The Heart of Stone

By: Ben Galley

Narrated by: Adam Stubbs

Mercenary. Murderer. Monster. He has been called many names in his time.

Built for war and nothing else, he has witnessed every shade of violence humans know, and he has wrought his own masterpieces with their colors. He cared once, perhaps, but far too long ago. He is bound to his task, dead to the chaos he wreaks for his masters.

Now, he has a new master to serve and a new war to endure. In the far reaches of the Realm, Hartlund tears itself in two over coin and crown. This time he will fight for a boy king and a general bent on victory.

Beneath it all, he longs for change. For something to surprise him. For an end to this cycle of warfare.

Every fighter faces his final fight. Even one made of stone.

The Heart of Stone - the brand new standalone from UK fantasy author Ben Galley - is now available in audiobook format, read by by Adam Stubbs. Find out more about The Heart of Stone at www.bengalley.com/heart-of-stone.

©2017 Ben Galley (P)2018 Ben Galley

Loved this story!

I really enjoyed tagging along with Task for this story. Definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new fantasy to read.

Addictive!

One of my favorite things to do after reading a book I loved, is finding it in audio. Ben Galley is a true keyboard wizard, and Adam Stubbs absolutely dazzled us with his silver tounge sorcery! The action never ceases to keep pulling you past the "just one more chapter" phase, and before you know it, it's 3 a.m. FYI you should definitely re-re-read, or listen to, this fictional masterpiece!

Pretty Good overall

Pretty decent. The narrator was forgettable, except for the main characters voice and the villains were fairly weak. Mostly evil for evils sake rather than any real relatable motivation. I enjoyed the main character, but some of the side characters were too forgettable. Battle scenes were well done for the most part.

A Satisfying Standalone

First off, I’d like to say that if you’re an audiobook fan then this is one you should own. The performance of Adam Stubbs is nothing short of incredible – his Golem voice quite literally made my jaw drop, and he just does a stellar job from top to bottom.

The Heart of Stone is a multi-PoV military fantasy with a beating heart. A civil war is raging between the Truehards and the Fading – the Truehards are loyal to the king and believe that the Fading attempted a coup after the death of the previous king. The king’s heir, however, was a small boy at the time of the previous king’s death, and the Fading feel that the boy king’s advisers don’t have the best interests of the realm at heart. Both positions are understandable, and one of the many nice touches of the novel is that there are characters who have a lot in common on both sides. There’s a definite feeling that these people could be friends if their situation hadn’t pitted them against one another.

Character development is a big strength of the novel, and that’s something that always makes me happy. Task’s thought processes are alien and fascinating, but he’s imbued with such an interesting sense of morality and humanity that he’s relatable even when he’s mulling over his resentment of humans (to the point that he calls us ‘skinbags’ as a mark of his disgust). All of the main circle of characters are well developed and their motivations are logical (although sometimes shrouded in mystery for the sake of the plot). Lesky in particular is a child character who manages to be precocious and wise without being irritating, which is an achievement in itself. Add to that a fallen knight – Alabast has a drinking problem, a womanizing problem, a debt problem and a yellow belly. Despite this he’s a charming rogue of a character and his growth throughout the novel really won me over.

The magic system of the Golems and the abilities of humans is pretty well explored and interesting, and I don’t want to get into it too deeply here since it’s integral to the plot. The setting is functional and the cultures are developed enough that it feels like an authentic world and not just a backdrop to the story. The dialogue between characters is one way in which the novel really shines, in fact probably my favorite scene in the whole novel is just a simple card game being played between a bunch of the characters. Their interactions and chemistry were so spot-on that they began to feel less like characters in a book and more like friends. I can’t ask for more than that.

The conclusion is excellent and wraps up tidily without loose threads – it’s a very satisfying, bittersweet ending that had me close to tears a couple of times. I know this is one I’ll be happy to revisit over the years. If you’re looking for a standalone novel that delivers, look no further.

Can a stone golem really change?

What did you like best about this story?

Despite the battle scenes, and there are several, there is a strong emotional core to this book. As a being whose sole purpose has been to be used as a weapon of war, Task has seen the worst humanity, or the ‘skin-bags’ as he calls them, has to offer. He has become disillusioned with the entire race but is forever bound to them by the magic that gives him life. As a thinking individual, he fully understands the consequences of his actions and the conflict between what he wants to believe and his lack of free will to resist orders drives a significant chunk of the book. It’s very well written and draws the reader into empathising with Task.

Which scene was your favorite?

There are several scenes showing that the author has invested enough time into the world-building that it could definitely be explored again, even though this is a stand-alone novel.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not a moment as such, but the relationship between Task and Lesky is very well done.

Any additional comments?

The narration is excellent, particularly the voice used for the golem.

Well-crafted adventure worth reading

There’s a sense of world building that makes you want to hear future tales from this magical realm. The world makes sense, like you took our world from some point in history and sprinkled in a few magical elements that feel realistic.

I enjoyed the story and the characters. They feel real, too. Some plot points later in the story jump/feel incongruous, hence the docked star.

The narration is fantastic and never gets in the way of the story. Each voice brings its respective character to life.

Takeaway: it’s worth the credit.

A writing style not to my tastes.

This book looked good and maybe it is. I mean a book about a golem, where is the bad part? Well for me it was about the pacing and the POVs.

I went into this book wanting an interesting look at a fantasy world through the eyes of a golem. While that is present there are a bunch of side characters and stories that I just wasn't interested in. I understand that the author was trying to make a big story and I might've enjoyed that except for the pacing.

The pacing in this book is very like that of THE RED KNIGHT, a book I also disliked. The POVs and action move quickly and almost with too much fluidity. Right when I would feel comfortable with a set of characters or part of a story I'd realize that I was already with a new set of characters and in a new part of the story without ever noticing. I got about a quarter of they way through when I realized that I had no idea what was going on or what character I was currently following. So I started from the beginning and didn't make it back to where I'd left off. I mean, I'm working on developing pre-pre-diabetes. I don't have time to re-re-read things that just aren't worth it.

So my verdict is that if you enjoyed the writing style of THE RED KNIGHT or easily followed any book in MALAZAN BOOK OF THE FALLEN then this book might be worth a spin. But if you're like me and you read for fun and not for work:

SKIP IT.