The Stone of Alexandria

A Tale of Magic, Timelines and Parallel Realities

By: Lleu Christopher

Narrated by: Persephone Rose

Length: 14 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Stone of Alexandria is a complex, and multifaceted tale that deals with history, magic, metaphysics, folklore, reincarnation, and parallel realities. The story moves between ancient Alexandria and modern day New York City, with a brief excursion into the lost civilization of Atlantis. Michael Valens, is an intelligent, curious graduate student who stumbles into a global and inter-dimensional struggle over a magical stone of incomparable power. During his adventures, which lead him into past lives, he encounters a wise mentor, a sociopathic killer, a race of faerie beings, and a secret magical society with both light and dark members. All are fighting to control the elusive Stone, something so powerful, that the fate of the world depends on the outcome.

©2017 Larry Christopher (P)2017 Larry Christopher

A story twice as long as it should be.

This audio book, The Stone Of Alexandria: A tale of Magic, has a great premise that intrigued me when I read the description before I downloaded it. The first several chapters were engaging and I started really getting into the few characters and their plights. But, that quickly started to diminish by the time I was one quarter way through the story. It tends to drag out the story in drawn out dialog and situations that don't move the story forward. All the while dragging on and killing exciting momentum. By the time the end came, I just didn't care.

The narration drove me crazy! The narrator has a good voice for narration of a non fiction book, but his accents are horrible and the differentiation between characters needs a lot of work. E.g., the Hispanic taxi driver has the same quasi British accent as the rest of the characters.

I was given this free review copy of this audio book in exchange for my unbiased review.

Interesting and different

I enjoyed the story even though it was way out in left field from normal (or maybe because it was.)
Astral travel, time travel, mind travel, thought control, right and wrong, good and evil, aliens living among us (they have been here a really long time so maybe this is their world too.) This book deals with it all as part of a cohesive story. Did I say cohesive? This story is very hard to get into because it jumps around so much. By the end it is all coming together enough that you are comfortable with who’s who but that is definitely not the case in the first half of the story.

I did not the like narration from Persephone Rose. Many of his characters sounded whiny most of the time and I do not believe it was written that way. There was reasonable differentiation for most characters however a couple with similar names and voices increased the confusion from the story jumping around so much.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audio book by the author, narrator, or publisher.

What a ride.

This book starts out in Atlantis, then you are in the present, or back in Alexandria. It keeps moving and you have to wonder what is going to happen next. A must. I received this audio book for free at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Love to have that stone!

The idea for the story was impressive but the story was difficult to get into. After chapter ten I started to give up. The idea that a stone can cause you to drop into another body in another time. Great imagination! I received this Audio book for free from Audiobook boom in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you for the listen.

Extraordinary!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I most definitely would. It has a very interesting plot that grabs your attention from the beginning and lasts through the end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Stone of Alexandria?

The way each character was presented in the different lives he had as a different person.

Have you listened to any of Persephone Rose’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I had not but I liked him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I received this book free for my honest opinion.

Great Concepts, never delivered

There were many great concepts and ideas in this book, but they got muddled by clunky dialogue, and a vast cast of characters that left me feeling connected to none of them. There were also plot threads and new characters that appeared late in the book that just got in the way. Some specific problems: the hero’s “mentor” is a useless jerk throughout that neither helps him, or has much of a point. Even his character’s payoff at the end left me feeling blah. Overall, there was a lack of tension in the plot – yes, everyone was looking for the stone, but there were no tight scrapes, chases, standoffs – even the body/time jumping didn’t add any tension. No one had any idea what the stone did (nearly) the entire book – I mean, nobody. Why did they all want it so bad? Never answered – it was simply the “McGuffin” which never felt powerful, until the climax – which felt rushed. The political intrigue subplot was useless, the love triangle fell flat – no one cared what happened to Jane, including Jane. There was a baffling switching of locations (west coast from east coast) which seemed needless. The only black character in the book was a generic, threatening thug. Really, the hero falls asleep when he was supposed to call the kidnappers? Then the kidnappers don’t care? Boring exposition and useless name/identity changes muddied the plot, slowed down the story. Phrases like “A wise decision to take” and “laughed out loud as if genuinely amused” left me shaking my head. With the teased history, concepts and ideas, I wanted to love this book. Mostly, I just wanted it to end.  

Interesting idea but ended up confusing and boring

The concepts of this story sounded intriguing when I read the description, but in execution, the story just dragged. I was initially confused by all the back and forth between different times and people, but then I just got bored. There is a lot of talking both between characters and internal monologue, and there is little action, minimal real suspense or danger, and little urgency. I listened to the end, because I wanted to know how it would turn out for Michael and what his connection to Sara was - it was made to sound like they were some kind of soulmates. Apparently not. In the end, this audiobook could have been cut in half and you wouldn't miss anything.

The narrator's voice was good and the delivery was even and clear, but some of the characters (like Roger) sounded like they were stoned most of the time. It was hard to see Mathews as a menace due to his flighty demeanor, and hard to take either he or Roger seriously.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

Meh... could have been better

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The premise was really interesting to me... a stone that send you into past lives... That being said, I thought this one missed the mark on execution. There was just too much dialog. In some places in the book there was so much talking that I lost interest in the action that was happening before. Overall, I thought the narrator did a good job, though some of his foreign accents (i.e. Arabic and Latin accents) sounded the same the same. All things considered, it was just ok and I wouldn't burn a credit on it.