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The Stone Testament
As foretold in ancient texts, and marked by the Mayan Long Count, time has nearly run out. Foreshadowed by a sequence of bizarre phenomena and natural disasters, the End Time is fast approaching. Only Abraham Black has the knowledge to stop this from happening, ancient wisdom inherited from those who have gone before him: Edwardian scholar, Aurel Lockwood and American adventurer, Brice Ambrose Stone. With the help of his son, Adam, suicide cult survivor, Zillah, and streetwise Kris, he hopes to outwit the sinister forces ranged against him before it is too late.
To succeed, Adam and the others must travel back into the deep past. They must survive in a doomed world, dominated by terrifying Beast Gods, and defeat an adversary of awesome power who is bent on utter destruction.
To succeed, Adam and the others must travel back into the deep past. They must survive in a doomed world, dominated by terrifying Beast Gods, and defeat an adversary of awesome power who is bent on utter destruction.
426 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Celia Rees
44 books1,136 followersCelia Rees (born 1949) is an English author of children's, YA and Adult fiction.
She was born in 1949 in Solihull, West Midlands but now lives in Leamington Spa with her husband. Rees attended University of Warwick and earned a degree in History of Politics. After university, she taught English in Coventry secondary schools for seventeen years, during which time she began to write.
Since then, she has written over twenty YA titles. Her books have been translated into 28 languages. She has been short listed for the Guardian, Whitbread (now Costa) and W.H. Smith Children’s Book Awards. She is a regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation. She has been Chair of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group and on the Society of Authors’ Management Committee.
Her first book for adults, Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook, was published by HarperCollins in July, 2020.
She was born in 1949 in Solihull, West Midlands but now lives in Leamington Spa with her husband. Rees attended University of Warwick and earned a degree in History of Politics. After university, she taught English in Coventry secondary schools for seventeen years, during which time she began to write.
Since then, she has written over twenty YA titles. Her books have been translated into 28 languages. She has been short listed for the Guardian, Whitbread (now Costa) and W.H. Smith Children’s Book Awards. She is a regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation. She has been Chair of the Children’s Writers and Illustrators Group and on the Society of Authors’ Management Committee.
Her first book for adults, Miss Graham's Cold War Cookbook, was published by HarperCollins in July, 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 9, 2019
This is, sadly, another piece of trash fiction, and I really didn't click with the story at all. I think it was trying to shock with all of these death waves, but it left me beyond confused. Also, it was so set up to be a series, and then it just ended and never got continued? loool
July 6, 2019
Barely read about 40-50 pages and I think it's safe to say that i absolutely hated that book. I couldn't understand what was going on half the time and i don't have the patience to stick it out to find out. I've been thinking of DNFing it for quite some time but I just got the courage to do it.
February 24, 2026
2 Stars
Plot and world-building
It was..interesting. I can’t even give a summary because it was so confusing. The dedication and blurb implies it’s a fantasy book, but the Elder Time world was nowhere near fleshed out enough. The ‘normal time’ was just as confusing, and it felt completely random and unrealistic. I really hoped we’d spend more time in the Elder Time place because again, it’s meant to be a fantasy book and there are almost zero fantasy aspects in the normal time, but it was really only the last few chapters, and so I missed out on a lot of world building for Elder Time.
Writing
I think calling it bad is being maybe too harsh, because I can see how it’s simplistic tell-don’t-show approach would appeal to some people, but I could not get into it. I was never immersed in the world, partly because of the above section, but mostly because the writing was so boring. There was no interesting descriptions, no leaving things to the imagination, no complexity at all. But at the same time, it was so confusing. Character dialogue was unnatural, settings changed rapidly without any warning, and yet the characters just went along with everything. The only interesting things, like C6D, were underdeveloped and everyone just went along with what was happening however weird it was. I know I’m repeating myself but that’s how it felt reading the book.
Characters
Where do I even start. Adam Black was just a cardboard cutout that was put in different places. Whatever happened, he didn’t even think about it, he just carried on like normal. His internal dialogue felt bland and emotionless. I don’t even know what he looks like 😭. Zillah was hardly any better. Her only trait was she was pretty and that’s only because it was mentioned like once. I don’t know who she is, what her emotions or reactions or thoughts are. She was in a CULT for gods’ sake! And yet she never once thought about it. I’m not an ex-cult member but I mean does being raised with no connections, no possessions in a terrifying cult not have some implications for your subsequent emotions ? I can barely remember the other characters names, because they were just ghosts of actual people.
The Beast Gods were so interesting though. I am a sucker for religions in fantasy worlds, mythical creatures and Gods etc are SO cool but I feel like they were barely there. Again they just felt so bland and non-existent, they felt like book characters . I couldn’t see them in my head or imagine what they sounded like or what it was like in their world, I got no information on their history or the other gods history. If I’m reading a book, I want to be so immersed in that world I forget I’m even reading a book. And that didn’t happen in that book, and I am incredibly disappointed.
Content Warnings
Violence: I’d say it’s moderate. A lot of graphic descriptions of creatures being ripped apart, mentions of blood, a person getting torn up and nearly dying, (consensual) acupuncture, mass death by suicide, descriptions of dead bodies and aftermath of death, (spoiler) , off page sacrifices, descriptions of said sacrifices (being buried under rocks while alive, heart taken out while still beating - all briefly mentioned), somewhat vague but on page disembowelling, drowning. By far not the worst I’ve read.
Swearing: None
Other: Descriptions of mass suicides, being in a cult, descriptions of hospitals, comas and disabilities, detailed descriptions of other religions and human sacrifice, implications of possible pedophelia (not sure of characters ages but there is definitely an age gap and I am 99% sure one character is a minor, but in general uncomfortable to read about), implications of sexual assault/rape, death of a loved one on page (not relative but very close to one character).
Plot and world-building
It was..interesting. I can’t even give a summary because it was so confusing. The dedication and blurb implies it’s a fantasy book, but the Elder Time world was nowhere near fleshed out enough. The ‘normal time’ was just as confusing, and it felt completely random and unrealistic. I really hoped we’d spend more time in the Elder Time place because again, it’s meant to be a fantasy book and there are almost zero fantasy aspects in the normal time, but it was really only the last few chapters, and so I missed out on a lot of world building for Elder Time.
Writing
I think calling it bad is being maybe too harsh, because I can see how it’s simplistic tell-don’t-show approach would appeal to some people, but I could not get into it. I was never immersed in the world, partly because of the above section, but mostly because the writing was so boring. There was no interesting descriptions, no leaving things to the imagination, no complexity at all. But at the same time, it was so confusing. Character dialogue was unnatural, settings changed rapidly without any warning, and yet the characters just went along with everything. The only interesting things, like C6D, were underdeveloped and everyone just went along with what was happening however weird it was. I know I’m repeating myself but that’s how it felt reading the book.
Characters
Where do I even start. Adam Black was just a cardboard cutout that was put in different places. Whatever happened, he didn’t even think about it, he just carried on like normal. His internal dialogue felt bland and emotionless. I don’t even know what he looks like 😭. Zillah was hardly any better. Her only trait was she was pretty and that’s only because it was mentioned like once. I don’t know who she is, what her emotions or reactions or thoughts are. She was in a CULT for gods’ sake! And yet she never once thought about it. I’m not an ex-cult member but I mean does being raised with no connections, no possessions in a terrifying cult not have some implications for your subsequent emotions ? I can barely remember the other characters names, because they were just ghosts of actual people.
The Beast Gods were so interesting though. I am a sucker for religions in fantasy worlds, mythical creatures and Gods etc are SO cool but I feel like they were barely there. Again they just felt so bland and non-existent, they felt like book characters . I couldn’t see them in my head or imagine what they sounded like or what it was like in their world, I got no information on their history or the other gods history. If I’m reading a book, I want to be so immersed in that world I forget I’m even reading a book. And that didn’t happen in that book, and I am incredibly disappointed.
Content Warnings
Violence: I’d say it’s moderate. A lot of graphic descriptions of creatures being ripped apart, mentions of blood, a person getting torn up and nearly dying, (consensual) acupuncture, mass death by suicide, descriptions of dead bodies and aftermath of death, (spoiler) , off page sacrifices, descriptions of said sacrifices (being buried under rocks while alive, heart taken out while still beating - all briefly mentioned), somewhat vague but on page disembowelling, drowning. By far not the worst I’ve read.
Swearing: None
Other: Descriptions of mass suicides, being in a cult, descriptions of hospitals, comas and disabilities, detailed descriptions of other religions and human sacrifice, implications of possible pedophelia (not sure of characters ages but there is definitely an age gap and I am 99% sure one character is a minor, but in general uncomfortable to read about), implications of sexual assault/rape, death of a loved one on page (not relative but very close to one character).
