Blog Tour – The Heart of Stone by Ben Galley

After reviewing The Written last week, this is my second offering in my part of Ben Galley’s blog tour in which a number of bloggers review the various works of one of indie fantasy’s finest writers. This time around, I review “The Heart of Stone”. Here goes:

 

Task is a golem, the last golem. A creature created by magic with one intent, to  be a killing machine. The fact that Task is the last tells us one thing – he’s good at what he does, We meet task as he is bonded to his current master, a general of the Truehards who aims to end a nine-year Civil War with the Fading. But Task is different to the rest of his kind, he has thoughts and feelings, and when he meets a young girl who treats him like any other human, the thoughts and feelings threaten to take him down a road he has never been before.    

Worldbuilding

The basic world is not unfamiliar, the armies seem to be circa 18th century Europe. We have good old swords, muskets, cannons, and a similar military organization. That seems to be where the similarities end. We obviously have magic and golems, but also dragons, and most of the critters mentioned appear to be predominantly reptilian, even the firns, the world’s equivalent of horses. There’s also some other peoples, who aren’t too dissimilar to our earth, but there are telepaths and other mentally adept types who play a major role in the tale. The best part of the world is a big old hole in the ocean that impacts the life of every country, and appears to be singularly responsible for the warzone we are based in.

 

Score – 4/5

Characters

Absolutely and without a doubt the finest aspect of this book. Task is more human than the humans, aware of his role as a tool in a never ending series of wars, wars he had no role in starting. But after 400 years, Task is becoming tired, but is bound by the magic that created him to obey his masters. Task is feared and hated not only by his enemies, but also by those he serves. Woman-child Lesky is the impetus behind Task’s desire for change. Lesky’s willingness to befriend Task, her constant quoting of her mother, and her unfailing positivity even when surrounded by death can win over a heart of stone. Alabast, the Knight of Dawn, slayer of a dragon, is brought in as the last hope of the Fading to take down their biggest threat. A washed up hero, he plays a great counterpart to our hero. Finally Ellia Frayne, who appears as both friend and foe at times, keeps us guessing as to her motivations right up to the last few pages of the novel. I could continue to ramble about all the interesting characters in the book, but you deserve to discover them for yourself.

 

Score – 5/5

 

Plot

Watching Task and Lesky try to throw off his mantle of monster is a solid plotline, and we root for them all the way through as they make new friends and foes as the story progresses, but Ellia Frayne’ shenanigans is the real plot to watch. Her shifting motivations as she plays both sides of the battlefront, while fighting a completely different battle often keeps us distracted from what’s going on in the main story. How she shifts character to suit each situation is impressive, making her another character to watch.

 

Score – 4.5/5

Writing

Having read his first book (but not my first of his books) last week, the writing in this book is worlds apart from The Written (which I also enjoyed). This is confident, strong writing, with dark flourishes that match the tone of the book. Descriptions are colourful and effective, the humour is laugh-out-loud funny at times, and it’s peppered throughout the book. Finally (not really finally), the author has created a narrative on the evils of war, yet also shows that even surrounded by its chaos, life will find a way to go on.

 

Score – 5/5

Personal Enjoyment

This definitely ticks all my boxes. A pitch dark fantasy, riddled with characters that fail to fit the mould, a plot that keeps you on your toes and a critique of the world we live in. What more could I ask for? This is almost perfect

 

Score – 5/5

Verdict

I loved the author’s Chasing Graves and Breaking Chaos, but this standalone could be his finest moment.

Total Score – 23.5/5