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The Gemstone Chronicles #3
The Emerald
Aidan, Maggie, Nana, Beebop, and their elven friends have recovered the first two of four gemstones stolen from the Elven Bow. With the second stone - the Amethyst - protected by the Elven Scouts Alatariel and Lotheth and on its way to Keeper for safekeeping, the rest of group heads deeper into Celahir to rescue Aidan and Maggie’s father, Mike, from the clutches of the witch Maeva and to recover the third gemstone - the Emerald.
After a fateful encounter at Maeva’s house, the witch turns everyone, except Aidan and Maggie, into stone statues to decorate her lawn. With the help of Dylan - a ghost boy they met in the village of Fearn - the children have to muster all of the courage and ingenuity they possess to find a way to retrieve the witch’s heart from its hiding place and trade it for their family and friend’s freedom. If they can do that, then they might be able to find the third gemstone by defeating the cockatrice...
After a fateful encounter at Maeva’s house, the witch turns everyone, except Aidan and Maggie, into stone statues to decorate her lawn. With the help of Dylan - a ghost boy they met in the village of Fearn - the children have to muster all of the courage and ingenuity they possess to find a way to retrieve the witch’s heart from its hiding place and trade it for their family and friend’s freedom. If they can do that, then they might be able to find the third gemstone by defeating the cockatrice...
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 2013
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
William L. Stuart
4 books101 followersI am William (Bill) Stuart. I am a ten year veteran of the US Navy's submarine force (electronics technician and nuclear reactor operator), who now works in the animal health world. I am the father to a wonderful daughter (Laura), 2 extraordinary grandchildren (Aidan and Maggie), and the most wonderful wife in the world (Lana). Lana inspired me with her blog (http://www.lanascooking.com) to take a chance on publishing my books that were inspired by my grandchildren. In my spare time, I hunt for gemstones and prospect for gold in the north Georgia mountains, play softball, play golf (badly), and read - a lot.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 20, 2020
"The Gemstone Chronicles Book Three: The Emerald" continues the adventures of a family pulled into an alternate, magical world to fight a growing evil power and help restore a safe balance. The magical world includes elves, unicorns, mermaids, ogres, dwarves, and much more. The characters are truly likeable. This story is unique in having three generations of an Earth family, all working together to survive the dangers and find the stolen gemstones. Each of them has magical abilities tied to their own stones. They’re intrepid and clever, finding new ways to confront and confound their nemesis.
The plot is intricate, with twists, turns, and creative details. I love the use of a mermaid’s scale! This magical world has parallels to our own, which leads to philosophical musings. “We have lost much of the storytelling tradition in our world, too. As we move forward, the lessons of the past tend to be forgotten.” This is true. Well done!
The plot is intricate, with twists, turns, and creative details. I love the use of a mermaid’s scale! This magical world has parallels to our own, which leads to philosophical musings. “We have lost much of the storytelling tradition in our world, too. As we move forward, the lessons of the past tend to be forgotten.” This is true. Well done!
June 10, 2020
You get two adventures in one in this third book in the series. First, the gang is off to rescue Aiden and Maggie's father before they continue their quest for the stolen gems. Once you get past the recap in the beginning, you get into the new adventures. You'll meet many mythological creatures in this tale. I won't tell you which ones so you'll have fun discovering them yourselves. Lots of fun and surprises in store for you. Something for kids and adults both to enjoy.
August 28, 2020
It's been a bit since I read the first two books in this young adult series, but I have to say so far this one is my favourite. There is quite a bit of bang for the buck! I'm off to check out book 4!
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November 5, 2016It’s been a while since I read book one and two of this series, so I had to refresh myself on what was happening in the story.
In the first books, Beebop and Aidan were the hero’s. This time it’s Maggie’s turn. We start off with the small family in search of Laura’s husband and the children’s father. They know he’d been kidnapped from their world and was being held prisoner by a fearful witch. Along their travels they meet a boy named Dylan. He has his own secrets and agenda with the witch. Will he hinder or help his new found friends?
The beginning of the story is somewhat slow as the reader is told a synopsis of what transpired in the first two books. But once we get past that part and onto the story, it goes at a fairly decent pace. We get to meet some new mystical creatures. I loved the concept of the owl feathers.
As for the plot, there is a lot of excitement and adventure going on in this book. There are new lands to discover, riddles to solve, and evil elves to thwart.
The characters are believable and the world building is well-done. I really enjoyed the relationship between Aidan and Maggie. Especially with Aidan’s budding romance with Siobhan. They acted just like typical siblings.
My biggest complaint about this series is I can’t relate and connect to the characters the way I want. When the story is just about one of them, like Maggie in this book, yeah, I get her and feel for her. The problem is, there are just too many characters, and we end being TOLD actions instead of being SHOWN actions. It causes such a disconnect for the reader. At least for me.
But aside for that, this is a series for all people, young or old, who enjoy a good fantasy adventure. I can’t wait to read the conclusion. I give it 4 owls.
In the first books, Beebop and Aidan were the hero’s. This time it’s Maggie’s turn. We start off with the small family in search of Laura’s husband and the children’s father. They know he’d been kidnapped from their world and was being held prisoner by a fearful witch. Along their travels they meet a boy named Dylan. He has his own secrets and agenda with the witch. Will he hinder or help his new found friends?
The beginning of the story is somewhat slow as the reader is told a synopsis of what transpired in the first two books. But once we get past that part and onto the story, it goes at a fairly decent pace. We get to meet some new mystical creatures. I loved the concept of the owl feathers.
As for the plot, there is a lot of excitement and adventure going on in this book. There are new lands to discover, riddles to solve, and evil elves to thwart.
The characters are believable and the world building is well-done. I really enjoyed the relationship between Aidan and Maggie. Especially with Aidan’s budding romance with Siobhan. They acted just like typical siblings.
My biggest complaint about this series is I can’t relate and connect to the characters the way I want. When the story is just about one of them, like Maggie in this book, yeah, I get her and feel for her. The problem is, there are just too many characters, and we end being TOLD actions instead of being SHOWN actions. It causes such a disconnect for the reader. At least for me.
But aside for that, this is a series for all people, young or old, who enjoy a good fantasy adventure. I can’t wait to read the conclusion. I give it 4 owls.
May 9, 2016
4.5*
Back in Celahir and in search of the missing Emerald of the Elvin Bow, Beebop and his family face more obstacles and challenges from evil forces wanting to take power over the land.
Each family member has a role to play in the quest and the story is written in the same style as the previous two books. This book features a mermaid, unicorn and a cockatrice ( half cockerel, half toad!) and the authors imagination did a great job at creating the situations in which the humans meet this range of magical beasts.
In this tale of good vs evil or light vs dark, the good are good without being over-the-top sweet, whilst the evil creatures have such a range of painful, life altering powers that you can't help but hope they'll be beaten.
The only thing letting this book down was some repetitive use of certain phrases and that the dialogue sometimes seemed a little stiff and not like natural discussion between grandparents and their grandchildren.
The best thing about it (and the previous two books) is how you can tell as you read that the author originally wrote these books for his grandchildren. Each family member has a moment in the spotlight and it's written without course language or any graphic descriptions of violence.
Three books of the series read. Onto book 4 for the conclusion!
Back in Celahir and in search of the missing Emerald of the Elvin Bow, Beebop and his family face more obstacles and challenges from evil forces wanting to take power over the land.
Each family member has a role to play in the quest and the story is written in the same style as the previous two books. This book features a mermaid, unicorn and a cockatrice ( half cockerel, half toad!) and the authors imagination did a great job at creating the situations in which the humans meet this range of magical beasts.
In this tale of good vs evil or light vs dark, the good are good without being over-the-top sweet, whilst the evil creatures have such a range of painful, life altering powers that you can't help but hope they'll be beaten.
The only thing letting this book down was some repetitive use of certain phrases and that the dialogue sometimes seemed a little stiff and not like natural discussion between grandparents and their grandchildren.
The best thing about it (and the previous two books) is how you can tell as you read that the author originally wrote these books for his grandchildren. Each family member has a moment in the spotlight and it's written without course language or any graphic descriptions of violence.
Three books of the series read. Onto book 4 for the conclusion!
November 24, 2019
I'm so enjoying this young adult fantasy adventure. The overall concept of a family helping in the recovery of four stolen gems works brilliantly as a four-book series. Each book has a clear mission but links to the rest of the series' overall quest.
I especially liked that in the search for the emerald the children took on a central role while the adults were turned to stone and Maggie defeated the cockatrice.
The story is full of imaginative characters and situations but remains easy to follow.
Looking forward to reading the final book.
I especially liked that in the search for the emerald the children took on a central role while the adults were turned to stone and Maggie defeated the cockatrice.
The story is full of imaginative characters and situations but remains easy to follow.
Looking forward to reading the final book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews