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Stones, Stars and the Storms Between
A collection of seven unique fantasy stories that touch upon humanity in a variety of ways. From the external storms we struggle against, to the inner battles we wage upon ourselves, these stories attempt to shine a light on the best and worst aspects of people.
- GenresFantasy
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 29, 2021
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 25, 2022
This one was hard to get into. I honestly didn’t finish it. Not that it wasn’t written well. Or anything like that. I was just confused. In the first story, someone has come presumably to steal three stones. But why? Who sent her and to what end? There are a bunch of faiths going around like they are in the real world, but none are explained enough to understand their differences. Furthermore, there was some bit about the leader of the whole cave meeting not having faith yet everything he does breathes faith. At what point in the story did he not show it to the extent it’s a major piece of information to the two main characters.
There’s a bit about one of the other faith leaders coming to her aid but why? She never makes her intentions clear or states why she’s interested in our main character beyond flirting with her companion. Well, he flirts with her but still, why did she choose to aid her. Then or MC says things that are supposed to be rude, mean or abrupt to her companion but they just seem like normal responses, so I had to figure out why the author wanted me to feel she was being mean to him when all I had was the sentence, his reaction, and being told she was being rude but it never felt that way.
Without her intentions being clearly made, without any of the faiths being deeply defined, without the characters themselves being fleshed out you never really know what’s going. Which, oddly enough, seems off because so much is happening. A lot of stuff is happening. And, plot spoiler, she isn’t there to steal the stones, she’s there to keep them there. That’s when the story really hit the big confusion mark. She stole the stones, put up replicas, stayed until the end of this multiple faiths meeting where they pray to quell the power of the stones, only to put them back. So, basically, I spent an entire story not really knowing what was going on only to find out the only thing that I did know, stolen stones, was in fact a ruse to keep them there.
Keeping that in mind, not really knowing in detail about any of the faiths, why she was doing this now after making the journey there the previous years, not knowing that the Faith leader who was leading this prayer session of different faiths had intentions of removing the stones from the cave before we found out, and a few more oddities made it hard to get into this. It gave the impression of just being plopped into a story with the expectation I already knew how all the cogs fit together. But without all the why, and no real character development it was entertaining but I had to think really hard and long after I read it to piece it together and I could still be very, very wrong. There was too much ‘okay but why?’ when I read this.
So that’s about it. I got into the second story and read a fairly substantial chunk of it and was still asking why? Why are there slaves? There’s a lot of firstson and secondson but how does their culture actually work? How does the hierarchy of this world work? And, more importantly, I couldn’t feel for the main character getting all ‘his friend’s death was his fault’. The way he was carrying on, mostly whining, you could see this happening a mile away and it’s the first thing that happens, so readers don’t have time to emotionally connect to him in the first place. Once his friend decided to fight and was winning, he was still trying to stop him and I was like just let him win and deal with the punishment after. They are already slaves at the very least his friend could go out with a victory if he got killed for it. It was his fault his friend died, and I didn’t sympathise with him like I felt the author wanted me to.
And, just like the first story, other than knowing he was abducted and made a slave, I don’t know much of his before, much about his present beyond the fight, and not nearly enough about the captors to make this work. Ultimately it again felt like I was just dropped into the middle of a story looking for things to connect me to the world I was transported to but the story just trudged on like I knew these things already. Seriously, I really wanted to like this, and maybe it’s just not the story for me, but I found myself continuously asking questions and needing to know more to make what I was reading make sense to me so ultimately I just had to let go of this one. Maybe I’m just not intelligent enough to get it. Maybe everything I was looking for is actually there and I was too dumb to see it. All I know is the characters weren’t deep enough for me. They weren’t fleshed out enough, and the actual realms the stories were in were not defined enough for me to latch onto these stories.
For More Reviews visit Reading Is My Drug
There’s a bit about one of the other faith leaders coming to her aid but why? She never makes her intentions clear or states why she’s interested in our main character beyond flirting with her companion. Well, he flirts with her but still, why did she choose to aid her. Then or MC says things that are supposed to be rude, mean or abrupt to her companion but they just seem like normal responses, so I had to figure out why the author wanted me to feel she was being mean to him when all I had was the sentence, his reaction, and being told she was being rude but it never felt that way.
Without her intentions being clearly made, without any of the faiths being deeply defined, without the characters themselves being fleshed out you never really know what’s going. Which, oddly enough, seems off because so much is happening. A lot of stuff is happening. And, plot spoiler, she isn’t there to steal the stones, she’s there to keep them there. That’s when the story really hit the big confusion mark. She stole the stones, put up replicas, stayed until the end of this multiple faiths meeting where they pray to quell the power of the stones, only to put them back. So, basically, I spent an entire story not really knowing what was going on only to find out the only thing that I did know, stolen stones, was in fact a ruse to keep them there.
Keeping that in mind, not really knowing in detail about any of the faiths, why she was doing this now after making the journey there the previous years, not knowing that the Faith leader who was leading this prayer session of different faiths had intentions of removing the stones from the cave before we found out, and a few more oddities made it hard to get into this. It gave the impression of just being plopped into a story with the expectation I already knew how all the cogs fit together. But without all the why, and no real character development it was entertaining but I had to think really hard and long after I read it to piece it together and I could still be very, very wrong. There was too much ‘okay but why?’ when I read this.
So that’s about it. I got into the second story and read a fairly substantial chunk of it and was still asking why? Why are there slaves? There’s a lot of firstson and secondson but how does their culture actually work? How does the hierarchy of this world work? And, more importantly, I couldn’t feel for the main character getting all ‘his friend’s death was his fault’. The way he was carrying on, mostly whining, you could see this happening a mile away and it’s the first thing that happens, so readers don’t have time to emotionally connect to him in the first place. Once his friend decided to fight and was winning, he was still trying to stop him and I was like just let him win and deal with the punishment after. They are already slaves at the very least his friend could go out with a victory if he got killed for it. It was his fault his friend died, and I didn’t sympathise with him like I felt the author wanted me to.
And, just like the first story, other than knowing he was abducted and made a slave, I don’t know much of his before, much about his present beyond the fight, and not nearly enough about the captors to make this work. Ultimately it again felt like I was just dropped into the middle of a story looking for things to connect me to the world I was transported to but the story just trudged on like I knew these things already. Seriously, I really wanted to like this, and maybe it’s just not the story for me, but I found myself continuously asking questions and needing to know more to make what I was reading make sense to me so ultimately I just had to let go of this one. Maybe I’m just not intelligent enough to get it. Maybe everything I was looking for is actually there and I was too dumb to see it. All I know is the characters weren’t deep enough for me. They weren’t fleshed out enough, and the actual realms the stories were in were not defined enough for me to latch onto these stories.
For More Reviews visit Reading Is My Drug
February 2, 2022
Sometimes short stories are underrated but I think this collection dispels that.
Most excellent read.
Most excellent read.
March 17, 2022
I did like this collection of stories, I liked how all the stories had some common thread with the one before and after. I wished that Kevan and Gin story was a book on its own seemed like a cool plot twist and Cenius story loved the reference to Throne of Glass. I would recommend to people that enjoy scifi reads.
January 19, 2022
This is a 4.5 star review rounded up to 5.
I was attracted to the book with its promise of heartfelt storytelling. I'm happy to say that it more than delivers on this promise.
It features seven short stories, unrelated and really quite different from each other. Each paints a rich world in its short space. Each explores multiple themes with its characters and setting, carefully woven into the story's fabric so that their exploration feels subtle and fitting rather than forceful in its delivery.
That last point is the reason that I deducted half a star; it felt as if the book might have gone too far in this direction.
Since the stories are too short for significant character growth, I expected there to be some idea or message that the author was trying to get across, something that motivated him to write the story. However, for some of the stories, I struggled to figure out what that idea or message might be, leaving me with smaller themes but no overarching one to tie them together. This left those stories feeling like fragments of larger ones that need to be told in order to complete them.
All in all, a solid and worthwhile read if one wishes to be moved by storytelling and doesn't mind not understanding it fully.
I was attracted to the book with its promise of heartfelt storytelling. I'm happy to say that it more than delivers on this promise.
It features seven short stories, unrelated and really quite different from each other. Each paints a rich world in its short space. Each explores multiple themes with its characters and setting, carefully woven into the story's fabric so that their exploration feels subtle and fitting rather than forceful in its delivery.
That last point is the reason that I deducted half a star; it felt as if the book might have gone too far in this direction.
Since the stories are too short for significant character growth, I expected there to be some idea or message that the author was trying to get across, something that motivated him to write the story. However, for some of the stories, I struggled to figure out what that idea or message might be, leaving me with smaller themes but no overarching one to tie them together. This left those stories feeling like fragments of larger ones that need to be told in order to complete them.
All in all, a solid and worthwhile read if one wishes to be moved by storytelling and doesn't mind not understanding it fully.
January 14, 2022
I don't usually read a lot of fantasy short stories. Worldbuilding and character development are my favorite aspects of fantasy, so I'm not the best audience for this kind of work.
That being said, I enjoyed this collection. For one thing, the title is great! Very evocative, very fantasy, very awesome.
Some of the stories were a little hard to get into. I found "Etched Soul" slightly difficult to follow, for instance. I could tell there was a lot of great worldbuilding there, but it wasn't necessarily made super clear to the reader. It was hard for me to connect with the characters, because the use of titles that weren't clearly defined made it difficult to track who they were and what their relationships were. That being said, Terral definitely fulfilled what I think is one of the chief purposes of short fiction: he made me want more of these worlds.
This wasn't necessarily for me--I found myself wanting more from a lot of the stories--but I will definitely check out any future full-length works from the author and recommend this collection to fans of short fantasy!
That being said, I enjoyed this collection. For one thing, the title is great! Very evocative, very fantasy, very awesome.
Some of the stories were a little hard to get into. I found "Etched Soul" slightly difficult to follow, for instance. I could tell there was a lot of great worldbuilding there, but it wasn't necessarily made super clear to the reader. It was hard for me to connect with the characters, because the use of titles that weren't clearly defined made it difficult to track who they were and what their relationships were. That being said, Terral definitely fulfilled what I think is one of the chief purposes of short fiction: he made me want more of these worlds.
This wasn't necessarily for me--I found myself wanting more from a lot of the stories--but I will definitely check out any future full-length works from the author and recommend this collection to fans of short fantasy!
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August 26, 2024I've read a lot of fantasy, and there are so many sub-genres that it makes my head spin. This collection lies somewhere between a few of them, and when I compiled the stories, I hoped I was making something that anyone could find enjoyable. There are elements of loss explored in some stories, hope in others, and the cost of power in most.
I truly hope that at least one story leaves you happy that you read it if not all of them.
Edited to add this from Cameron Gillespie's IndieReader review:
...Terral has a talent for creating atmospheres infused with both raw sensory details and lofty moral or emotional abstractions; his magic systems are vaguely druidic in their brutal, nature-based manifestations...
... Recurring archetypes and motifs—such as Arcanists and Alchemists, warlocks, stone-based religions, and body modifications—create intriguing connections between each tale, making the collection ripe for multiple readthroughs...
... “Growing Storms” is particularly dense, but it also contains some of the most gorgeously cinematic and philosophical prose in the collection. At times, Terral sacrifices reader comprehension for world-building, though that is not necessarily a flaw. Overall, readers who adore this element of the fantasy genre will enjoy STONES, STARS AND THE STORMS BETWEEN far more than those who prefer character- or plot-driven short stories...
The full review can be found here. https://indiereader.com/book_review/s...
I truly hope that at least one story leaves you happy that you read it if not all of them.
Edited to add this from Cameron Gillespie's IndieReader review:
...Terral has a talent for creating atmospheres infused with both raw sensory details and lofty moral or emotional abstractions; his magic systems are vaguely druidic in their brutal, nature-based manifestations...
... Recurring archetypes and motifs—such as Arcanists and Alchemists, warlocks, stone-based religions, and body modifications—create intriguing connections between each tale, making the collection ripe for multiple readthroughs...
... “Growing Storms” is particularly dense, but it also contains some of the most gorgeously cinematic and philosophical prose in the collection. At times, Terral sacrifices reader comprehension for world-building, though that is not necessarily a flaw. Overall, readers who adore this element of the fantasy genre will enjoy STONES, STARS AND THE STORMS BETWEEN far more than those who prefer character- or plot-driven short stories...
The full review can be found here. https://indiereader.com/book_review/s...
March 23, 2022
Overall, a good diverse anthology.
I found a couple of the stories could be fleshed out more to be more enjoyable, but this was not a serious determent to the stories. Also, G. J. Terral did leave himself "threads" to possibly go back and follow up on these stories.
Where he excelled was the creation of a number of immersive and diverse cultures and some of the characters that are willing to challenge the norms of those cultures.
I found a couple of the stories could be fleshed out more to be more enjoyable, but this was not a serious determent to the stories. Also, G. J. Terral did leave himself "threads" to possibly go back and follow up on these stories.
Where he excelled was the creation of a number of immersive and diverse cultures and some of the characters that are willing to challenge the norms of those cultures.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews