vulnerable thirteen-year-old with perhaps unconventional characteristics for a knight-in-training: he's left-handed, and he enjoys reading and writing to the point he fears his father means for him to enter a monastery and become a monk. He's a bit unbelievably eloquent, but it makes for gorgeous prose to read. I also appreciated his unapologetic references to his worldview and how Christianity shaped his ideas: the tailbone subplot makes for a great illustration of how superstition can corrupt genuine faith, for example.
This remains one of my favorite Arthurian retellings. The pacing may be slower, but it is focused, and the work is atmospheric and engrossing.
The large cast of characters and fastidious attention to details of everyday medieval life make the setting feel lived-in and real. The "ancient" timeline, which has more of a fairytale-like atmosphere compared to the somber 1199 AD timeline, also intersects with the characters in a way that drives tension forward and provides food for thought in symbolic occurrences.
The protagonist, Arthur de Caldicot, is also incredibly likable. He's a vulnerable thirteen-year-old with perhaps unconventional characteristics for a knight-in-training: he's left-handed, and he enjoys reading and writing to the point he fears his father means for him to enter a monastery and become a monk. He's a bit unbelievably eloquent, but it makes for gorgeous prose to read. I also appreciated his unapologetic references to his worldview and how Christianity shaped his ideas: the tailbone subplot makes for a great illustration of how superstition can corrupt genuine faith, for example.
This remains one of my favorite Arthurian retellings. The pacing may be slower, but it is focused, and the work is atmospheric and engrossing.
rationes_seminales's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5 It's an interesting book to read, although something different from most of the books of Arthurian legends, this does not show King Arthur as such but a reflection of himself, the detail of the stone that sees all it's cute but just not caught me
scholarhect's review against another edition
1.0
Abandoned without regret. For what is, I gather, a book aimed at a child/teen audience, it requires a dreadful amount of concentration, and brings very little joy or reward for it. The pacing is awful; lots of repetitive hints and teases that quickly become tedious, and lots of "chapters" (how you can call a page with one paragraph a chapter, I don't know) that seem to add little to the overall story. Maybe it's unfair to judge at this point, but the whole thing feels pretentious and gratuitous, and far from being spell-binding as per Pullman's effusive cover review, I find it boredom-inducing.
musicalpopcorn's review against another edition
4.0
Mixing myth and history, The Seeing Stone tells the story of a young boy, Arthur, who longs to know what his life will hold.
I really enjoyed the mixture of legend and actual Medieval day to day life. I feel like this is a good educational book for someone interested in medieval history, while still being compelling with an interesting story.
I was not a fan of the short journal-entry like structure of the story, but that was about all that I didn’t like about this book. I enjoyed the characters and the depth of the story, and am interested in reading the sequel. Though the story was predictable, like most YA novels, it was still enthralling.
I really enjoyed the mixture of legend and actual Medieval day to day life. I feel like this is a good educational book for someone interested in medieval history, while still being compelling with an interesting story.
I was not a fan of the short journal-entry like structure of the story, but that was about all that I didn’t like about this book. I enjoyed the characters and the depth of the story, and am interested in reading the sequel. Though the story was predictable, like most YA novels, it was still enthralling.