Set in Stone

The Petralist #1

by Frank Morin

Big Magic
Big Adventure
Lots of Humor In a nation where only the nobility are supposed to have special powers, Connor's secret curse might hold the key to stopping a war and saving his village from destruction. His best friend Hamish has a habit of sucking on rocks that might just unlock an ancient power not seen in generations. Their friend Jean is the local healer. She has no magic, but she's smarter than the boys combined. And Verena is one of the invaders, with a bag full of tricks that can stop entire armies. Join Connor and his friends as they are swept up in an epic adventure, with a unique magic system based on rocks, and lots of humor. When armies assemble around their remote village, Connor is caught in the middle. While his friends try to free the village under siege, Connor peels back layers of intrigue and half-truths to find secrets neither side wants him to know. Surrounded by deadly enemies that all claim to be his friends, Connor must choose a course with the lives of everyone he loves hanging in the balance. His only hope is to gamble everything on a curse that could destroy them all unless his final choice is Set in Stone.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic

476 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

Frank Morin loves great stories, great food, and great humor. He is an outdoor enthusiast, and loves to travel for inspiration.

Frank is the author of fast-paced adventures with quirky humor including:
• The Petralist - epic teen fantasy series, full of magic, adventure, and humor.
• The Facetakers - fast-action urban fantasy
• Bacon Master of the Apocalypse – humorous epic fantasy

He and his wife are often found hiking, camping, Scuba diving, or traveling to research new books. Find out more about his novels and his shorter fiction, or join his readers group at:
https://bio.to/authorfrankmorin

Reviews

[Eagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. There were elements that were incredibly interesting, and then there was... well, everything else. I might go on a little bit of a rant here, but bear with me please. Or skip to the end for a summary.

First of all, I want to say that I adore how this book came into being. The author mentions that Set in Stone started off as story told to his children, where the characters and magic and adventures were all shaped by the whole family, and this eventually evolved and was refined into the Petralist series. That is so wholesome, and sounds like lots of family fun! Big fan of that.

I also loved the premise of different types of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary) as a source of magic and power. Though it could get confusing at times, trying to keep track of all the terms and titles thrown around, the geology-appreciator in me was very happy to see rocks finally getting their time to shine without just being lumped together under the "earth" label of most elemental magic books I've read before. Overall, I thought the magic system, and the way it was integrated into the world's political/economical/military system, was very unique and well done.


But then we get to the characters, and this is where my adoration begins to evaporate.

Starting with our main character Connor... he's an idiot. I mean Many other characters state explicitly that he has plenty of courage and passion, but no brains, so I'm assuming this is intentional, but his complete lack of logic and understanding of most situations could get a little tiresome. I did like his willingness to do anything to protect his family and town, but many of the choices he makes leads to death, injury, or destruction. And let's not forget the fact that he's an All Powerful, Ultra Special type of Petralist that hasn't been seen in thousands of years. I'll keep this next part under a Spoiler, just in case, but I really need to mention it Most Petralists have affinities for one type of stone, occasionally two, and very rarely three. Connor, however, can use every single type of rock there is. This wouldn't bother me as much if he wasn't also immediately good at all of them. I mean this book, as long as it is, takes place over a few days, and in just that small time span, Connor goes from knowing nothing about anything, to mastering almost every single stone he tries with only a few minor slip-ups! How??? He's an idiot!!

Something else that bugs me about Connor, is his proclivity to fall in love with Every. Pretty. Girl. He. Sees. My goodness. I know he's a teenage boy, but the way he jumps between ALL THREE GIRLS is just ridiculous. It starts out with just Jean, who's the pretty granddaughter of the town healer, and one of Connor's good friends. Okay. That's fine. Makes sense he would like her, even though she kind of teases all the boys in the town, he's known her for his whole life and she does seem to reciprocate his feelings.

THEN, he meets Shona, the pretty daughter of the High Lord, and suddenly he's infatuated with her, too! Even though she's a spoiled brat who's clearly only interested in him for his Ultra Special powers. Okay fine. We have a rival for the Connor-Jean situation. Fair enough. Gotta throw in some drama.

BUT THEN we meet Verena! The pretty girl who's got special powers of her own and is working for the enemy, and of course Connor has to fall for her cute face, her big blue eyes, and her many flirtations. I actually liked Verena better than I liked Jean or Shona, so I'm not mad about this.

What I'm mad about is how often Conner KISSES ALL OF THEM. I mean technically, they're the ones kissing him most of the time, but never once when this happens does he think "Oh, wait, I should not be doing this, because I actually like this Other girl." No. He's always like "Oh, this is nice," and then proceeds to become even more of an idiot. Where's the loyalty?? I can't believe he actually likes any of these girls, because he's so willing to jump ship the next time one of them kisses him!

I'll only briefly cover the other characters, because there were so many of them but they mostly appeared as filler to flesh out the town or the army.

First off, there was Jean. She was the smart, nice one. A bit flirtatious with all the boys in town, ( liked Connor the best, but admits that she couldn't promise herself to him because he was a Petralist who aren't allowed to have families, apparently. He realises internally that he's no longer really attracted to her anyway, because he likes Verena. BUT THEN SHE KISSES HIM AGAIN, AND HE DOESN'T PROTEST! ) but she's not an overall unlikable character, and did do her part to help Connor and save the rest of the town.

There was Hamish. Not much to say about him. He was the comedy relief best friend who eats everything in sight, and also licks rocks. Literally. He actually licks rocks . I wouldn't be as bothered by this character quirk (because it does actually play a valuable role in the overarching story) if it wasn't written in such a weird, off-putting way.

Shona, of course. She had her moments, but I never really liked her.

Verena was respectable enough. She had her wits about her and was good at what she did. She also licks rocks, but in a less weird, off putting way. She punches Connor, a lot, which he definitely has coming, but kisses him just as often, so of course he's in love with her. I'm pretty sure she will be end-game for this series.

There were other people, there, too, like Captain Rory, and Anika, and Connor's parents, but many of them kind of blur together. Some of the names jar me out of the fantasy settings. Like you have the more unusual names like Cinnead and Wolfram, but then when I see names like Stuart and Bruce, I just can't take them seriously. Also, an observation of mine is that all of the men in this book are Huge. That's how they're described at least. Some of them are Even Bigger than others, but all I'm imagining is a bunch of Kronks running around punching each other and crushing rocks, and none of the men being Huge makes them special or stand out, because everyone else is exactly the same.

Plot-wise, I'm a bit disappointed because this book is huge. Normally, I love huge books, because we get to see more happen, and it promises lots of adventure, and action, and intruige. But as big as this one is, most of it was taken up by the exact same thing, happening over and over again. There are two main Kingdoms at play, here: the Obrians, where Connor is from, and the Grandurians, who have supposedly invaded. Now the Grandurians have taken over Connor's home town, and are holding all the villagers captive, and the Obrians are trying to either defeat them or flush them out. But they aren't doing a great job at it. Every time the Obrians send up their big armies and strong guardians to take out the enemy, the Gradurians whip out some new technology or weapon, and destroy or defeat large chunks of the approaching army, forcing the Obrians to retreat again. This then repeats, every time the Obrians get a new idea about how to take down the enemy. It never works! It's constant, back-and-forth carnage, where regular soldiers (and their horses!!!!) are dying because these morons can't think of a better way to win than with big numbers and brute strength.

Most of this could have been avoided if people would just speak to one another! Especially to Connor who finds himself working as a liaison between the armies, sending messages back and forth. But every time he asks anyone a question to clarify things about his powers, or about the war between the kingdoms, or about any little hint of information that they sprinkle into their conversations, they're always like "Not now, lad," or "We'll tell you later", and then laugh or complain about how clueless he is about everything. It drove me up the wall!

I've been trying to finish this book for months (since December last year!!) and came This Close to dropping it entirely, once I reached the half-way mark. I was already tired of everything happening on a repetitive cycle, learning nothing about anything, and watching Conner dance between all the pretty girls in his life. Every time Hamish licked a rock, I wanted to throw the book across the room, but considering I was reading through kindle on my phone, I managed to convince myself against it. Eventually, I discovered the power of Assistive Reader, and got the text-to-speech feture to narrate my way to the final chapter. The ending was pretty exciting, and I don't regret persisting, but my goodness, that was a hard slog to get through.



