Stone and a Hard Place

The Alastair Stone Chronicles, Book 1

By: R. L. King

Narrated by: Kevin R. Czarnecki

It's hard enough for Alastair Stone to keep his two lives - powerful mage and mundane Occult Studies professor - separate without an old friend asking him to take on a new apprentice. Especially after a university colleague wants him to investigate a massive old house for things that go bump in the night. Still, Stone figures it's an easy job: just turn up, put on a little show, and announce that the house is clean.

Only it isn't. A malevolent spirit is reawakening in the basement, imprisoned between dimensions and intent on escape. If it succeeds, countless people will die. Worse, a trio of dark mages want to help it break free so they can control it for their own sinister purposes. They'll do whatever it takes - including seducing Stone's young apprentice and using him against his master - to get what they're after.

With time running out, Stone has to stay alive long enough to uncover the spirit's secrets. But even if he does, he fears that his own power won't be enough to send it back.

©2015 Robyn L. King (P)2016 R. L. King

Wonderful story!

Great story! On the surface It reminded me of the Dresden Files, but this was more mystery, less world magical politics. I'm looking forward to the next one.

slow and long

I feel like they could have made this book way shorter. but had to make it longer to make people feel like they got their money's worth

About average

The narrator is amazing. Using different accents and all.
The story line is so so. I’ll listen to the all the books because I’m OCD but I wouldn’t recommend it
FYI. The book was published in 2015. But none have cell phones and rely on answering machines for communication

Nothing spectacular but still a decent listen

For a first in a series it was rather stale but that's to be expected in such an oversaturated market like UF has become. It has a lot of potential and I'll continue the series to see what else Stone has in store.
What I liked:
Third person narrative was a very welcoming surprise for UF and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives.
Stone's character is very much a flawed protagonist that makes mistakes and gets his butt kicked quite thoroughly
the narration is pretty good, the spooky voice of the demon was perfectly creepy
What I disliked:
Stone is described by his magical peers as being one of the more powerful mages around, however he can barely hold his own against an amateur dark mage. Granted he says he's simply out of shape magically speaking early on so I'm wondering if this was just a fluke
The magic system is rather bland and wasn't explored much at all. Stone does little magic except for calling up shields, some levitation, and maybe one or two concussive blasts. Would like to read more on how the magic works and different implementations.

Not bad although predictable

Would you try another book from R. L. King and/or Kevin R. Czarnecki?

Most likely.

If you’ve listened to books by R. L. King before, how does this one compare?

no.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

less whine. but overall he wasn't awful. I'd probably listen to him again.

Do you think Stone and a Hard Place needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

already a series.

Any additional comments?

I'd give Professor Stone a C plus or even a low B. Overall the book was enjoyable. However, the switching POV's especially Ethan's bits, were on the more boring side and seemed to slow the flow of the story.

Slow and boring

Takes too long to get going, characters are not interesting. Only finished it because I paid for it

A Very Strong Start to the Series

I often struggle with getting into new books. I need to care about the characters and be intrigued by the story or I quickly lose interest. Often times the setup and character development involved in starting a new series is just painful to me. I also hate it when everything is spelled out. I need to use my imagination and to be kept guessing in order for a book to hold my interest. This book did a great job of avoiding the pitfalls that often turn me off when starting a new series. Information about the world and the characters came in snippets and through dialog rather than lengthy set up.

I was admittedly inclined initially to parallel Stone with Dresden, but he quickly pulled away as an independent and distinct character, the similarities being entirely superficial. there is clearly a Dresden influence in Stone, and I could easily see them inhabiting the same world, but at the end of the day, the comparison is more akin to a musician inspired by another musician. if you like one, you'll probably like the other, but each is different and unique in its own right.

The story had a few minor bumps here and there, but new series often do. Even my all time favorites have a few rough spots, particularly in the early novels. Overall though, it was a very entertaining read. I was hooked early and stayed engaged. I am invested in the characters and look forward to seeing where the story goes next. I may even have to read the paper books rather than wait for the rest on audio. anyone who knows me knows this is quite the compliment.

Good Book

Anyone who is thinking it's like dresden files will be disappointed cause it's not . some differences just to name a few 1 is PI 1 is a professor, 1 didn't get apprentice till the book like 14 this guy gets 1 right away, wizards in this world no different than regular they don't live long and they don't heal fast . The magic system is like 50 /50 of dresden's world just to name a few can't wait for another but if not it's good as just a stand alone story.
The narrator was awsome looks like a guy since no other books pop under his name keep it up kevin love the way you read.
After all is said and done this is a solid preformance and a good story that doesn't protect main characters in anyway.

Nice Start!

Where does Stone and a Hard Place rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks, so I have to say it's in the top 70%.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adelaide. Because she's a smart elderly lady.

What does Kevin R. Czarnecki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Voicings.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

It's all about the choices. . .

Any additional comments?

It's a pretty good start to the series. The writing is solid, some of the characters are a bit shallow, but will hopefully flesh out a bit over the course of the series.

just listen to it

i loved this! a great start to a new-to-me urban fantasy series. listen to it!