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Cornerstone The King
DESPITE FINDING THE LEGENDARY STONE AS A BOY, Jeremiah can’t shake the feeling he is destined to always be an outsider looking in. This restlessness haunts him into adulthood until he leads a quest to return the stone to its original home with his spiritual father named Padre, a fellow fugitive, a giant, and a mysterious woman named Jameela. Chased by two bands, Jeremiah and his companions evade until confronted by the relic seekers and a decision.
What is more important: love or freedom?
This is a story of loss and grief and how the many shapes of love lead Jeremiah and Jameela to form a fiery bond, battle their internal demons, and learn the secret the queen has kept hidden for many years.
But can they unlock the secrets of the stone?
The fate of the Kingdom depends on it.
What is more important: love or freedom?
This is a story of loss and grief and how the many shapes of love lead Jeremiah and Jameela to form a fiery bond, battle their internal demons, and learn the secret the queen has kept hidden for many years.
But can they unlock the secrets of the stone?
The fate of the Kingdom depends on it.
536 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2021
3 people are currently reading
489 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 1, 2021
Cornerstone: The King has all the elements of a fantasy epic: it has family dramas and secrets; it has power plays between the most dominant; it has a quest; it has characters who would probably not come together in other circumstances, uniting to challenge a foe; it has a main character discovering who he is, who he can be and where he's come from; it has a stone of power; it has songs!
Michael Paul is a competent writer and this book is well written in terms of its fluidity of prose and description. This is also true of the direction the book takes as we follow Miah, the carpenter's son as he grows from a lively boy into an insecure man, lost in love and trying to find purpose within his life.
I had a good sense of the world that Paul has formed, a sort of medieval crusade era parallel, and the politics of Royalty versus Church, a struggle that constantly marred the history of many countries in our world and is often used in fantasy fiction.
Like I've mentioned, all of the elements are there. But for me, it just all fell a bit flat. There are a lot of characters but a manageable amount so it is not confusing and a full list of who is who is provided at the back of the book for clarification. Paul includes a lot of dialogue, which usually provides a lot of what is needed to create rounded, clearly delineated characters but I didn't always get this from their exchanges; sometimes, I felt unfulfilled and sometimes, I felt confused.
The narrative has clear direction and purpose and this is one of its strengths. Within this structure, whilst his descriptions of place and his links between the action are well written by Paul, I found that they were limited in creating atmosphere and tension. I knew that the threats were there but I just didn't feel them.
For me as a reader, character and the relationships between them are key to a great read and I struggled to identify fully with them, with the possible exception of Asser and his quirky way of talking.
Personally, I think that the book has merit and that there are fans of this sort of genre who will read it and be satisfied by it but sadly, not me.
This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC. This is an unbiased review of the book.
Michael Paul is a competent writer and this book is well written in terms of its fluidity of prose and description. This is also true of the direction the book takes as we follow Miah, the carpenter's son as he grows from a lively boy into an insecure man, lost in love and trying to find purpose within his life.
I had a good sense of the world that Paul has formed, a sort of medieval crusade era parallel, and the politics of Royalty versus Church, a struggle that constantly marred the history of many countries in our world and is often used in fantasy fiction.
Like I've mentioned, all of the elements are there. But for me, it just all fell a bit flat. There are a lot of characters but a manageable amount so it is not confusing and a full list of who is who is provided at the back of the book for clarification. Paul includes a lot of dialogue, which usually provides a lot of what is needed to create rounded, clearly delineated characters but I didn't always get this from their exchanges; sometimes, I felt unfulfilled and sometimes, I felt confused.
The narrative has clear direction and purpose and this is one of its strengths. Within this structure, whilst his descriptions of place and his links between the action are well written by Paul, I found that they were limited in creating atmosphere and tension. I knew that the threats were there but I just didn't feel them.
For me as a reader, character and the relationships between them are key to a great read and I struggled to identify fully with them, with the possible exception of Asser and his quirky way of talking.
Personally, I think that the book has merit and that there are fans of this sort of genre who will read it and be satisfied by it but sadly, not me.
This review was first published on Reedsy Discovery where I was privileged to read it as an ARC. This is an unbiased review of the book.
February 3, 2022
Not What You'd Expect
Language: moderate
Violence: mild
Sexual content: large focus on mature content, sexual fantasies and references
Parents: R- this has themes that are appropriate for 17+
Story: the summary does not match what this book actually is. The story is rather slow paced and scattered. The characters are interesting but struggle to show growth and get on your nerves. Despite the mature content, this book has a largely biblical perspective which feels like an awkward combination to me. A large focus on immodest behavior, primarily lots of inappropriate fantasies.
Narrator: good pacing and differentiations are well done but hard to understand
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Language: moderate
Violence: mild
Sexual content: large focus on mature content, sexual fantasies and references
Parents: R- this has themes that are appropriate for 17+
Story: the summary does not match what this book actually is. The story is rather slow paced and scattered. The characters are interesting but struggle to show growth and get on your nerves. Despite the mature content, this book has a largely biblical perspective which feels like an awkward combination to me. A large focus on immodest behavior, primarily lots of inappropriate fantasies.
Narrator: good pacing and differentiations are well done but hard to understand
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
October 1, 2021
I loved going on this coming of age/self exploration adventure with Miah, Jam, and the rest of the crew. The Queen might be one of my top 10 fav fictional characters, ever. There is so much emotion packed in this book. It is hard to define if it is more fantasy or historical or mystery or even romance, but no question that it is an all around great book.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews