Stone's Fall

A Novel

By: Iain Pears

Narrated by: Roy Dotrice, John Lee, Simon Vance

Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A return to the form that launched Iain Pears onto bestseller lists around the world: a vast historical mystery, marvelous in its ambition and ingenius in its complexity.

In his most dazzling novel since the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller An Instance of the Fingerpost, Iain Pears tells the story of John Stone, financier and arms dealer, a man so wealthy that in the years before World War One he was able to manipulate markets, industries, and indeed entire countries and continents.

A panoramic novel with a riveting mystery at its heart, Stone’s Fall is a quest to discover how and why John Stone dies, falling out of a window at his London home.

Chronologically, it moves backwards–from London in 1909 to Paris in 1890, and finally to Venice in 1867– and in the process the quest to uncover the truth plays out against the backdrop of the evolution of high-stakes international finance, Europe’s first great age of espionage, and the start of the twentieth century’s arms race.

Like Fingerpost, Stone’s Fall is an intricately plotted and richly satisfying puzzle–an erudite work of history and fiction that feels utterly true and oddly timely–and marks the triumphant return of one of the world’s great storytellers.

©2009 Spiegel & Grau (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“When I read Iain Pears' An Instance of the Fingerpost years ago, I thought it was so brilliantly plotted, so compulsively entertaining, so utterly engrossing that I gave it to my father and said, 'This is the new Dickens.' Stone's Fall is better.”—Malcolm Gladwell

“Mr. Pears’s assured command of period history, language, lore, and attitudes is formidable.”–The Wall Street Journal

Needs a young voice AND an older voice.

I really love Iain Pears, and have high expectations for this novel. I have really enjoyed it--in all the same ways I loved "Instance of the Fingerpost". I think my only caveat is that the stories told by the three narrators (at least the first two, I have not listened to the whole thing) are told as flashbacks from when they are young men..but the readers are older men. Despite the fact that these readers are awesome, and among some of the best in the business, I sort of wish these flashbacks could have been read by a younger voice--I think it would have given the narrative a bit more zip. I don't know, maybe I am just overdosing on the measured sound of the older British white guy. Again, let me stress.. the readers are fantastic, and I am loving this novel, but wish they could have matched the youthful urgency that the plot sometimes called for.

Great but needs continuous read through

Very engrossing and great narration. Two comments.
Needs to be read continuously otherwise it’s hard to remember some of the minor characters who pop up intermittently. And with Audible one can’t go back searching.
Secondly none of the main characters are actually likable.
Still it kept my interest throughout and the plot weaves unexpectedly. Nicely written too

three good books in one

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed these three overlapping stories. the first two meshed together and we're both enjoyable and instructive in concepts of finance and espionage. it took me so while to get into the third, as it didn't align quite as smoothly as the other two had done, but ultimately it all played out. I think I would have enjoyed each independently as well. I'm quite tempted to start listening get all over again, now that I see how it all ties together.
The author's style and characters remind me a bit of Jeffrey Archer.

Loved it !

I so enjoyed this book the narrator was outstanding and the story had quite a few twists and turns a credit well spent .

Great start, hard to stick with.

Part one was great, the rest was tedious. I didn't mind all the finance and industry exposition. The author did a good job keeping those parts interesting. But part 2 and 3 were boring and dragged on. The final conclusion wasn't a surprise. Great voice performances however from the 3 actors.

Didn't see that coming!

What did you love best about Stone's Fall?

The ending was a shocker. The story was very well written and well laid out. At times I wondered how these things tied together but in the end it is all wrapped up with a neat bow.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Elizabeth. She seems to be the only one with pure motives.

Which scene was your favorite?

The one where they are trying to save the bank of England.

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

Don't blink.

Any additional comments?

Very good book. Well written, well thought out, very well read. Very enjoyable.

Not the ending I expected after the first two parts.

The first two parts are really interesting, but the book ends as a Greek tragedy which is not how it starts.

You will like this in an instance

New Your TImes state that if you liked "In the Name of the Rose," go out and by "Instance of the Fingerpost." If you liked instance, you will surely enjoy this novel. Well crafted, with so many points of detail that come together in the end.
The narrators were wonderful, adding just the correct tone to the character.

Well done Mr. Pears!

Pears outdoes himself.

I’m wondering if it is possible to be disappointed by this author, this being the fourth book I’ve savored. If you need continual boom, smash, bang, move on. If you like to double back and ponder and reconsider, speak friend and enter. Such elegant writing, adroitly-drawn characters with a plot that slowly tightens like a python, well-researched underlying structures shot through with themes of melancholy, haunting and mercy. Dostoevsky smiles. I’m hooked.

Complex and enjoyable

Weaving three distinct but related stories, each set in different places and different time periods, but all leading back to the ultimate question, "Would an intelligent, happily married, business mogul kill himself by jumping out a window, or was he murdered?" One of the most surprisingly fascinating parts of the story explores how Stone built his empire, manipulating the government and inventing massive logistics. It actually gave me historical insight and understanding to the period of the robber barons and the men who earned the title. But there are love stories, unforgettable characters, and narrative complexities that make the story well worth listening to.