Worldstone

The Stone Duology #0.5

by Victoria Strauss

A note from the author:

This is not an authorized edition of Worldstone. Originally published in 1985 by Four Winds Press, it was re-issued by Simon & Schuster after I reverted rights. Simon & Schuster removed this edition from sale after I notified it of the mistake.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

I'm the author of nine novels for adults and young adults, including the Stone duology ("The Arm of the Stone" and "The Garden of the Stone"); the Way of Arata duology ("The Burning Land" and "The Awakened City"); and "Passion Blue" and "Color Song," a pair of historical novels for teens. I've reviewed books for SF Site, Black Gate, and Fantasy magazine, and my articles on writing and how to get published have appeared in Writer’s Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, I served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards.

I'm an active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), and co-founder, with Ann Crispin, of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that warns about literary schemes and scams. I maintain the Writer Beware website, blog, and Facebook pages, and I was honored with the SFWA Service Award in 2009.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughly enjoyed this one! The writing was intelligent & thoughtful but not overly complex. Some dates references since it was written in 1985 but it made the story feel quaint

[Michael Masciola · Rating 3 out of 5]

i caught the big twist in the first 100 which made the lest 200 so long

[Ben Vongphakdi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the pace and story telling, angry that there is no sequel, I would like to imagine Alexina and Taryn reunited somehow after the gates reopen

[James]

After colliding with a parallel world, Alexina's world is faced with extinction, unless she can find the Worldstone, the soul of the universe.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I found myself eager to learn the outcome of Alexina’s quest, I found myself completely riled by her travel companions. One of them, Marhalt, is an insufferably arrogant, priggish bigot, ever so pompous in his stinging contempt for those who practice handpower (reliance on tools) and utterly self-righteous about the path he and his people had chosen to take in mindpower (telekinesis, pyrokinesis, telepathy, etc.). His two fellow Guardians are little more than ciphers with zero personalities and Taryn comes off as mainly a bit of a lickspittle, desperate to please and miserably certain that he is some kind of hideous monster simply because he chooses to be interested in handpower.

From the very moment that Marhalt left Alexina at her home with her memories intact in the early part of the book, I knew that he was going to manipulate her. Her abrupt dislike of her own world, her seeing everything around her as shabby, worn and ugly was a tip-off that her mind was being subtly influenced to reflect Marhalt’s viewpoint. When he popped in the road, seemingly unsurprised in her decision to follow them, I knew it for a fact.

From that moment on, I caught myself mentally yelling at Alexina not to follow them, that she was being used, that Marhalt would throw her off like an old shoe when she ceased to be handy and so forth. It was frustrating in the extreme to watch her blithely put her faith in such a person.

But it’s understandable that Alexina could be so easily toyed with in this fashion. Her character is that of an adolescent; she doesn’t have much real-world experience and an older man like Marhalf, gifted in the art of mental manipulation, would have found it child’s play to bend her to his purpose.

Given how promptly my emotions were caught up in this story (holding conversations with the characters in your heads can be seen as a faint sign of success), I will admit that it merits points for that alone. But, as far as everything else goes, this is not a book I’d care to read twice. The slight trace of hope that is left at the end isn’t enough to dispel the sour taste engendered by the preening arrogance of the Guardians or the naïveté of its female protagonist.