The Chosen

The Stone Dance of the Chameleon #1

by Ricardo Pinto

First in a new fantasy series, The Stone Dance of the Chameleon, this fresh, exciting novel follows the adventures of young Carnelian as he discovers his own powers and learns the harsh ways of the world. A first novel. 40,000 first printing.

Genres: Fantasy, LGBT, Fiction, Gay, High Fantasy, M M Romance, Science Fiction

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

https://www.ricardopinto.com/about/

Reviews

[Igor Ljubuncic · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please pay attention, this is a special review.

In the words of Prince, When Doves Cry, can you my darling, can you picture this:

The year is 1986, I am driving a truck in Afghanistan. Through a mine field. There's mortar fire everywhere. In the seat next to me is a vampire midget with a blowtorch, and she will blow a hole through my privates if my speed drops below 50 km/h. Speed, Afghanistan style.

I have drank 12 coffees since early morning. The old speakers are blazing Rock the Casbah. I even have a pair of electrodes connected to my nipples, and they are attached to an old 12V acid battery under my seat.

Then, I took this book off the carpet-decorated dashboard and tried to read, and immediately fell asleep.

It was THAT boring.

Now, a limerick:

The Chosen was the name of the book
My soul I hoped it would hook
But instead of lore
It was crammed with bore
A midget with a blowtorch my manhood took

Cheers!
Igor

[John Eich · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine if a set-designer and costumer wrote a fantasy novel. It would, of course, be about a place and time when an insanely ornate and decorative race held absolute power. They might keep all of the other, ugly, smelly, non-aesthete races subjugated to their decadent, cruel and whimsical tastes. And clearly, the scenery would have to be described in obsessive-compulsive detail that stretched out for 400 of the 500 pages, with the remaining pages left for a plot to trudge forward, advancing the characters to the next set of scenery or elaborate outfit. Let's say the set designer is gay, and so his protagonists are also gay men with sensitive souls. Mothers are frequently portrayed as scheming, vicious puppet-masters.

And there you have this novel. It's like Dune cranked up 10 notches, with another half-book of set-description thrown in. Skim, skim, skim...plot. Skim, skim, plot. Plot, skim, skim, plot.

The saving grace are the characters. Really believable, very alive and complex characters moving through a (Machiavellian, but) interesting plot. For them, I want to start the second book in the series, to find out what became of them after the cliff-hanger at the end of this book.

A significant downside to this book is the detailed painting of a world founded on slavery, with obscenely sadistic 'masters' enacting horrific, constant, torment on their slaves and often killing them for ritual or whimsical purposes. I'm not a fan of horror, and this is societal horror. Blech.

Honestly, this book is like beautiful jewels in a pile of rotting food. You dig through for the jewels, but you feel smelly and gross afterward.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simply amazing book with some of the best prose in fantasy fiction.

But I ought to have a shelf for books that jump the shark when the main characters have sex. If I knew what to name such a shelf, I would have one. This one would be the centerpeice. The glowing four stars are for the first 95% of the book.

Since the pacing is so slow, the entire book serves as nothing more than well crafted exposition for what should be the meat of the story. However, just when we ought to really be set up for a great adventure story or at least a great story of some sort, the author seems to run out of ideas and transforms the epic into a story about petty sexuality and petty emotions.

I was actually ready to overlook that based on the quality of 95% of the story. But don't look for this train wreck to get cleared up in the next book. It just gets worse.

[Eduardo Fernandes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminei hoje de reler Os Escolhidos. A primeira edição portuguesa é de 2003, e somente este ano consegui ter em mãos o fecho da trilogia. Oito anos é muito tempo e confesso que não lembrava muito bem dos detalhes do primeiro livro, de maneira que resolvi reler toda a dança de pedra do camaleão.

É uma pena que o Ricardo Pinto ainda não seja muito conhecido. Eu diria que ele é - de longe - o melhor escritor de fantasia português, mas não há assim tantos quanto isso de maneira que não é grande vantagem. Acontece que ele tem nível para estar entre os melhores de além fronteiras, e efetivamente está.

Sua fantasia foge completamente do tradicional eixo celta-viking. Nos seus livros não veremos uma única fada, um único paladino, e mesmo as espadas são praticamente inexistentes. Na verdade no universo dos escolhidos, o metal realmente precioso é o ferro, e a temática fortemente mesoamericana. Acho que maia mas não tenho certeza.

O que mais impressiona neste primeiro livro é o absurdo do horror tornando vulgar e quotidiano. Conta a história de Carmelian, um semi deus pertencente a uma raça que domina o mundo inteiro, e vê todas as outras raças como objetos para seu bel prazer. Os escolhidos veem como direito seu, abusar, matar e o que mais desejem fazer com seus inferiores.

Por razões que estão claras no livro, Carmelian foi criado de forma diferente e possui a capacidade de criar empatia com seus inferiores. Com isso, tal como nós quando percorremos as páginas do volume, vê com horror a forma como seus pares encaram o mundo e envolve-se numa luta interior terminando no fim, por cometer o mesmo pecado que seu pai, anos antes de ter nascido.

O livro é denso e pesado, nada parecido com aquela temática adolescentes vampiresca dos dias de hoje. Talvez por isso o autor ainda não tenha recebido o reconhecimento que merece. Entretanto, como leitor, encontrei muitíssimo mais prazer nas páginas desta trilogia do que nas séries mais em voga no momento.

É um grande livro! Amanhã mesmo começo o segundo volume.

[Blaise · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://undertheradarsffbooks.com/202...

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. If you have read my previous review for The Masters, then this review should come as no surprise as to my love for this series. Please also bare in mind that this book needs to be read along side The Masters and should be treated as one volume. With all of that being said, I was glued to every page and hanging on every word Ricardo Pinto had to say in his dark epic fantasy like no other. Its a story of power, politics, ancient history, gods, and a forbidden romance. This will be a spoiler free review but I will be touching on events in the previous volume.

After the long journey from his home isle, which has been pretty much left in ruins by The Masters, Carnelian has finally reached the capital city of Osrakum. Carnelian’s father Suth is on the edge of death and needs to be immediately transported to The Pillar of Heaven for his recovery. As the black gates open, Carnelian realizes that the election for a new emperor will take place in due order and he is forbidden to enter the legendary labyrinth and ultimately the Pillar since he is not the head of his household. That title still belongs to his father, but Carnelian will devise a plan to see his father once again. Once there, Carnelian will witness The Masters work their political influence, the influence of the Emperor’s servants, the vile nature of the Empress who is also his aunt, and discover a secret lover in a dark and grim atmosphere.

There is so much to unpack in this book so I will stick to the major points. This is a very grim world and Ricardo Pinto will not hold your hand as we travel down this dark path. Outside of the capital, the world is riddled with a plague and the elites are sheltered inside the city. The journey to reach Osrakum took many weeks but even the trip into the Labyrinth and up the Pillar will take several days still. The amount of history, political power, and sickening revelations that Ricardo Pinto introduces in this world will have the most dedicated grimdark fan have to take a 15 minute break.

The Gods in the world and the major religious faction believe in twins as being sacred and it has been that way for generations. What Carnelian doesn’t know is that the servants to the Gods and the Emperor are actually Siamese twins of all different kinds. That’s not even the most horrifying thing Carnelian will discover in the Pillar, but it will sure throw the reader for a loop. One final thing I would like to discuss is the way history and language is taught in this world. Much like the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations, the history of this world is passed down through bead readings. I have never read a fantasy novel talk about this type of learning and it was beyond fascinating to see. It was also a great tool to introduce the history of the world through past tales, wars, rituals and so much more. Carnelian will get a much better view of the world he now inhabits but the election is coming and the powers that be are working against him and his father. Combine this with one of the most gut wrenching cliffhanger endings I have ever read, and you have a tale all dark fantasy fans must read!

I don’t say this very often, but given the volume of stories I have read over the years I am rarely surprised and shocked from the very first page. From cover to cover, Ricardo Pinto has left me speechless as to where the story is going and how our characters will deal with the turmoil to come. These types of stories are very rare but contain so much potential to take off in the SFF community. I really hope more people will give this series a try as the best is yet to come. With books 3 and 4 now sitting on my shelf, the new year can’t come soon enough and all I can say is job well done Mr. Pinto!

Cheers!

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pinto is a truly gifted writer when it comes to description: he creates a world that is so fully described in every way--colors, shapes, customs, costumes, rituals and races--that the world literally leaps off the page and burns itself into your mind. Unfortunately, so much time is spent on these descriptions that the plot itself suffers: there are times when quite literally nothing happens for ten to twenty pages (although those pages are so beautifully written that you can almost forgive him). My hardcover copy ran 510 pages, but the plot only filled perhaps half of those. I'm hoping that his descriptive passages will have largely run their course in this book, and that his sequels will focus more on moving the plot forward.

[Blodeuedd Finland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I sadly was not taken by this book, don't get me wrong. He is a great worldbuilder, and has created this rich and complicated race, and he is a good writer. But just because of that I do not have to fall for it.

First up is the main character whom I never connected with, a 15 year old boy who was so more humane than those other Masters that lives back in Osrakum. But I just never cared for him, or anyone in this book. I think this might be a character driven fantasy book and I have seen this year that those do not work for me. But great for those who love those kinds of books.

Also I need magic, wars and stuff in my fantasy, this could just have been in some far away and very creepy country.

The book also gave me a lot of questions and I need answers, there could have been more talk of how things where as they were. I mean the book had over 700 pages, but still I never got close to this rich world.

Also I do not want to read about a 15 year old boy having sex, especially since he always talked about the other one as a boy, did that mean he was younger? I hope not. So that did not work for me, and it felt strange since the road there was so much different than was what to come. Suddenly he was all whiny and lovestruck.

But yes do not listen to me, those were just things that did not work for me. But if you like character driven fantasy then this book is for you.

It is a story about a boy who grows up with his dad and all is fine, then the Masters come. He sees how cruel they are and when they leave for the mainland it gets worse. he might be one of them but he certainly not act like them. How anyone can live in that horrible society I do not know. There are also a lot of Eastern influences and he has built in it to make it a fantasy with those influences. Funny enough I love sic-fi like that but not fantasy. I can already imagine how cool this would have been in sci.fi.

So it is not the writing that did not work, it was just not the story for me. I can't like all fantasy which I have noticed.


Blodeuedd's Cover Corner. Fantasy
Reason for reading: My own book
Final thoughts: Did not work for me, but I leave it up to you to make up your own mind. He is a good writer. And the world is complex.

[Ruby Roh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, it must be said that this book is set in a very violent society. The Masters, who rule with impunity, often hand out savage punishments on nothing more than a whim. This concept, coupled with the degree of violence, was something I had some trouble dealing with and probably why I only gave this book three stars.

It's a well written and imaginative book, and I quite liked the main protagonist, but overall I wasn't left with a burning need to find out how the cliff-hanger ending of the first book was resolved in the second.

[Josh Culbertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lush exploration of the treacherous imperial politics of a low-fantasy empire which combines the most brutal aspects of Rome and several Mesoamerican cultures, "The Chosen" was positively gripping for the 700+ page monstrosity it is. Pinto is unapologetic in his portrayal of a civilization whose socio-economic wheels are greased with blood; I admired his lack of the typical fantasy lone voice in the wilderness who pleads for sanity with the rest of his culture on behalf of the reader's vantage. Here are slavery, purdah, patriarchialism, and the cult of the emperor rendered as if they were simply absolutes, the way their cultures viewed them. We're thrust directly into an utterly alien mindset and forced to grapple with an ethos which, while potentially abhorrent to our own modern Western perspective, is perfectly historically well-represented in our world and no more or less internally consistent than ours. Intrigue abounds throughout a sprawling yet ripping text; Pinto takes time to lead you through the labyrinth of a truly fascinating and distinctive fantasy culture, unlike so many of Tolkien's weak heirs and copiers, but when things spring into action, it's precisely the contrast in tone which succeeds for me. I think Pinto suffers sometimes in his tendency to get lost in the architecture, but this might be my inability to understand the finer points of just what he's picturing rather than any failure of his, and even if it's a failing of his narrative I'm willing to forgive it. A+.

[Filipa · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this book (yes, I read it more than once) I found it extremely boring. Specially through the end, with all the politic system of a fictional society explained to the heart paining detail. Yet, even in the first time I read it, I found it quite innovative and refreshing. No elves, dwarves, trolls, fairies or vampires. A entire new and fresh world and races that walked around, that needed all the hear paining descriptions so the reader could perceive a bit of what the world Ricardo Pinto had created was all about.
As I re-read the book, all the details melted into a big picture. And the book became more interesting than in the first reading. Not a easy reading, not at all, but quite refreshing and amazing, The Chosen bring us a rich world with depth characters that move around in a game of politics and "religion" that goes above all I've read before.
Carnelian, our main character, is the son of Suth, a Chosen that was cast away from Oskrum, the city of the Chosen, when the emperor-god rised to power. As the current emperor-god is dying, the need to choose one of his sons, bring Carnelian and his father to the wonder city of Oskrum. As Carnelian was raised far from the Chosen, a new and horrifying world is waiting for him...

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written about a fantasy world ruled by an incredibly cruel and selfish noble caste lording it over a bunch of those they term "barbarians" on a world that is still Jurassic-Cretaceous in climate and fauna. Also, it's based around an Aztec-Mayan-Latin American sort of backdrop rather than the usual generic European sort of thing.

All of that is neat--Aztecs and dinosaurs, I'm down. There's also a lot of attention to characters and details and sometimes baffling actions by people with a very different mindset than a 21st century American.

The problem with the book, that holds it back from a higher rating from me, is pacing. This book is over five hundred pages long, and there's a lot of "not much happens" to it. The visuals are lush and rich, but there is a great deal of focus on seemingly every moment of the main character's life. We get some insight into him, but it causes the pacing to break down fairly frequently as a suspenseful event is foreshadowed...and then never...happens.

It isn't so bad that it's unreadable, but be prepared.

The second book is worse for this, enough that I haven't finished it yet. Eventually, I suppose.

[Steve · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Chosen is written with a very slow pace. Most pages are taken up with the lavish yet repetitive description of locations in the fantasy world. But, never fear, just when you're finally beginning to distill the basic structure of the river, road, palace, or gate from the unfocused description of its details, the scene will change as the unsympathetic main character moves on to a new location, never to return.

Themes include: slavery, institutional racism, mutilation, torture, and drug addiction.

[Daniel Ionson]

DNF. Writing was good, but tale did not entice me.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book is really good when it steers you into feeling emotions. I had one day where I was in a foul mood, wondering what caused it only to remember it was because of Carnie. Hope i can get my hands on book2. I also like its 'different' approach to a fantasy novel.
I had one issue with the clear allusions to race though. It seemed... Somehow

[Andrew Peters]

Holy crap, I’m glad I tracked down this book. The blurb sounded really interesting, and I had read the story had gay characters, which always appeals to me. Then I quickly discovered it is quite hard to find, expensive to purchase, and was never converted to an e-book. I had to order it through inter-library loan, and I was shocked by the thick, hard cover book that arrived. Whoa. Just a wee bit intimidating.

Now I’ll say, as many reviewers here felt, I had my doubts about the story in the beginning. I’m not a fan of day-by-day, hour-by-hour accounts of what the main character is doing, and even though Pinto’s writing is vivid and luxurious, even though the world he creates is gorgeously strange and so original, the story backed me into editor mode, questioning how necessary many of the scenes were. There’s a ton of them in which Carnelian simply moves from one place to another when the Masters come to his father’s Hold, and it’s the start of an adventure that almost never gets going.

I am so frickin’ thankful I stuck with the book! The story has some of the most exquisite fantasy workmanship I’ve ever read, and I was excited to review it here. Then I was even more excited to do so after I saw some of the reviews where people pointed squeamishly to the gay storyline. If you weren’t sure whether homophobia exists in the fantasy community, take a scroll downward.

All right. In how many ways can I say I loved this book? First, the setting. Totally bizarre, in that good, I’ve-never-seen-anything-like-this-before way. I suppose you could say it’s somewhat derivative of Frank Herbert’s Dune with its aristocratic houses (the Chosen) that have complex systems for maintaining pure blood-lines, in addition to being horrifically autocratic and flagrantly grotesque. I’d argue that Pinto takes that familiar convention into new territory, with a richly imagined caste society that is both fascinating and terrifying. All the description of the rites and laws feels trampling at first, but it works to great effect. Carnelian’s world comes to life around the reader, with punctilious detail for sure, from the oddities of his grooming, dress, and the masks he must wear to maintain order and power in a deeply devout and horrendously exploitative society. This is most definitely dark fantasy, probably the cruelest and most violent I have seen, so it's not light reading, but definitely worth experiencing in my opinion.

I loved Carnelian. Certainly, it helped that he’s just about the only one of his kind who’s disgusted by the treatment of slaves and inferiors. That portrayal wouldn’t typically work for me, seeming forced or unrealistic, but there’s a compelling explanation for his discomfort with the atrocities of his peers, his wanting to protect his slaves (who in most cases are his half-brothers according to the unsparing rankism in his world). Carnelian was raised in exile with his father, who is also a sympathetic character, so it makes sense that he was sheltered from the savagery and excesses of his class while also establishing a sense of family. He’s a sensitive young man, but he’s also unafraid to stand up for himself and stand up for justice.

I loved his journey and his arrival to Oskarum. Tension builds. Danger builds, and I was literally thinking to myself: how the hell is this kid going to get through this? He could be assassinated from every direction. It’s an affecting journey also in that Carnelian is forced to be more and more isolated. He’s friendless, with no one to trust, and I could picture him nearly dying of loneliness.

Which leads to: I loved his relationship with Osidian, the mysterious boy he meets in a pitch black, forbidden library. That storyline brings together a satisfying sense of hope, a cleverly played sensuality (they have to get to know each other mostly in the dark), and a well-deserved, if fragile, romance. I was ready to throw the book across the room if they didn’t end up getting together. In another author’s hands, it would have been so easy to write it that way, whether timidly straying away from the characters’ sexuality or downplaying the relationship in the service of the major storyline. It was of course maddening that the story ends in a cliffhanger, but I was so glad that the portrayal of two boys in love included both the emotionality and the physicality of their relationship. Not at all graphic, but it says enough to let you know they’re not just friends.

[Chris Cangiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pinto has done an amazing job with world building in The Chosen. He really takes the reader in depth into the sights, feel, customs and rituals of the fantasy kingdom that he has created (based in large part on the society of Imperial China). Pinto's commitment to detail is an incredible asset. Unfortunately it is also a weakness. The real meat of the story doesn't start until the last hundred pages of the novel and it becomes a slog at times to wade through the minutia of court etiquette and political intrigue. Having said that the set up for the second novel at the very end of The Chosen makes me interested to see where it goes and how it gets there; and the relationship between Carnelian and Osidian (once it finally develops) is also something that is worth exploring so I will definitely pick up the second novel in the series. Recommended to those who like their fantasy worlds richly (some might say obsessively) detailed.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was slow reading until the last 150 pages or so, which I found myself reading in one long sitting. The election was far more suspenseful than I thought it would be given the rest of the book.

Probably the greatest portion of the book is devoted to descriptions and exposition detailing the intricate world of the Chosen. Carnelian (the protagonist) and Sardian (his father) are interesting enough, but they are not exactly vivid personalities; the rest of the characters are adequate. Again, the primary appeal of the book is Pinto's painstaking worldbuilding. The book is decidedly imperfect and will likely only be enjoyed by those interested, as I have said, in worldbuilding or hardcore fantasy fans looking for something different to read. Three stars.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was, by far, the worst book I've ever read. It was boring, presumptuous (the author clearly tries to copy the style of J.R.R.Tolkien and miserably fails) and the 2 main characters are completly disgusting. If the book itself wasn't bad enough, I would have gladly passed away the descriptions of gay sex between those main male characters.
This book is actually WORSE than Twilight. For all those who think that's not possible...try to read this...

[TeaDrinker · Rating 4 out of 5]

These comments represent the trilogy.
Starts out as if in a world like our own, then becomes more ‘other’ over the first couple of books. Great world-building, acceptable characters with layered motivations. Maybe a bit too much teen gay for me, but not graphic. Are all teenage boys or young men this bratty? Could do with a clip round the ear.
Rich in politics, history, environment, self-assessment and self-improvement.
I would read more from this author.