Okay, that was longer than I expected, but to Summarise: The rock-based magic system was really cool to read about, but it lost me with everything else. I didn't find myself caring for any of the characters, or even the town. Connor's an idiot who falls in love way too easily. The 'villains' were all very exaggerated, No one is willing to communicate with each other about anything of use, and some people seemed to flip personalities half-way through to match the escalation of the plot. Characters were constantly switching sides with little-to-no consequences. A solid percentage of the book was taken up by a repetitive cycle of advance and retreat-style battles, where normal soldiers died and petralists beat each other up, and it got tiring by the halfway point. I almost DNFed the book, but managed to convince myself to persist, for the few elements that kept me curious. Over all, I'm not sure if I will continue the series. I am curious about a few of the characters and plot elements hinted at towards the end, but there are seven books in this series, and if they're all as long and repetitive as this one, I'm not sure I will survive.

[Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent start of a series. I was heavily reminded of Sandersons Mistborn. There were some nice parts along with several parts that were a bit dissapointing. There were some other issues as well that I sincerely hope will be fixed in the sequel. Looking forward to reading the next one, hopefully Connor grows up a little, in both power and attitude, and hopefully we'll get a bit more of a backstory.

[Reyna]

DNF

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read! I wasn't quite sure what to exist, but quickly found myself captivated by the story and characters. Can't wait to see what's next for Conner!

[Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start with saying I am writing this review as someone who never leaves reviews for books, ever. It won’t be eloquent, well organized, or grammatically correct. I could never write a book myself and I understand that a lot of work goes into it. I don’t enjoy saying negative things.

With that said, this book was one of the most frustrating books I have ever read. The main character, Connor, is so unbelievably stupid and clueless that it made the book unbearable. Like he had zero critical thinking skills. He spent 90% of the book confused and unable to make a single rational decision. I feel like typically in stories you find out things at about the same rate as the character with small variation. Not this one. I don’t feel like fishing for an example so I’ll create one to illustrate what I mean. The book would say something by like “Connor saw light coming from the windows of the house. He smelled cooking meat and heard voices. Connor saw smoke coming from the chimney. Connor suddenly realized there must be people in the house!” Like the character is so stupid it surpasses comedy straight into disappointment.

Also this book reads like it was written for a child with short term memory loss. The author mentioned Connor’s desire for patronage and what that patronage would mean for him at least 50 times. Like we get it. The author mentioned that wounds that don’t hurt are sometimes the worst 3-4 times. This book was repetitive and boring. I pushed through because it’s one saving grace is the premise is interesting. I regret it. This entire book would have been the first 30% of any other book. The author can’t get to the point!

Another complaint, I love descriptive imagery and detailed settings in a book. But this just went a few steps too far into redundant and repetitive. Like this book would describe the same thing over and over the same way, or use redundant language. Like let the reader complete their own thoughts. It would say something like “the injured soldiers limped along due to their injuries.” Maybe I’m being too harsh but it almost felt like we were trying to hit a word count.

Final complaint, the social interactions in this book were so unrealistic I lost all investment in the characters. It was filled with those “let me explain” moments where other characters constantly talk over Connor. It was filled with Connor not using a single brain cell towards any form of critical thinking especially if a girl was involved. Like Connor could hear someone say “We should warn Connor about the dangers of….” Enter random irrelevant interruption, and they just drop it and move on? This book was just terrible.

[Jim Orr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has many glimmers of a good story but fails to grasp what makes a novel worth reading. Often times, the author would give a hint of information about the characters or world but would immediately stop. It's acceptable when something plot wise interrupts them but when characters will often say "You are X type of person, but we dont have enough time though." And it wouldn't be so frustrating if it didn't happen pretty much any new information is given. This novel seemed to hit every trope and just tried to be clever but failed ultimately. I dont need or want clever or new. I want entertaining.

I wouldn't recommend this book and I'm really sorry about that. The author was very nice and helpful when I met him but all-in-all, I'd give it a pass.

[gordon musgrave · Rating 1 out of 5]

Second time

This is the second time I tried to read this series but still could not get into it..the main character was just not worth reading about and the writer turned it into YA book which I dont have a problem with if the story was there but to me it was not

[Ptdog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imaginative and compelling fantasy. I loved reading this story and await the next chapter in the life of Connor. I highly recommend this book and Frank Morin's stories in general.

[Seth Elzerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and creative concepts. A fun read.

[Frode · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author lives in my area; he had a booth at a Christmas bazaar, and I decided to buy a copy after a brief discussion. Having self-published myself, I appreciate the time and effort he has put into his work, and I like to support such folks.

Set in Stone is the first book in a series called The Petralist. It is a fantasy set in a make believe land. There is a division of the people; some are of Obrion, and others are Grandurian. There is a hint that they were once a single people, but now they are in conflict although the reason for the conflict is hidden. In this book some Grandurians have come into Obrion, and that precipitates a battle.

The characters are human although some of them have magical powers. Morin’s magic system is based on rocks. Different rocks generate different powers. Granite gives strength while sandstone promotes healing. Most folks cannot access the powers of the rocks. Of the few who can use the magic, a very few can access more than one of the powers, and even then normally not at the same time. It is a clever system. A few folks on both sides of the conflict have these powers, so the battles are between the regulars and the possessors of powers. It makes for interesting and inventive clashes.

Obrion is a society of classes. In Obrion the nobles run the show; those with powers are either recruited by the king for his purposes or destroyed. The workers are called Linn, which pretty much means everyone else except some Linn who are slaves. Slavery is a threat held over the Linn; a noble can declare a Linn a slave at any time for whatever reason.

The main character is a young fellow, Connor; he is unusual. He is cursed, meaning he has some power, which he doesn’t really understand but has kept secret thus far. He has a couple of friends, a fellow and a girl about the same age. In the course of the book, Connor meets others who teach him things about his powers. The characters are a bit quirky at times, and Morin’s humor shows through their interactions, so in spite of the tension, there are some chuckles.

The action moves along quickly. There are deceptions and twists in the story. It’s fantasy, so the odd shifts are acceptable, and there are a lot of them. Who is right? Who is good? What is really going on? These questions are raised, but the answers are elusive with just hints here and there. My copy is 475 pages, and it is an easy read. I liked the book and might read the next one to see what happens to Connor in his next adventure. If you enjoy fantasy, you should give this series a try.

[B.A. Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun fantasy adventure story. I loved the elemental take on magic, tying it to various rock types. The characters are well-developed and keep the story moving forward. While the main character has some flaws that make you cringe when reading, it is not incredulous to think that a teenage boy would act thus. In fact, my experience with teenagers in my classroom would rather support it. Frank Morin does well in keeping up the anticipation of what's to come next. He ends the book with enough ambiguity to make me look forward to reading the sequel. Two thumbs up!

[Mikey Staker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book. It was fun, light, well written, and the story was interesting. The characters were realistic and the dilemma between home/family and a claim to right/justice was well done. This book is truely a fun read and had some adventure that was new and exciting. There were somethings that kept it from five stars, a constant back and forth that kept emotional prose on a shallow level, and the fact that falling in love with Conor was too easy (which is also really funny), but they weren't big issues that prevented the book from being good.

This book was really good, GIVE IT A TRY :)

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is an excellent start of a fantasy series for teen readers. The world building is well done, I really like the magic system, and the characters are complex and likable on both sides of the war.

This first book eludes to some much larger secrets and storylines that I assume will be revealed in future books.

I don’t know if I will continue the series myself only because It is a little young for me personally, but I did really like it and would recommend it for a younger audience.

[b. binaohan · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF because the main character is always talking about 'chicks'.

Sure. I understand that this is a 16 year old boy. I get it. Theoretically I understand that 16yo boys might think about sex a lot. And still.... I really don't want to read about it.

[Tandiwhe Kongela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real rating is 3.5-3.75. This coming of age story is entertaining and is humorous. The magic system is interesting as it’s based on rocks, so that felt unique to me. Some things feel rushed and underdeveloped though. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a light hearted (overall) fantasy read.

[Christopher Conatser · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book

[Satyam Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty amazing one.Wish more people knew about this book. A little slow but on the plus side,the writing style is good which is quite unheard of,when it comes to indie writers.

[Jace Killan · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

[Henrik Rostoft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting idea for powers, but it just drags everything on longer than what I think i necessary.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read! Couldn’t put it down! Can’t wait to read the next one in the series.

[Padgett Ratings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent novel from a fantastic author.

[Tucker Morin]

A fanominaly written and gripping story. This book also has an exciting magic system that is integrated very well into the events and flow of the story.

[Lydia Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny exciting couldn’t put it down

[Denae Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

so fun and new

Reader thoughts: I just love neat magic systems. This one lightly resembled Mistborn in that there were rocks (metals) absorbed for power by tapping (burning) them until they were gone. Also, most people could only tap (burn) one kind of rock (metal), but the MC can do them all.
The story is fun and only takes a week. I wish I could better picture the layout of the valley (which is vital in the final climax).
Eat rocks! What a great insult. Except to Hamish and Verena and that one guy.
So, there were four beautiful girls Connor's age. He somewhat liked one and really liked three. I think all four of them really liked him. It was a bit much. It got awkward (that was Shona's fault).
Flying! On an oven, on a rock, up a cliff, in some water, with a stone pedra, the characters got to fly. So fun. Oh, and smashing boulders and explosions and a failed hanging and setting things on fire. The powers seem random, but it makes sense by the end.
Oh, the end! I love that Connor got to be clever and work with people the way he did. It was just about perfect.
The plot was twisted good. Now, I don't like books where the main character is torn and unsure which is the good side and which the bad side. For some reason, this didn't feel like that sort of book. We have Connor and his village caught between two armies. The armies are both bad with some good people. Connor and his village is its own third side just trying to survive and drive everyone away, whether through fighting or honest negotiations.
Isobel and Cinead were just so petty and dumb. Are people really that power hungry they'd betray their entire village?
Definitely reading the next one. Highly recommended (unless you have work tomorrow).

Writer thoughts: Tying magic to an object is a perfect limitation and allows for neat plot points (put the rocks in short supply, make the metal expensive, etc.).
There were too many redundant names. Why do Fast Rollers and Boulders and granite petralists and cursed all mean the same thing? Why have three names? Yes, there are two nations, but just make them use the same vocabulary. There are already enough new words to remember for an epic fantasy book; let's not make it even harder on the reader. I have to keep that in mind when I'm writing, too.
I was lost for 90% of the book as to why Connor thought people from his society were magically cursed, but if they grew up on the other side of the mountains, magic was a blessing. Actually, this distinction was unclear for much of the book, witch characters making references to "curse" and me trying to figure out what that really meant. Turns out, another character asked him the same question. Our upbringing shapes our ideas about life, I suppose. This gets addressed a bit more in the second book. Now, as an author, I can appreciate that FM is slowly letting Connor see more and more of the world and that he can't trust everything his country claims, but it might work better if the question is more obvious to the reader, even if it isn't to Connor. I'm not sure.

[Ursula Visser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat een geweldige introductie in de wereld van Petralists door de avonturen die Connor meemaakt. Vanaf het begin van het verhaal werd ik meegesleurd in een wereld vol normale mensen met absoluut originele talenten. De titel van het boek 'Set in Stone' geeft al iets weg van wat je staat te wachten, al duurt het even voordat het helder wordt wat het dan precies is. Het heeft natuurlijk met steen te maken...

Connor valt toevallig in een avontuur dat hij helemaal niet wil. Maar het heeft gevolgen voor alles en iedereen om hem heen.

Hoewel ik het aantal vechtscenes veel vond, hadden ze wel een doel; ik kwam steeds meer te weten over de wereld van de Petralists en Grandurians en dat van Connor natuurlijk!

Ik wilde eigenlijk 4,5 ster geven, maar... ik rond af naar boven. Het tweede deel staat alweer op mijn ereader!

[Candice Lisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unique

Unique concept. But I found the story had too many repetitive things in it. How many times do I need to be told about pastries kept in a pocket? Once or twice would be enough. There were too many battles for my taste, so I skipped a lot of them. I like the stones giving powers though it wasn't clear why everyone didn't have a power of some kind and how was this decided? Was it genetic?

Not a book to read more than once, at least for me.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing! It's been a favorite of mine for years (obviously), and now I've listened to the audio book! Hearing it again in this new voice adds a whole nother level of awesome. The narrator is fantastic, unerringly true to character voices, mingling the epicness of the story with the innate humor of these characters. In short? Read it!!

[Kate Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this book down!

Exceptional story and an exceptional writer! All I can say is WOW! You have to read this book if you love fantasy and natural elements combined. I am starting the 2nd book in the series now and it's after 2:30 in the morning! Just finished the 1st book, "Set In Stone" Good thing I'm retired or I would have to call off work!😁

[Catha Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

This is a great book filled with people both bad and good. The strength of 1 boy saved so many by tapping into magic of different stones, you got a fan. Catha Watkins Reese

[Deoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid YA fantasy with unique magic system

Definitely a unique magic system based on, of all things, rocks. No Lord of the rings, but it is entertaining enough that I want to read more books in this series.