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The Darkest Age #3
The Circle of Stone
In this powerful conclusion of the Darkest Age trilogy, the ancient god Loki has been set free from the chains that have bound him for centuries. As Edmund and Elspeth desperately search for him, the fire and destruction they expect to find is nowhere to be seen. They discover instead strange emblems carved into stone along the route south. Traveling ever closer toward the war between the Visigoths and the English, Edmond and Elspeth suspect they are being drawn into a trap. But with the help of their friends, and faith in themselves, they will face Loki one last time, at an ancient circle of stones that may be their last hope.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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353 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 28, 2016
I loved the ending. Bittersweet and full of possibility. I just wish there was more! I want to know what kind of adults Edmund and Elspeth would become!
March 8, 2022
What started as a medieval "travelogue" in the first book, then changed into epic adventure in book two, now ends as historical/military fiction in the last instalment of the series, where fantasy serves more as a backdrop than something overwhelming the whole plot.
A. J. Lake's trilogy of books being labelled as "YA Fantasy" might be a somewhat misleading label for the reader. "The Dark Ages", as the title suggests, is a far more grim tale than most might expect.
It is not a demanding reading as the author ticks all the boxes regarding the genre's clichés (and "The Circle of Stone" might come out as the most streamlined of the three books, despite being the longest), but it is also remarkable how she refuses to be preachy over the lessons she wants us to learn. Moreover, without spoiling the outcome of the whole affair, and as every loose end is tied as the drapery falls, she dares to do something even more noteworthy in a tale supposedly aimed at teenagers: that sometimes, friendship might demand irrevocable sacrifices. I shall write no more on it.
On a side note: it was also refreshing to come across a fantasy book where the “hero” is neither a man, nor a hero. It’s just a regular, peasant girl, which must rise to the call of a mission that was chosen in spite of her, and how she remains so throughout the whole quest. You don’t have to be a Conan to save the world!
A. J. Lake's trilogy of books being labelled as "YA Fantasy" might be a somewhat misleading label for the reader. "The Dark Ages", as the title suggests, is a far more grim tale than most might expect.
It is not a demanding reading as the author ticks all the boxes regarding the genre's clichés (and "The Circle of Stone" might come out as the most streamlined of the three books, despite being the longest), but it is also remarkable how she refuses to be preachy over the lessons she wants us to learn. Moreover, without spoiling the outcome of the whole affair, and as every loose end is tied as the drapery falls, she dares to do something even more noteworthy in a tale supposedly aimed at teenagers: that sometimes, friendship might demand irrevocable sacrifices. I shall write no more on it.
On a side note: it was also refreshing to come across a fantasy book where the “hero” is neither a man, nor a hero. It’s just a regular, peasant girl, which must rise to the call of a mission that was chosen in spite of her, and how she remains so throughout the whole quest. You don’t have to be a Conan to save the world!
May 28, 2020
(I'm writing this a while after finishing, so I don't remember all the details.) I thought the ending was good, but I had a hard time getting to the second half of the book. I remember greatly enjoying the first book, but the second and third took quite a while to get into: I returned each of them to the library several times before actually finishing them.
January 20, 2019
Not a series you would reread but still a pretty solid 4 star trilogy.
Could see Elspeth becoming a Xena type hero (maybe with that Northern girl as Gabrielle?) Not really interested in any of the other characters.
Could see Elspeth becoming a Xena type hero (maybe with that Northern girl as Gabrielle?) Not really interested in any of the other characters.
December 3, 2023
I love this book! it was amazing, the series was amazing! The entire series I would give it a 4.5 stars. I cried at the end!😭 I HATE that Clauren died and Edmund lost his sight even tho you could kinda see it coming. But still I loved the book and the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2018
Tak toto jednoducho stálo za prebdenú noc. Draky! a všetko ostatné.. koniec série naplnil moje očakávania. Možno je to séria pre deti, no ja som to čítala jedným dychom a bolo to geniálne!
February 6, 2019
It took me a long time to finish this series. However, I was pleased with how the author was able to tie up all loose ends at the end of the book.
March 1, 2019
Definitely expanded in scope since the last two books. Much more action, magic and dragons. I only wish there had been a greater sense of danger and threat.
May 14, 2025
competent, and that's all i can say about it really
October 14, 2020
This was the most disappointing book of the trilogy. It was a horrible ending.
In this 3th book, the heroes (Elspeth, Edmund, a knight, a musician, a sorceress, and maybe a few more people that I don’t remember) need to travel through the kingdoms (just like in the two previous books), looking for the god Loki.
Basically, they are looking for the evil god the entire book, finding him 37 pages before the end. They battled Loki and a dragon in less than 30 pages and won the battle. And this is basically the entire book.
So, I have nothing more to say. 2 stars.
In this 3th book, the heroes (Elspeth, Edmund, a knight, a musician, a sorceress, and maybe a few more people that I don’t remember) need to travel through the kingdoms (just like in the two previous books), looking for the god Loki.
Basically, they are looking for the evil god the entire book, finding him 37 pages before the end. They battled Loki and a dragon in less than 30 pages and won the battle. And this is basically the entire book.
So, I have nothing more to say. 2 stars.
October 22, 2016
And so it comes to an end. So, first of all, the plot. Nothing really new that i haven't said in my first two reviews. Great story, well-developed characters. At the end of day, i think that the only bad thing here was the fact that Loki could have done much more as an antagonist. The almighty demon-god that controls fire didn's have much presence throughout the book as much as i hope and same could be said for the dragons.
In this third book, the author gives us, again, some historical references, especially the usage of a certain stony monument located in the UK and i loved it. We also get the introduction of a load of new characters, some temporary, some that stay permanently, some minor and some very important. Something that caught my attention in this third volume, though, was the fact that the author inserted a little more violence into the plot, in comparison to the other two books. Maybe related to the ongoing war. But, most importantly, A.J. Lake addresses the theme of religion and how easily new gods would just appear out of nowhere.
Finally, the amount of plotwists, discoveries and the final chapters really showed me that Lake knew what she was doing. These last two topics i mentioned, the final chapters and the ending of the book, are the reason i rate it 4 stars because it made me keep reading, non-stop and the chock of what happens in the closing moments was just brilliant.
In this third book, the author gives us, again, some historical references, especially the usage of a certain stony monument located in the UK and i loved it. We also get the introduction of a load of new characters, some temporary, some that stay permanently, some minor and some very important. Something that caught my attention in this third volume, though, was the fact that the author inserted a little more violence into the plot, in comparison to the other two books. Maybe related to the ongoing war. But, most importantly, A.J. Lake addresses the theme of religion and how easily new gods would just appear out of nowhere.
Finally, the amount of plotwists, discoveries and the final chapters really showed me that Lake knew what she was doing. These last two topics i mentioned, the final chapters and the ending of the book, are the reason i rate it 4 stars because it made me keep reading, non-stop and the chock of what happens in the closing moments was just brilliant.
June 8, 2013
Meh. The rub is that some of the larger plot elements such as tribes of warriors being driven by the evil force, the rise of the new religious worship of Loki, Edward working through his father's biases, and the final sacrifice needed to make the sword powerful enough, could actually make an excellent story. The characters are also likeable and root-forable.
Sadly, the plot elements are thrown together so rapidly--new religions and barbarian hordes pop up in a single day--with such little bother to explain why or how things are happening, and tremendously forced plot elements obviously designed to cause the characters to do or talk about some specific thing, that it is just a poor, boring story. The whole plot curve of Wulf made absolutely no sense to me, both that the deception wasn't obvious to them and why it was even necessary. I had to push myself to finish for the sake of finishing. There are so many better things to read...don't use your time here.
Sadly, the plot elements are thrown together so rapidly--new religions and barbarian hordes pop up in a single day--with such little bother to explain why or how things are happening, and tremendously forced plot elements obviously designed to cause the characters to do or talk about some specific thing, that it is just a poor, boring story. The whole plot curve of Wulf made absolutely no sense to me, both that the deception wasn't obvious to them and why it was even necessary. I had to push myself to finish for the sake of finishing. There are so many better things to read...don't use your time here.
May 17, 2010
While this book was less of a slog than the first two books in this trilogy, it was still not exactly good. The prose has gotten less dry, but aside from one or two instances of striking figurative language it was completely uninspiring. Also, the truth about [spoiler character:] was obvious from the first moment he showed up. Edmund's character development felt forced. The ending was anticlimatic; the dragons should have played a larger part rather than feeling tacked on. Overall, I do not suggest this series. If you want dragon fantasy, look at Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest series. If you want medieval England, Sea of Trolls is much, much better.
December 12, 2011
Interessant fortælling og interessant slutning. Denne sidste bog slutter ligesom "ring" om det hele, og får afklaret nogle af de mysterier man har gået og gidsnet lidt om. Og den holder sig godt inden for sin verdens rammer, det kan jeg godt lide. Særligt hele dilemmaet med Ripente-evnen synes jeg blev omhandlet og afklaret meget fint. Og så var jeg vild med dragerne! En interessant måde at skelne dem som enorme væsner, der stadig ejer tanker, men et sind der er meget forskelligt fra vores. Generelt er det meget spændende at opleve andres sind via Ripente-evnen.
September 17, 2014
At the beginning it was well written for fantasy book but especially in the last one i didn't enjoy the story at all . It was very predictable and the dragons didn't have big part in the storyline. I also wasn't satisfied with the descriptions of characters at the end of the story i didn't know how to react and also the ending was too quick. Maybe the story would be better if it had more pages so the characters could be presented better and deeper. No emotions involved whatsoever.
March 23, 2024
An amazing ending to a good trilogy. I have loved going on this journey and discovering what is going on behind the curtain & who's pulling the strings. More dragons are making things interesting & sacrifices must be made in the end. I like how this ended and it allows me to fantasize that these two main characters got together when they were older. That Edmund made a safehaven for the Riptent in his kingdom & helped them achieve their potential. I like to imagine that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2009
The challenge for Lake in this concluding book was to wrap up the story while at the same time keeping the reader guessing and provide an entertaining conclusion. In this she succeeds. The Stone Circle has plenty of twists and turns and ends with a powerful conclusion.
June 9, 2010
An excellent conclusion to a fine fantasy series. Strong characters, potent magic, and action that keeps you turning pages. The conclusion is also well-wrought (something I find lacking in many fantasy novels).
September 10, 2012
This book was still good, although my favorite from this series was the second one. I was satisfied with the way it ended and loved how it played with so many emotions. If I could describe this series in one word, it would be: awesome!
January 15, 2013
3.5 stars
Love the impact of the new form of religion and the twists to the storyline, though there was a particularly obvious turn, that may be less obvious to younger readers. A surprising cleverly written ending.
Love the impact of the new form of religion and the twists to the storyline, though there was a particularly obvious turn, that may be less obvious to younger readers. A surprising cleverly written ending.
March 15, 2016
Čekala jsem epické finále. Neříkám, že tohle byl špatný díl, ale na ten první a druhý rozhodně nemá. Bylo úplně jasné, k čemu to vede a od začátku se celé putování táhlo. Výhodou téhle série je to, že je tam naprostá absence romantiky mezi hlavními hrdiny, takže tam nějaká ta akce byla.
3/5*
3/5*
March 14, 2009
I love it. It is one of those books that you ask yourself, 'why hasn't anyone thought of that before?'
July 8, 2010
This trilogy is well written, clean and full of adventure- young readers who like fantasy would like it.
August 4, 2012
Another great book, was sorry it came to an end, well worth the read tho.
June 18, 2016
By the end of this book I really cared about the characters. It was really fun to watch them grow. I also really liked the plot of these books, basic, but it really draws you in.
July 9, 2009
great plot bad ending
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews