What do you think?
Rate this book
The Stone Dance of the Chameleon #2
The Standing Dead
The acclaimed sequel to The Chosen. In desperation, the Ruling Lord Suth searches within the sacred walls of Osrakum for Carnelian, his son, and Osidian, the God Emperor elect. He suspects the Empress Ykoriana is behind their disappearance and knows that if they are not found soon it is her other son, Osidian's brother Molochite, who will rule with fearful consequences for the Three Lands. Captive of the tribes of the Earthsky, Carnelian is for the moment safe, and succumbs readily to the seasonal rhythms of tribal life, he is convinced by unexpected discoveries that it is fate that has bought him there. He grows to love these simple people and hopes for sanctuary among them. But the dark forces Carnelian helped unleash in Osrakum begin to cast their shadow over his adopted home. He is witness to the awful oppression that the Masters whom the tribesmen call the Standing Dead have been inflicting on them for millennia. But even more terrible is the presence Carnelian has unwittingly brought with him. Potent and terrifying, it threatens everything he now holds dear in this new-found world. With The Standing Dead, Ricardo Pinto gives us a tumultuous new chapter in the Stone Dance of the Chameleon trilogy and confirms his place as one of fantasy's most singular and literate voices.
560 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
13 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Read
May 17, 2018I continue to adore this series, and it occurs to me, this is may be the first gay fantasy series I've ever read; though I've read a ton of single titles. Somehow Samuel Delaney's Neveryon saga doesn't feel like it qualifies in the same way since those books jump around so much between storylines.
Pinto's trilogy feels truly epic in terms of the scale of the world and the intricacies of the adventure, and it's so utterly riveting that at the center of it all is a matter-of-fact gay character, who, by the way, is not in the traditional mold of an epic hero, like taking the archetypical straight male warrior (or wizard) and just throwing in that he's gay, not straight. That's a bit how I felt about Richard Morgan's Ringil in The Steel Remains (tho I also liked that book a lot).
But Carnelian is a fully-realized different kind of hero. His strongest trait is his compassion, and it's so strong he's practically self-less. He quickly volunteers for the most unglamorous communal duties of the tribe that takes him and his boyfriend Osidian in, after they escape from a treacherous plan to be done away with by The Chosen. Carnelian risks his life many times to protect the people he loves. And yes, he's sensitive and thwarted by his guilt that he may end up hurting other people. Most tragically, that guilt/compassion leaves him largely paralyzed while Osidian becomes the tyrannical monster he's destined to be. It tries the patience at times (why can't he act?!!), but I thought it was a realistic portrait of the inner conflict such a situation would engender. He and Osidian share a bond. It's in Carnelian's nature to be loyal.
My apologies that this is less of a review and more my stream of thoughts about the series. Others have summarized the story well. This middle installment takes Carnelian out of the grotesquely opulent world of The Chosen (Oskarum) and into the primitive backcountry of Earthsky, which has a decidedly Indigenous feel and much more appealing lifestyles and values. But there's little rest for Carnelian while he tries to figure out a way to stem Osidian's plans to exploit the Natives for his power-hungry purposes, and to protect his new family (and new love interest Fern) from enemies.
Of course, it ends on another cliffhanger, and I'm anxious to get to the last book!
Pinto's trilogy feels truly epic in terms of the scale of the world and the intricacies of the adventure, and it's so utterly riveting that at the center of it all is a matter-of-fact gay character, who, by the way, is not in the traditional mold of an epic hero, like taking the archetypical straight male warrior (or wizard) and just throwing in that he's gay, not straight. That's a bit how I felt about Richard Morgan's Ringil in The Steel Remains (tho I also liked that book a lot).
But Carnelian is a fully-realized different kind of hero. His strongest trait is his compassion, and it's so strong he's practically self-less. He quickly volunteers for the most unglamorous communal duties of the tribe that takes him and his boyfriend Osidian in, after they escape from a treacherous plan to be done away with by The Chosen. Carnelian risks his life many times to protect the people he loves. And yes, he's sensitive and thwarted by his guilt that he may end up hurting other people. Most tragically, that guilt/compassion leaves him largely paralyzed while Osidian becomes the tyrannical monster he's destined to be. It tries the patience at times (why can't he act?!!), but I thought it was a realistic portrait of the inner conflict such a situation would engender. He and Osidian share a bond. It's in Carnelian's nature to be loyal.
My apologies that this is less of a review and more my stream of thoughts about the series. Others have summarized the story well. This middle installment takes Carnelian out of the grotesquely opulent world of The Chosen (Oskarum) and into the primitive backcountry of Earthsky, which has a decidedly Indigenous feel and much more appealing lifestyles and values. But there's little rest for Carnelian while he tries to figure out a way to stem Osidian's plans to exploit the Natives for his power-hungry purposes, and to protect his new family (and new love interest Fern) from enemies.
Of course, it ends on another cliffhanger, and I'm anxious to get to the last book!
September 20, 2020
Loved the book. A lot of weaves and intrigue. Ricardo is like a king of metaphors. Couldn't wait to start book three forgot to mark it here.
Every main character is gay in this book though. Even the married ones. Made no sense
Every main character is gay in this book though. Even the married ones. Made no sense
April 19, 2011
Much better than the first book of the series (The Chosen), in that the plot moves rapidly along, and the text not burdened by endless scene and clothing descriptions. The cosmology, political/social history and timeline of this world are very original and impressive in their depth. The characters continue to be compelling and complex, a beacon that draws one through the constant erosion of everything sacred as depicted in the beginning.
The first part of the book paints a lifestyle on the plains of EarthSky that is beautiful, honorable, and lush in its humanity. The rest of the book has Osidian, the power-obsessed co-protagonist, wage an endless, continually shifting and expanding war on this goodness, until he has manipulated, choked and defiled it into a blasphemous, tortured remnant of itself. The final chapters of the book are so disgusting in their descriptions of evil practices that I felt nauseous after reading them. It is a crescendo of depravity. Horror fans, rejoice. For everyone else, I'd suggest filling your mind and heart with kinder images.
One of my greatest frustrations is seeing the other (main) protagonist, who in the beginning shows strength through his character and compassion, increasingly become an impotent tool of the destruction by refusing to act against it. He rages, runs up to Osidian to stop him from enacting another travesty, but then his will crumbles at the last moment - every.single.time. Every one. While he bemoans the misery and fears the future, he does nothing to stop it, and facilitates its spread. Blech. It's increasingly difficult to have sympathy for this main character, and as Osidian destroys everything and everyone else one cares about, there's little left to compel the reader through the carnage.
The first part of the book paints a lifestyle on the plains of EarthSky that is beautiful, honorable, and lush in its humanity. The rest of the book has Osidian, the power-obsessed co-protagonist, wage an endless, continually shifting and expanding war on this goodness, until he has manipulated, choked and defiled it into a blasphemous, tortured remnant of itself. The final chapters of the book are so disgusting in their descriptions of evil practices that I felt nauseous after reading them. It is a crescendo of depravity. Horror fans, rejoice. For everyone else, I'd suggest filling your mind and heart with kinder images.
One of my greatest frustrations is seeing the other (main) protagonist, who in the beginning shows strength through his character and compassion, increasingly become an impotent tool of the destruction by refusing to act against it. He rages, runs up to Osidian to stop him from enacting another travesty, but then his will crumbles at the last moment - every.single.time. Every one. While he bemoans the misery and fears the future, he does nothing to stop it, and facilitates its spread. Blech. It's increasingly difficult to have sympathy for this main character, and as Osidian destroys everything and everyone else one cares about, there's little left to compel the reader through the carnage.
March 6, 2011
Acabei de reler Os Guardiães dos Mortos.
Enquanto no primeiro livro vemos Carmellian conhecer os hábitos de seu próprio povo, encontrar o amor e cair com ele; neste segundo volume vemo-lo do lado de fora do paraíso, sofrendo as mesmas desigualdades provocadas pelos seus iguais.
O livro é um caminho rumo ao renascimento. Carmellian começa junto com os mais baixos dentre todos os seres, os Sartlar, para depois tornar-se um dos homens das planícies e, por fim, perceber que não importando seus desejos, ele é um mestre.
Alias, a marca de Carmellian é a insegurança e o conflito em tomar uma posição; mesmo que escondida atrás de uma forte capacidade de criar empatia com aqueles que o envolvem.
Tanto Carmellian quanto Osidian seguem seu caminho pelo mundo dos bárbaros de forma igualmente destrutiva. Enquanto o segundo destrói toda a sociedade dos cabeços, o primeiro, se se aperceber, dá o primeiros passos para a aniquilação de seu próprio povo.
É um grande livro.
Enquanto no primeiro livro vemos Carmellian conhecer os hábitos de seu próprio povo, encontrar o amor e cair com ele; neste segundo volume vemo-lo do lado de fora do paraíso, sofrendo as mesmas desigualdades provocadas pelos seus iguais.
O livro é um caminho rumo ao renascimento. Carmellian começa junto com os mais baixos dentre todos os seres, os Sartlar, para depois tornar-se um dos homens das planícies e, por fim, perceber que não importando seus desejos, ele é um mestre.
Alias, a marca de Carmellian é a insegurança e o conflito em tomar uma posição; mesmo que escondida atrás de uma forte capacidade de criar empatia com aqueles que o envolvem.
Tanto Carmellian quanto Osidian seguem seu caminho pelo mundo dos bárbaros de forma igualmente destrutiva. Enquanto o segundo destrói toda a sociedade dos cabeços, o primeiro, se se aperceber, dá o primeiros passos para a aniquilação de seu próprio povo.
É um grande livro.
June 4, 2011
Wow. Hard reading. This volume was unremitting angst. The main character never gets a break (half due to his naivety and idealism, which was somewhat frustrating, and half due to the violent and uncompromising world he inhabits) and horrible things happen almost without relief. There isn't even any love to lighten the journey. It was just pain and struggle and heartache and loss. I certainly hope that the character comes into his own in the third (and last) book, because I really don't want to have gone through all this only to face an unhappy or unsatisfying ending.
That being said, Pinto is a great writer with an incredible vision. It's a challenge to stick with him but ultimately it didn't feel like just filling time; it felt like hard work and when I was done, I felt a sense of accomplishment not usually associated with merely finishing a book.
This is definitely hardcore fantasy fiction and not for casual readers.
That being said, Pinto is a great writer with an incredible vision. It's a challenge to stick with him but ultimately it didn't feel like just filling time; it felt like hard work and when I was done, I felt a sense of accomplishment not usually associated with merely finishing a book.
This is definitely hardcore fantasy fiction and not for casual readers.
January 3, 2018
Enjoyable sequel for this unusual fantasy that steps away from European tropes. Decent worldbuilding.
August 13, 2016
The Standing Dead is the second book in Ricardo Pinto's The Stone Dance of the Chameleon series, published by Bantam in 2002. In the first book, The Chosen, Pinto created an amazing, complex, and wonderous world complete with an intricate society, intriguing politics and a facinating history. As such, there is a lot of assumed knowledge that the reader should possess in order to fully appreciate what has been offered in The Standing Dead.
The story picks up immediately after the events of The Chosen where both Carnelian and Osidian have been kidnapped, drugged, and left for dead inside funeral urns, leaving Osidian's brother Molochite free to assume the position of God Emperor. The boys are discovered inside the funeral urns by a grave robber, who faced with penalty of death for having looked upon the unmasked faces of two Chosen, decides to take the boys captive and sell them to slavers travelling south of The Three Lands. The boys are largely passengers on the journey south with their attempts at escape easily thwarted, however, an attack by tribesmen from the Ochre tribe results in the boys becoming captives of the tribesmen where they are more able to influence the events to come.
While the party travels further south towards the home of the Ochre, Carnelian and Osidian start to earn the respect of the tribesmen and after the deaths of the party leaders Osidian is able to assume a leadership position amongst the tribesmen. Unable to return home, the boys decide to continue the journey towards the homeland of the Ochre tribesmen where they intend to live out the rest of their lives. As the boys start to come to terms with what they have lost, Osidian is unable to accept his new life among the Ochre tribe and begins to plot his vengence against the brother who usurped his throne, banding together the tribes of the south to begin a war against the Commonwealth of the Three Lands.