February 15, 2023
Nothing like the blurb (the many "signs of the end of the world" such as crying statues and milk producing stone cows are present for all of one sentence) and hard to get into but worth persevering for an end of the world time hopping fantasy novel.
May 26, 2013
Sceptical at first, I'm glad I kept on going with this one.
It has a strange set up; about the first 300 pages are foundation and then everything suddenly happens at the end. I got a little confused at times, but I suppose that is the nature of stories that contain time travel in the way this one does.
The exploration of deities and earth magic is just wonderful, especially if you're a massive nerd for that sort of thing. It pieces itself together and really makes you think about the ancient past, and beliefs that we dismiss now, but who are we to do so? What lies beyond our reach? As imperfect as the book is in places, such as the letters (which, though dry at times, were still interesting to me) it far makes up for it with the Elder Time and the vivid ending.
It has a strange set up; about the first 300 pages are foundation and then everything suddenly happens at the end. I got a little confused at times, but I suppose that is the nature of stories that contain time travel in the way this one does.
The exploration of deities and earth magic is just wonderful, especially if you're a massive nerd for that sort of thing. It pieces itself together and really makes you think about the ancient past, and beliefs that we dismiss now, but who are we to do so? What lies beyond our reach? As imperfect as the book is in places, such as the letters (which, though dry at times, were still interesting to me) it far makes up for it with the Elder Time and the vivid ending.
January 7, 2021
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The good: The reason I liked this book was how seemingly random events were connected. It was well written too.
The bad: It killed me to get to last punctuation mark but I did it. And I had such high hopes in the beginning too. The story was great but it got a little boring in the middle. The long descriptions were one of the myriad flaws of this book. Without them, it could have been really impressive. The ending was also pretty abrupt.
The good: The reason I liked this book was how seemingly random events were connected. It was well written too.
The bad: It killed me to get to last punctuation mark but I did it. And I had such high hopes in the beginning too. The story was great but it got a little boring in the middle. The long descriptions were one of the myriad flaws of this book. Without them, it could have been really impressive. The ending was also pretty abrupt.
September 19, 2021
It's an enjoyable read for the most part, but unfortunately the structure is rather confusing, and even unengaging until about halfway into the book. I can see the appeal of the idea, and Rees does deliver in terms of descriptions and a blend of two timelines, but it was hard to be immersed in the tale when perspectives are jumped between so much and the plot isn't clear. Not one I'll read again, but it was interesting.
May 29, 2017
I found this book incredibly confusing. It started out well, with one of the characters waking up surrounded by dead people, but after the first couple chapters I quickly lost interest. There were more flashback chapters than chapters actually featuring the main characters so I didn't really get attached to any of the characters. I found that nothing much happened for the majority of the book and it was too confusing for me to find much enjoyment in.
May 24, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
The lore was fun; the play on different timelines intersecting was so engaging for me; and the religious (Biblical) overtones were also beautifully done. I plan to reread her many times in the future :)
*Don't look at that rating up there, the book is good y'all!
The lore was fun; the play on different timelines intersecting was so engaging for me; and the religious (Biblical) overtones were also beautifully done. I plan to reread her many times in the future :)
*Don't look at that rating up there, the book is good y'all!
June 25, 2017
1.5 stars
April 12, 2018
Could have been better
May 23, 2018
I finished it, but wasn't expecting the ending that it gave. Rather clever....
May 2, 2025
I like the references to mythology, both past and present! Although it gets a bit confusing when they go back to Elder Time, I think that's kind of the point - but I also think it's intriguing how Stone was able to communicate with them despite having died in their world. The ending also showed a rather unique perspective on what would have happened had the C6D/Order never existed, despite Adam remembering it somewhat clearly... I feel as though it had been written down by Abraham from what Adam described. Overall pretty good reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2009
If you haven't already heard, the world is going to end in 2012. In this book, it isn't too late to set right what was once toppled. With shades of Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull and nods to Madeleine L'engle's Swiftly Tilting Planet, it's up to three teenagers to go back to Elder Times and make sense of the mystery and magic surrounding the crystal skull. Unfortunately, the nature of the book didn't translate well to audio. Too many changes in points of view, too many characters. Although the narration itself was good, it was too confusing. Conceptually it was interesting but probably would have been more enjoyable had I read it.
May 24, 2010
Zilah, the only survivor of a world-wide suicide cult finds her life entwined with Kris, a streetwise gang leader and Adam, an orphan who has been raised by a religious order. Guided by two mystical adults and writings from the past these three must travel back in time to prevent the distruction of the world which according to the ancient Mayan calendar will happen on the winter solstice.
It took me longer to connect with this story than with the other two books I've read by this author [Witch Child and Pirates:]; but, I liked it enough to finish.
It took me longer to connect with this story than with the other two books I've read by this author [Witch Child and Pirates:]; but, I liked it enough to finish.
August 11, 2010
Although, I usually find Celia Rees to be a fantastic author with many brilliant books I didn't get as much from this novel. The Stone Testament makes you think and questions not only your idea of reality but what lies beyond this one, however I found the characters emotionally hard to connect to, possibly due to the minium use of dialogue. THe storyline was good and very inventive but with so many character's roles in different eras linking to one event it was difficult to sort out each individual person.
October 9, 2014
Ich habe noch nie so ein Buch gelesen, bei dem das Potential einfach aus dem Fenster geschmissen wurde. Echt traurig.
Der Anfang der Geschichte ist sehr gut und dann lässt es schnell nach. Ist zuerst interessant und packend und dannach wird es nur langweilig.
Ich muss auch sagen, dass Ich die Geschichte zum Teil auch nicht verstanden habe, denn mir blieben viele Fragen unbeantwortet.
Um es noch ein mal auf den Punkt zu bringen, die Idee dahinter ist genial und auch etwas anderes vielleicht auch neues, aber die Umsetzung ist einfach nur furchtbar.
Der Anfang der Geschichte ist sehr gut und dann lässt es schnell nach. Ist zuerst interessant und packend und dannach wird es nur langweilig.
Ich muss auch sagen, dass Ich die Geschichte zum Teil auch nicht verstanden habe, denn mir blieben viele Fragen unbeantwortet.
Um es noch ein mal auf den Punkt zu bringen, die Idee dahinter ist genial und auch etwas anderes vielleicht auch neues, aber die Umsetzung ist einfach nur furchtbar.
Read
April 27, 2013Tried to read, but just couldn't get into, The Stone Testament by Celia Rees.
It started out with good promise, but was way too disjointed for me to get the feel for it.
I like a bit of mystery in my stories, but this one began to downright baffle me. Was it about a cult or about the end of the world? Or maybe it was about evil gods or something.
Anyway, this one gets...
2/10: "Managed half the book, tempted to read more but just couldn't get there" on the NBRS.
It started out with good promise, but was way too disjointed for me to get the feel for it.
I like a bit of mystery in my stories, but this one began to downright baffle me. Was it about a cult or about the end of the world? Or maybe it was about evil gods or something.
Anyway, this one gets...
2/10: "Managed half the book, tempted to read more but just couldn't get there" on the NBRS.
July 26, 2011
I have literally JUST started reading this. :B Fingers crossed its as good as it seems.- I wrote this days ago.
A recent update:
This book is awesome. Purely. Its adventure packed, thrilling, exciting, makes you think tonnes and is a soon to be fave!!! Im nearly finsihed..will let you know soon! :D
A recent update:
This book is awesome. Purely. Its adventure packed, thrilling, exciting, makes you think tonnes and is a soon to be fave!!! Im nearly finsihed..will let you know soon! :D
May 8, 2016
Celia Rees is one of my favourite authors and while this is quite different from some of her other books, it is a good read. It's not a casual read, you do need to read it quite thoroughly or you might get lost but it is well worth it - although if you asked me for a summary I don't think I could give you one!
Read
February 26, 2008I couldn't finish this - I thought it would be a good apocalyptic teen novel, but it was so dull. I realised I was skimming in desperate hope that it would end soon, and when both the main characters were made unconscious, I decided to give up.
February 11, 2008
Creepy, but very interesting. It's definitely not light reading--to start with, it's about the impending end of the world. The main characters travel through time, but in a completely non-traditional way that feels much more believable and intact.
August 28, 2014
Couldn't finish. It was going OK, I was getting through but then you had pages and pages of seemingly unrelated letters which to me were too detailed to be letters and it was just boring.
March 12, 2012
A very strange book that completely baffled me towards the end. Was left completely confused with the book!
March 5, 2013
I don't like this book! To my mind it was really confusing and boring!
May 10, 2014
For the first 300 pages or so nothing really happened and at times was really confusing but I really liked the ending!!!
January 11, 2015
I think it's either I've grown out of these kinds of paranormal / different world books, or the whole story's just not igniting any passion nor imagination in me.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews