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The Stone War
John Tietjen loves New York City like life itself. But while hes out of town at a conference, confused reports come out of the city. Millions of refugees are streaming out, each bearing contradictory tales of fire, earthquake, explosions, collapse. Making his perilous way back, he gathers a few survivors and establishes a shelter. But the full nature of the catastrophe is still unclear.
342 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Madeleine E. Robins
45 books125 followersWriting gives Madeleine Robins the chance to focus on many of her ruling passions: cities, history, swordplay, the history of disease, and the future of mankind–with a side order of historical costuming and infrastructure (urban plumbing is far more interesting than you’d think).
Born in New York City, the Author has been, in no particular order, a nanny, a teacher, an actor and stage-combatant, an administrator, a comic book editor, a baker, typist-clerk for Thos. Cook’s Houses of Parliament office, a repairer-of-hurt-books, an editorial consultant, and a writer. She holds a degree in Theatre Studies from Connecticut College, and attended the Clarion Science Fiction Workshop in 1981. She is a founding member of Book View Cafe (http://bookviewcafe.com) where most of her short fiction is available for free!
Born in New York City, the Author has been, in no particular order, a nanny, a teacher, an actor and stage-combatant, an administrator, a comic book editor, a baker, typist-clerk for Thos. Cook’s Houses of Parliament office, a repairer-of-hurt-books, an editorial consultant, and a writer. She holds a degree in Theatre Studies from Connecticut College, and attended the Clarion Science Fiction Workshop in 1981. She is a founding member of Book View Cafe (http://bookviewcafe.com) where most of her short fiction is available for free!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 25, 2015
This may be one of the most unusual fantasy novels I've ever read. I loved it. It's somewhat-contemporary, and set in a city, and the city is central to the story. Think "Wizard of the Pigeons", or "The City, Not Long After". I'm calling it somewhat contemporary because it's in no way the common fantasy novel setting, with vaguely medieval social and economic qualities. Nor is it what's now called urban fantasy, with a hot babe battling elves, witches or whatever.
It's set in a future New York where crime has driven anyone with any money to live behind guards and gates. Whole blocks are gated to keep the homeless off of the sidewalks. The main character is an architect who loves the city, and who chooses to live without all the protections, and is managing. He's out of town on a project when something happens. Refugees pour out of the city, but their reports of what happened are wild and unbelievable. He walks in, and finds things twisted, damaged and changed in ways that are clearly impossible — yet are. The city is almost empty of people. He hunts for his children, who were with his ex-wife, and then ends up trying to survive in the ruins of the city and help others. It becomes clear that there's no way for rescuers to come into the city, and the people there can't leave. The explanation of the city's state gradually emerges.
This is a character-driven novel. The group of people that comes together around him are interesting, and they change and grow as they struggle with the situation. I particularly like the woman who is the other leader of the group.
The paper version of this is out-of-print, but you can buy it as an e-book.
It's set in a future New York where crime has driven anyone with any money to live behind guards and gates. Whole blocks are gated to keep the homeless off of the sidewalks. The main character is an architect who loves the city, and who chooses to live without all the protections, and is managing. He's out of town on a project when something happens. Refugees pour out of the city, but their reports of what happened are wild and unbelievable. He walks in, and finds things twisted, damaged and changed in ways that are clearly impossible — yet are. The city is almost empty of people. He hunts for his children, who were with his ex-wife, and then ends up trying to survive in the ruins of the city and help others. It becomes clear that there's no way for rescuers to come into the city, and the people there can't leave. The explanation of the city's state gradually emerges.
This is a character-driven novel. The group of people that comes together around him are interesting, and they change and grow as they struggle with the situation. I particularly like the woman who is the other leader of the group.
The paper version of this is out-of-print, but you can buy it as an e-book.
November 16, 2007
John loves New York City, which has grown so dangerous that all but the poorest residents hire armed guards and build gates around their neighborhoods. No one, not even his beloved sons, understands his affection for a place everyone else wants to escape. While he is away on business, earthquakes and fires abruptly raze the city. John heads against the tide of refugees (this part of the book is probably the most effective) toward the city, to find his family and discover what happened. He finds the place almost completely abandoned and destroyed, but perseveres in creating a small haven for the few others who did not abandon the city. Unfortunately, the humans are no longer alone in New York City—something monstrous stalks its streets. I really liked much of this book, about creating a new community on the bones of the old, but once the monsters (and the psychic boy at the heart of the whole mess) become a major plot point instead of atmosphere, I got frustrated.
July 22, 2021
I was lucky to find this at a thrift store. Otherwise, I would probably never have come across it.
*
New York City goes from a crowded world where most residents are either rich and protected, or poor and displaced. The main character, John Tietjen, manages to hold on, as he wanders his beloved city - even in dangerous areas. It's not just his home, it's his heart-home.
Imagine his surprise and fear when he goes out for a job, and the news reports the city has become a disaster area. Refugees are fleeing, telling garbled, contradictory tales of what's happening. Fire, flood, monsters... Tietjen dares go back, to save his ex-wife and sons, if nothing else, and ends up working to save the city and those left behind. You see, the monsters are real...
*
I always feel so wooden, trying to give a description. Argh. It's a very good story, and kept me reading to find out what happens next. The 'monsters' are something new. The scene with the lions is one of my favorites. And then, there is Jit...
*
New York City goes from a crowded world where most residents are either rich and protected, or poor and displaced. The main character, John Tietjen, manages to hold on, as he wanders his beloved city - even in dangerous areas. It's not just his home, it's his heart-home.
Imagine his surprise and fear when he goes out for a job, and the news reports the city has become a disaster area. Refugees are fleeing, telling garbled, contradictory tales of what's happening. Fire, flood, monsters... Tietjen dares go back, to save his ex-wife and sons, if nothing else, and ends up working to save the city and those left behind. You see, the monsters are real...
*
I always feel so wooden, trying to give a description. Argh. It's a very good story, and kept me reading to find out what happens next. The 'monsters' are something new. The scene with the lions is one of my favorites. And then, there is Jit...
March 20, 2020
I liked the urban fantasy element, with New York City itself a character in so many ways. I didn’t really like how Jit became an enemy in the latter third of the book, and that Li had to die and McGrath be humiliated before Jit and Tietjen did their psychic equivalent of a manly hug.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 3, 2011
As Robins' novel begins, a near-future New York is essentially under armed guard. Citizens are subject to ID checks as they traverse from neighborhood to neighborhood. Gangs roam the night freely and without consequence; law enforcement is minimal and ineffective. Central Park is no man's land. The homeless population has exploded -- although Robins never gives an explanation, she leaves the impression that middle-class families have been priced completely out of adequate housing. Those with sufficient means often barricade themselves into fortresses they call apartment buildings in certain "safe" sections of the city.
John Tietjen, a divorced father of two, has an uneasy relationship with his ex-wife and children, but a passionate relationship with New York. He frequently roams the streets at night without care, trusting that "his city" will not let anything happen to him.
He reluctantly accepts a construction contract out of the city, and while he is gone, devastation strikes. In desperation, Tietjen rushes back to New York, only to find it in ruins and virtually depopulated. After a number of strange encounters, he rescues a woman, Barbara McGrath, from a madman and together they begin establishing a safehouse for other survivors.
But there are many oddities, most of them dangerous, in this new New York. As Tietjen's and McGrath's sanctuary becomes more populated, it becomes a target for other survivors, malevolent and strangely changed.
Robins writes of New York with a gift for description. The city comes alive, and dies, and comes alive again under her pen. Her characters, particularly Tietjen, are well-drawn with satisfying inner lives.
Although I enjoyed the novel overall, I have a couple of quibbles. I wanted to know how New York prior to the devastation became an armed camp nearly overrun with the homeless and the lawless -- even a hint or a throwaway reference would have sufficed. And I was dissatisfied with the final revelation of how the city was destroyed. Perhaps I missed the foreshadowing that would have made the denouemént more sensible. The chief quibble, however, isn't the author's fault. A post-9/11 world robs this story of some of its power, particularly when Robins discusses buildings that no longer exist. It's a jarring note, and a sad one.
A quick read, and well done.
John Tietjen, a divorced father of two, has an uneasy relationship with his ex-wife and children, but a passionate relationship with New York. He frequently roams the streets at night without care, trusting that "his city" will not let anything happen to him.
He reluctantly accepts a construction contract out of the city, and while he is gone, devastation strikes. In desperation, Tietjen rushes back to New York, only to find it in ruins and virtually depopulated. After a number of strange encounters, he rescues a woman, Barbara McGrath, from a madman and together they begin establishing a safehouse for other survivors.
But there are many oddities, most of them dangerous, in this new New York. As Tietjen's and McGrath's sanctuary becomes more populated, it becomes a target for other survivors, malevolent and strangely changed.
Robins writes of New York with a gift for description. The city comes alive, and dies, and comes alive again under her pen. Her characters, particularly Tietjen, are well-drawn with satisfying inner lives.
Although I enjoyed the novel overall, I have a couple of quibbles. I wanted to know how New York prior to the devastation became an armed camp nearly overrun with the homeless and the lawless -- even a hint or a throwaway reference would have sufficed. And I was dissatisfied with the final revelation of how the city was destroyed. Perhaps I missed the foreshadowing that would have made the denouemént more sensible. The chief quibble, however, isn't the author's fault. A post-9/11 world robs this story of some of its power, particularly when Robins discusses buildings that no longer exist. It's a jarring note, and a sad one.
A quick read, and well done.
May 21, 2015
The Stone War is a bunch of things I really like all stuck together and shaken. It's in large part a post-apocalyptic survival story set in very-near-future Manhattan, and I am a complete sucker for post-apocalyptic survival. It's a parable about the dangers of ever-increasing security measures on our humanity. And it's a weird-ass urban fantasy about a godling-level child telepath and the people who have to deal with his outbursts.
It's also a straight-up love letter to New York City, and I love that too. NYC isn't my town, although I'm fond of it, but Robins captures the feel of loving a city, of taking strength and comfort from its familiar shapes and rough edges. I can't remember the last book I read that understood that, and I love it.
Not that the crazy monsters and survival horror and vivid characters hurt, mind you. It's great on those terms, too. But mostly it just makes me want to go downtown and take a long walk.
It's also a straight-up love letter to New York City, and I love that too. NYC isn't my town, although I'm fond of it, but Robins captures the feel of loving a city, of taking strength and comfort from its familiar shapes and rough edges. I can't remember the last book I read that understood that, and I love it.
Not that the crazy monsters and survival horror and vivid characters hurt, mind you. It's great on those terms, too. But mostly it just makes me want to go downtown and take a long walk.
May 25, 2015
While away on a business trip, New Yorker John Tietjen learns that something has happened to his city. Fleeing survivors tell a garbled story of widespread destruction and violence, but it's not until Tietjen fights his way into the city that he gains some sense of New York City's apocalyptic fate -- and what he can do to stand against it.
The Stone War was excellent and unflinching. Every time the possibility for a pat or cliched resolution arises, the novel resolutely turns away and pushes deeper into the dark and unpredictable. And what's marvelous is that, despite the horror and the misery, the novel itself isn't grim. Instead, it's a glowing examination about the need for community against the threat of brutality and estrangement. I'm not sure I accept the denouement, in which the novel attempts to assign its phantasmagorical terrors to a concrete agent, but I'll agree that the conclusion is consistent with the rest of the book.
The Stone War was excellent and unflinching. Every time the possibility for a pat or cliched resolution arises, the novel resolutely turns away and pushes deeper into the dark and unpredictable. And what's marvelous is that, despite the horror and the misery, the novel itself isn't grim. Instead, it's a glowing examination about the need for community against the threat of brutality and estrangement. I'm not sure I accept the denouement, in which the novel attempts to assign its phantasmagorical terrors to a concrete agent, but I'll agree that the conclusion is consistent with the rest of the book.
March 24, 2008
This has been on my shelf for years, and wasn't what I had expected. I thought it would be a sci-fi/fantasy novel, but it fits more in with Stephen King or Dean Koontz. A furturistically dangerous NYC is destroyed by a series of inexplicable disasters--earthquakes, fires, floods--and the hordes of forgotten street people are somehow changed into monsters, bent upon revenge. The rest of the book reminded me heavily of King's The Stand--where everyday people are forced into an epic battle of good versus evil--except that the outcome hinges solely upon the mind of a young, parentless homeless kid.
Although somewhat choppy, and resounding with influences, this was an exciting and thought-provoking read. Its message of the importance of unconditional love is timely and useful in this day and age.
Although somewhat choppy, and resounding with influences, this was an exciting and thought-provoking read. Its message of the importance of unconditional love is timely and useful in this day and age.
October 10, 2011
Awesome read. The ending reminds me of the ending of Lord of the Flies: are they really safe now? Perhaps this story is more akin to Of Mice and Men: Jit has tremendous power but doesn't have the maturity to use it properly, especially when taken in a social context. Nobody could really feel safe while Jit is alive (and this is more because he cannot be controlled, much less control his power). Even if Tietjen decides to integrate Jit into his created society, what Jit has done, and what he can do will force others against him. The best that can be done for Jit is to kill him; out of mercy of course. It's better than what the others would do, considering that they do not know Jit's story as Tietjen does.
This is all conjecture, given that the ending does not allow you to see what happens next. Is it better not to know?
This is all conjecture, given that the ending does not allow you to see what happens next. Is it better not to know?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2011
Post-apocalyptic NYC, fantasy version. I guess a New Yorker mirror of Pat Murphy's San Francisco inThe City, Not Long After (a book I adore). This was, excellent in parts, not in parts. I disagree vehemently with Maureen McHugh's blurb -- the bit she cites as "the hand of a master at work" I could barely choke down. But there are some truly lovely moments as well.
January 30, 2012
This is the sort of classic urban fantasy that has nearly (though not quite, thankfully) vanished: the kind where the "urban" part is as important as the "fantasy" part, not merely chicks in leather kicking supernatural butt. A wonderful story about community and the love of cities - specifically, New York. Loved it.
August 11, 2013
A serendipitous find for a quick vacation read...that ended up being much deeper than I had expected. Thought-provoking urban fantasy that gets at the power of place, the power of suppressed emotion. It really comes into its own with these themes during part three.
October 4, 2009
An architect returns from a short business trip to find disaster has befallen his beloved city. Lovely writing, engaging plot and very believable characters. A must read!
May 19, 2008
I almost never read fantasy, but really enjoyed this- now looking back to when I read it, 1999, before 9-11, it kind of gives me an eerie feeling! I might not like it if I read it in 2008.
June 16, 2013
This was tough for me to get into and I didn't like the closing, but I was completely immersed through the story. Definitely a page turner!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews