The witchstone

by Victoria Randall, Victoria Graham

To exquisite Lady Sibele, the stone meant eternal youth and beauty. With its terrible magic powers, she need never fear death. To the wizard Fenrulf, the stone meant dark destruction, the fulfillment of his life’s obsessive goal of revenge. To Rothric the king, the stone meant unending power for evil and Lady Sibele for his captive queen. Lured by their passion for the hell-born stone, they journeyed through lands of enchantment and savage peril, and at last descended into the fearful place of the frozen damned . . . The Witchstone is a fantasy love story, sensuous and spell-binding. First published in 1974, this edition has been revised by the author.

Genres: Modern

254 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1974

About the author

Victoria Randall lives in Seattle. She has worked as a registered nurse, waitress, house and sign painter, retail clerk, social worker, post office clerk, CNA and foster parent.

A graduate of Oberlin College, she is the author of The Ring of the Dark Elves, and the Children in Hiding series. Also Shadowcat: Tales from the Edge of Sleep, and The Golden Helm: More Tales from the Edge of Sleep. She believes in the power of story, especially science fiction and fantasy, to help us appreciate the textures of our own reality and create new visions for our lives.

Reviews

[Christopher Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Witchstone by Victoria Randall is absolutely spellbinding!
The story is a wonderful tale and thick with history and worldbuilding that is seamlessly interwoven into the narrative (I especially loved the usage of books with author names and snippets of text that are interspersed throughout the tale—especially the first several chapters—as the tale unfolds.) The Witchstone intertwines a few narratives from different characters, all seeking one terrible hell-borne stone.
Randall’s story has the feel of a mystery as the mythopoeia unrolls like a scroll during the adventure. The author’s words during her beautifully written introduction and explanation of her personal journey and explanation of thematic elements are especially relevant. At the heart of The Witchstone is one highly important theme I got to interact with readers about following an article I wrote (published at Lorehaven/SpecFaith)… that is, magic often extracts a steep and terrible price—one which spell casters often think they are capable of paying, but rarely are.
The characters and setting create a rich tapestry that hearkens back to the golden age of fantasy, and while Randall has recently updated and released this title independently, it holds a certain relevance and relatability that is timeless. (Incidentally, I love this cover which throws back to that era and the distress lines on the graphics made me buy in immediately. You can’t fake the kind of authenticity that Randall’s relaunched title possesses.)
I got a free copy of this book in exchange for a review at Inside the Inkwell blog.

[Victoria Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this book under my previous name. I'm working on revising it to publish as an ebook. Will see how it turns out.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish Lady Sibele was a little more of the hero for the story, rather than the passenger. I did enjoy the story arc for both characters, Fenrulf and Sibele, and their coming to terms with their dark pasts and/or desires.

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of this book might not be anything new but the added twist of having the villains be the "heroes" of the book made it interesting.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had potential.