This book is by far one of the most frustrating books I have read in recent memory. Pinto has again crafted an incredibly detailed and intricate world using a highly proficient mastery of the English language, It is a world that I was easily able to immerse myself in and that I really enjoyed getting to know. The problem is that I lost interest in the story very early on and while the story improves considerably towards the end of the book, I couldn't care less whether or not Carnelian and Osidian ever made it home. For more than half of the book, the plot suffered from uneven pacing, the characters performed actions and made decisions that were often out of character, and the tone was largely inconsistent, making the book hard to read and easy to put down. Just as I was getting wrapped up in the despair being experienced by Carnelian and Osidian, the story would jump forward by a couple of weeks with a feverish Osidian somehow able save the party from an attack by wild animals, resulting in a number of party members worshiping him as a "higher being" despite having been a significant burden for the whole journey. The whole scene and associated imagery is beautifully written and well articulated, but the scene did not make sense in context with the rest of the story.
While this novel has a number of flaws, they are definitely outweighed by the imagination and writing skill of Pinto. The last two hundred pages of this book gives me hope that the next book will provide a coherant, consistent, and exciting conclusion to this series.
The story picks up immediately after the events of The Chosen where both Carnelian and Osidian have been kidnapped, drugged, and left for dead inside funeral urns, leaving Osidian's brother Molochite free to assume the position of God Emperor. The boys are discovered inside the funeral urns by a grave robber, who faced with penalty of death for having looked upon the unmasked faces of two Chosen, decides to take the boys captive and sell them to slavers travelling south of The Three Lands. The boys are largely passengers on the journey south with their attempts at escape easily thwarted, however, an attack by tribesmen from the Ochre tribe results in the boys becoming captives of the tribesmen where they are more able to influence the events to come.
While the party travels further south towards the home of the Ochre, Carnelian and Osidian start to earn the respect of the tribesmen and after the deaths of the party leaders Osidian is able to assume a leadership position amongst the tribesmen. Unable to return home, the boys decide to continue the journey towards the homeland of the Ochre tribesmen where they intend to live out the rest of their lives. As the boys start to come to terms with what they have lost, Osidian is unable to accept his new life among the Ochre tribe and begins to plot his vengence against the brother who usurped his throne, banding together the tribes of the south to begin a war against the Commonwealth of the Three Lands.
This book is by far one of the most frustrating books I have read in recent memory. Pinto has again crafted an incredibly detailed and intricate world using a highly proficient mastery of the English language, It is a world that I was easily able to immerse myself in and that I really enjoyed getting to know. The problem is that I lost interest in the story very early on and while the story improves considerably towards the end of the book, I couldn't care less whether or not Carnelian and Osidian ever made it home. For more than half of the book, the plot suffered from uneven pacing, the characters performed actions and made decisions that were often out of character, and the tone was largely inconsistent, making the book hard to read and easy to put down. Just as I was getting wrapped up in the despair being experienced by Carnelian and Osidian, the story would jump forward by a couple of weeks with a feverish Osidian somehow able save the party from an attack by wild animals, resulting in a number of party members worshiping him as a "higher being" despite having been a significant burden for the whole journey. The whole scene and associated imagery is beautifully written and well articulated, but the scene did not make sense in context with the rest of the story.
While this novel has a number of flaws, they are definitely outweighed by the imagination and writing skill of Pinto. The last two hundred pages of this book gives me hope that the next book will provide a coherant, consistent, and exciting conclusion to this series.
January 21, 2013
Found a copy from a secondhand bookshop, so I've no idea what's happening when I started this, since it's book2 already. Concrete worlding, a promise of dragons, a sympathetic father, some interesting characters, homo-erotic romance...I should love this book already.
But I didn't. The social structure turns me off: this picks up where the first book left off and previous knowledge is required for the reader not to get lost in Mr Pinto's carefully made world. There are just so many social niceties and protocol in effect that it's so easy to get confused in the first few pages, and it doesn't get any easier.
Might be too brutal for some readers, although I didn't mind that. It was the conceit that I found hard to believe: why the fuck didn't anyone kill the main character yet when everyone who looks at him faces certain death, anyway? Bargaining chip? Not sure I like the whole pale skin vs not-pale skin either: yes, I know it's a nice social detail that more or less parallels our own. But the way it's been handled it too mystical for my taste. Might go back to this someday.
But I didn't. The social structure turns me off: this picks up where the first book left off and previous knowledge is required for the reader not to get lost in Mr Pinto's carefully made world. There are just so many social niceties and protocol in effect that it's so easy to get confused in the first few pages, and it doesn't get any easier.
Might be too brutal for some readers, although I didn't mind that. It was the conceit that I found hard to believe: why the fuck didn't anyone kill the main character yet when everyone who looks at him faces certain death, anyway? Bargaining chip? Not sure I like the whole pale skin vs not-pale skin either: yes, I know it's a nice social detail that more or less parallels our own. But the way it's been handled it too mystical for my taste. Might go back to this someday.
February 11, 2011
This installment of the The Stone Dance of the Chameleon rises above the first as a much stronger, much more effective tale than the first. Its violence and horror stem from the plot, its strong characterizations believably intensifying with the thousand twists and turns of its lengthy story. The passivity of the narrator still galls as he repeatedly fails to do anything to change the course of terrifying events. Is it his love for Osidian that keeps him from thwarting his crazy plans? Or is it mere weakness, an irritating but real flaw in his pathetic character? The sheer volume of violent deaths and unfathomable genocide in this novel is overwhelming. But it strikes a chord: how parallel is this story with our own history, the violent history of the world in which one race must dominate and all others fall prey to its domination.
April 23, 2013
Some of the fight scenes were difficult to slog through, full of so very much detail. Parts of the story slogged on- it took a bit of figuring to realize that YEARS were going by and not days or months. The story is very good, quite a bit different from the typical fantasy story where we watch a child grow from normal kid into Our Epic Hero/ine. The author gives so much detail for everything- yet most of the time I had to continue reading through to (hopefully) get to the explanations. I know that there is something that the author wants us to figure out from what he's showing us.... but I must be oblivious because I cannot picture what a sartlar looks like or how some of the cultures in this world have managed to remain so isolated and pure of heritage.
July 27, 2011
Ricardo Pinto does it again! I’ve read this book before and reading it again proved how much incredible detail of the visual spectacle that sends Carnelian from the luxuriously cruel lands of his people into the barbaric world where the slaves are tithed. It is there that his gentle and caring heart binds him to the Ocher, a tribe that lives in the Earthsky. To save the people he has come to love he must find his way out of the machinations of his former lover, Osidian, who was banished with him.
An excellent installment to The Standing Dead that has left me aching to read what happens in the next book.
An excellent installment to The Standing Dead that has left me aching to read what happens in the next book.
April 13, 2009
I can't say if the book deviated from the first, if something in me changed, or if I was just having a bad day, but the first book in this series is spectacular and this, the second book, depressed me. I never finished it.
Read
July 17, 2009I actually haven't read this one 'cause the first one was disgusting. However since I have it on my shelf, I decided to add it. However I don't intend to neither read it and even less buy the 3rd book.
dnf
July 5, 2016I should have read this one earlier. I read book 1 7 YEARS AGO! The reason why I never read on was because book 1 was crap. But I had book 2 and 3 sitting in my shelf. SIGH. So I tried, was confused and gave up. At least I try, now I can get rid of them
February 1, 2011
leider erscheint der dritte Band nicht auf deutsch.
February 9, 2011
Ao estilo do Tolkien, rico em intriga e descrição de um novo mundo.
July 24, 2011
Very interesting twists and turn. Osidian's dark path is mesmerizing.
August 6, 2012
The first book in the series was amazing and a cliffhanger. However this book was too weird and dark and just plain odd for my tastes.
July 4, 2012
Custou-me muito a terminar este. Duas estrelas pelo mundo em si e ideias originais que contém.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews