Stonefather

Card shows here that he has continued to hone his writing skills long after success first claimed him. While there are bits and pieces in the text that remind one strongly of the Alvin Maker series, the context is unique enough that it does not feel rehashed or redundant.

The story moves quickly and does not mire the reader in details. It is a light read, yet still manages to develop a couple of characters well enough to be engaging.

I was concerned as I neared the end of this book that the dangling loose ends would be left that way, given the small amount of time remaining to tie them. I was happily surprised to find that, while the resolution was brief, it was also comprehensive and did not feel hurried.

The narrator is expressive and pleasant to listen to. I only wish all of my money here on Audible was as well spent as on this book.

This book was extremely fun to listen to. Card has a way of developing his characters which allows the reader to be part of the story and want more.

Stonefather and Sandmagic are two short stories of Orson Scott Card set in the same world as his new book "The Lost Gate." In Stonefather we meet a boy, called Runnel, who was the family misfit, frequently beaten by his father, just because of his proud face. Card plays with opposites, irony and gullibility to weave a very strong story around Runnel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Emily Janice Card does justice to it in her narration.

Emily Janice Card delivers a great performance that made listening easy. The story was predictable, but still enjoyable. It lives you wanting more of this kind of work from Orson Scott Card!

A nice, simple fairy tale. Predictable but enjoyable, like an old comfortable pair of jammies. The narration is a good fit for the style of writing.

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.

Runnel isn???t appreciated by his family or his little village. His father abuses him, his siblings taunt him, and even his mother doesn???t seem overly fond. So one day he walks to the edge of his village and just keeps going. He???s never been outside of his village before, so everything is new. Eventually he comes to a city whose walls and bridges are crumbling. He???s told that this is the city of the water mages, the magicians who cast out the stone mages that built the beautiful city. After the mage war, the victorious water mages will only allow one stone mage in the town. He lives in a grand house and is treated with respect, but he is spied upon and mistrusted because if he ever brings his colleagues back into the city, the water mages fear that they???ll lose their ruling positions.

After meeting a friendly girl at the city???s well, Runnel follows her home and finds employment in the home of the stone mage. There he learns about the history and politics of this strange city, and he learns a lot about himself, too. It seems that Runnel may have an affinity for stone.

Stonefather is a novella that introduces Orson Scott Card???s MITHER MAGES series, which is aimed at young adults. As I???ve come to expect from Card, this story is beautifully written and contains deep and likable characters, a well-developed world with interesting magic, and an intriguing setting. This is a simpler, lighter and more relaxed read, though, than Card???s ENDER series, which was full of drama, tension and, best of all, lots of ideas. Stonefather doesn???t reach that level ??? it???s mostly a pleasant coming-of-age story ??? but it did occur to me that the mage war may be an allegory for the Christian and Muslim conflict in Jerusalem. I have no idea if this is Orson Scott Card???s intention, though.

As far as YA fiction goes, this is a good choice for a reader looking for a lovely low-stress read. In many ways it???s similar to the YA fantasy of Ursula K. Le Guin and Shannon Hale. I think Stonefather bodes well for the MITHER MAGES series and I will likely give the first novel, The Lost Gate, a try.

Stonefather has been published by Subterranean Press. The cover art, by Tom Kidd (one of my favorites) is stunning. I read the book in audio format (published by Blackstone Audio). It???s narrated by Janice Card, Orson Scott Card???s daughter. She does a terrific job with Stonefather. The gorgeous cover art is viewable when you download the audio version with an Audible app.

I would! I compleatly loose myself in the mythermage world.

Tree man

nope

The baker lady helping the boy

I wish they would make the third mythermage bookan audio book

This is a wonderful story in classic fairy tale form. I look forward to more tales of the mither mages. A young man goes forth to see his fortune and he finds that there is more to him than he ever suspected.

I am not an avid fan of OSC - but I enjoyed Stonefather. I listened to the Lost Gate and loved it so I sought out more and found this. I have since listened to other OSC short stories, but have not become enthralled to the point to read everything he's written. So if you are not familiar with OSC -this might be a great listen since it seems out of his typical series genre - sci-fi Ender series. If you are an Ender fan, not sure how this will go over with you.

The narration is good - similar to Lost Gate - with Emily Janice Card narrated with a male main character - she does a great job.

This story comes before Lost Gate, but takes place in an unspecified distant past most likely on the other world. I found Lost Gate first and then this - I don't think the order mattered.

The Gate Thief is expected - looking forward to it.

For people who loved The Lost Gate, this will hold you off till he writes another.

Too Short!