[Daniel Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a major flaw: nothing happened. Okay, okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But hear me out, here. Ricardo Pinto clearly had a truly unique setting thought out when he set out to craft his debut novel. The level of detail, the depth of lore and the undeniable descriptive talent of this author and his concept nearly carry the day here. Unfortunately, I don't think I have the patience required to enjoy this novel.

Throughout The Chosen, we follow the perspective of the scion of a ruling caste leader who becomes embroiled in convoluted political machinations within a beautifully imagined fictional culture. The society Pinto has thought of is truly the star of this book, and he spends many pages on setting up the intricate, rigid, heavily ritualized culture he wants to explore. This is by no means wasted on me; Pinto has an incredible gift for setting a scene and has very obviously thought about his fictional civilization from every conceivable angle. This society is extremely rich and complex, but if I had to try to break it down to some very bare bones I would say it's a caste system in which lineage and beauty are valued highly and an ancient set of mythological rules has created an extremely inefficient bureaucracy that has begun to decay under its own weight. There is incredible opulence and unprecedented privilege depending on one's status and a majority suffering painfully for the few who rise above. Individuals of low status are ritually killed, often and without hesitation, sometimes simply for doing their jobs. This brutal culture permeates every single page of this 700-plus page tome. Unfortunately, aside from this well-crafted idea of what life could be like in some alternate Earth, there's little to hang one's hat on in this novel. It's a very weak tea with only one flavor.

What ultimately made my opinion sour on this book was the fact that I could tell nothing was going to happen about 100 pages in, and it continued for the next 590 pages. Many scenes just drag on too long, and not by a little but by miles in some cases. I just don't have the patience to be on tenterhooks for 90 pages when I keep getting the same mild shock over and over while the author seems to present it with more flair than it deserves. While there are certainly poignant, impactful scenes in this book, none of them are given the proper context to allow us to care about their outcomes or the characters involved. This interesting idea of human life that Pinto has thought of appears to be where he stopped creating. He had some very intense ideas of scenes that could arise from his fictional world, but not enough thought into how to tie them together into a coherent story. These end up feeling like a series of disconnected vignettes, and they simply tie together into a portrait of pain and suffering rather than a true story. Some lip service is done to creating a climax in the last pages of the book, but to me they feel disconnected from the rest of the book (a common flaw with many scenes) and occurred with no logical setup. This made everything that happened prior feel arbitrary, which was also a common flaw throughout the book.

I did not enjoy my time with this book. The beautiful settings and wonderfully unique society Pinto has created did not manage to hold their own against the monotony and utter disconnect I felt from scene to scene in this book. Some characters got too much screen time, some not nearly enough, and I barely cared about any of them because they all simply felt like they were tools for the author to pour more depressing darkness onto the reader with no relevance to the plot. This book moved glacially, and I feel as though about half of it could've been removed with no detriment to comprehension and probably a huge boost to momentum. I don't think I can recommend this to anyone, because this lack of direction and connective tissue is a pretty major structural issue with this novel. On top of that, it's hard to put it into a genre classification. This is fine in a novel that stands more on its own, but in something that didn't quite work it makes it difficult to know who might enjoy it despite its flaws. I hope Pinto made some changes from this book to the next, and I will truly never forget the Osrakum culture he's imagined so vividly.

[Chris Gousopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book more than a month ago but I was struggling of how to rate it.
Pinto is one of the most distinct authors I can think of.
His writing is very rich and dense. Extremely detailed. It was what made me invested at the beginning along with the premise and the very rich, exotic, flavorful, intricate, despotic society and world in general.

The setting Pinto has created is one of the most original and at the same time beautiful and harsh I can think of. His exquisite writing bolsters every sentence and makes the whole experience very livid. There are many scenes that are like paintings or some still scene of some cinema masterpiece.
He also has a very good ability to write about people's statures. How they stand, how they interact. Its something I always appreciate in writers I read. He writes some really powerful encounters between people.

What did not work for me and made me think of rating it with 3 stars is how the story unfolds. It is the first person narrative of a young exiled noble and the story of how his house becomes again relevant in the important events that will happen. Initially I was really excited with what was going on and the heavy atmosphere that Pinto's writing embellished the events but, the further I moved forward, Pinto's way of describing everything with so many details, often beautiful, and moving very slowly, and subjectively not in the most interesting way, made reading the book a bit of a slog for me.

I hope I will read the next books because the premise is really interesting, the writing can be great and the world is fascinating in its originality. I will just need to have the proper mood for such a dense, slow paced reading.
I am sure Pinto is not for everyone. Especially for people who want action, lots of magic, fast pace, clear moralities etc in their reading. But, if you crave for beautiful prose, uniqueness, thematical harshness and an approach that is closer to authors like Gene Wolfe then these books might be perfect for you.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Briefly: Carnelian and his father, a Ruling Lord, live in exile on a remote island with their household of slaves and lower caste relations. The story follows their summons to return home as the elections for new God Emperor are about to take place.

That may not sound very remarkable, yet this is fantasy with a difference. Pinto has created an imaginary and complex world dominated by a strict hierarchy and caste system, from the Chosen and Ruling Lords down through various levels to the lowest sub-human creatures who are nothing more than mere expendable labourers. But what differentiates The Chosen from the norm is that here there is no magic, no supernatural powers, no evil spells. Pinto’s fantasy depends entirely on the creation of an incredible imaginative world, the intrigues of the Lords, and the viciously cruel inhuman treatment of the lower castes, along with a carefully thought out complex history. It is also a world in which marriage is a matter of purity of bloodline, and physical love between men raises no eyebrows.

It is in such a cruel world that Carnelian stands out as an individual. Raised in exile away from the Ruling Lords Machiavellian dealings amongst themselves and the ruthless and merciless treatment of their subordinates, Carnelian is untainted by such attitudes and is caring even when dealing with the slaves of his household. As such he is immediately appealing, and one is happy to follow him through this 700 page epic. That the book is intelligently and well written, the description so vivid, the characters so well-developed, simply makes it all the more compelling. It does at times require effort on the part of the reader, but it is effort rewarded.

[Pedro Santos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sei que cheguei tarde para ler este livro porque o autor lançou uma nova edição desta saga, que certamente é bem-vinda.

O mundo criado é bastante interessante e mesmo arrepiante. Uma elite que governa sob a pena de tortura e mutilação, com imensos rituais e simbolismos.

É um mundo amoral e mesmo Carnelian, a personagem principal, vê muitas vezes as suas boas intenções a terem consequências pesadas.

O livro infelizmente tem alguns problemas estruturais, que em muito complicam a leitura. A acção decorre muito lentamente após a primeira parte, com uma prosa excessivamente descritiva. As descrições dos espaços e das roupas são exaustivas e difíceis de imaginar. Outro pormenor é a dificuldade de compreensão do próprio universo, como funcionam as diferentes classes e a própria História. A máxima literária diz "mostra, não contes" mas neste caso há muito mais que deveria ser contado e aquilo que é mostrado dificilmente explica.

Só não dei duas estrelas porque o livro melhora imenso no seu final, com momentos cujo "pay-off" valeu bem a pena e dá curiosidade de saber o que vem a seguir.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
Not great but I want to read the sequel even so.

[Joe Harty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stone Dance of the Chameleon is one of my all time favorite book trilogies. I think it's an absolute masterpiece. This is probably the best book of the series but all three are amazing.

[Márcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 estrelas
Final surpreendente!

[Tim]

Got bored with this. Felt overwritten and uninteresting, couldn't work up any enthusiasm to continue.
No stars.

[Cerviallacarica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bello bello bello

[Anastasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the end of the book the author seemed to have forgotten that the main character was fifteen.

[Hugo · Rating 1 out of 5]

A fantasy tale of magnificent and largely original world-building, most of it - when the author stops to explain it - largely impenetrable lists of family relationships and allegiances and complicated blood groups and a history which I read through three times and could not follow.

307 pages and the characters have only just travelled back home over sea and land, and not quite got there yet. All written in short sentences. Even when the pace is slow. Which makes the pace seem slower. Which is quite dull. Quite. Quite dull.