A review by its_kievan
The Stone in the Skull by Elizabeth Bear

challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I saw a lot of reviews talking about Bear’s prose. And, yes, her writing is very pretty, with long paragraphs describing elaborate clothes or grand throne rooms in exquisite detail. But it comes at a cost. The Stone in the Skull is a fairly short book, and to make room for this descriptiveness Bear jettisons plot and character and structure. All the characters feel curiously blank, and huge events like

the kidnapping of a prince and the destruction of an entire city

are given less attention than the gold dust scattered on a palace floor. Bear is clearly talented enough to hold a coherent narrative together despite all this, but she handicaps herself from the very beginning and never quite manages to recover.