It's been over five years since I received this ARC. I gave it a go and have decided it is not for me. It interested me then and no longer does now.

I started this a couple of times and couldn't get into it. I don't know if I'd have got on with it better if I'd read the other books in the same world yet, but this one didn't work for me.

The Gage and the Dead Man are sent on a mission to deliver a message to a queen in a faraway land. That same queen is facing down the prospect of having to marry to secure her legacy - but all her options are dire and she may well lose the power she now holds. In a different part of the kingdom, a widowed queen must secure the throne for her underage son, as the prospect of calamity and war threatens all that she holds dear. The Lotus Kingdoms stand on the brink of unrest, if not full on war, and these characters will find their fates colliding under the River of Stars, with unexpected consequences.

Where to even begin this review? This is my first foray in Bear's works, despite owning Karen Memory for years (shut up I'll get round to reading that eventually!) and of course I now feel like an absolute mug for not giving it a try sooner. It's a great novel, driven chiefly by its characters and their viewpoints: the Dead Man is a weary sellsword, a man who once served and protected the great Uthman Caliph but who now finds himself without a purpose; the Gage, a creation of the Wizards of Messaline and the ace protagonist that the bingo card called for, a metal man who outlived his creator and who now simply keeps going, for lack of any other true alternative; the Rajni Mrithuri, who cannot sit the Alchemical Throne but must lead its people nevertheless; and the Rajni Sayeh. For a book that clocks under 400 pages, Bear is able to create a vivid cast of characters that I could easily keep straight in my head and with whom I could just as easily fall in love. The viewpoint chapters are structured in such a way that it's incredibly easy to just keep reading, always eager to learn more about the world and its history.

Initially, I was hesitant about using this book for this particular square as I felt an automaton is a choice that isn't quite in the spirit of the square - after all, if the Gage is basically a robot, then it would make sense for him to also be asexual, right? Except... the Gage is actually so much more than just a robot and as the novel progressed, I found myself wanting to understand more and more about his creation, his purpose and what exactly drove him. I think by far he was the most interesting character to me, which is saying a lot in a book that has such a rich and varied cast of characters. The plot itself moves at a decent and steady pace, although the ending is a huge cliffhanger and I wasn't sure quite how I felt about all that. I've seen some comments suggest that it's because the first and second book were split up, which I guess spared us yet another mammoth doorstopper, but on the other hand now means I will have to get the sequel, because I have to know what happens next. For those who prefer that their first books in a trilogy feel like standalones, then The Stone in the Skull won't work for you.

So why not a shining, glowing 5 star review? Because some things fell into place just a little bit too neatly for my liking. It felt especially out of place as Bear does such a tremendous job at worldbuilding, character creation and motivation that both of them stood out like a sore thumb, but it's still such a solid novel and I am really excited about the sequel.

This book wasn't what I was expecting it to be and that is completely my fault. I guess I was in some sort of mood when I read it and it didn't lead to a good reading experience. I can see its appeal though, and I have recommended it to a few patrons that are interested in this sort of book and they've loved it.

If you're a fan of gigantic spiraling epic fantasies, then you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice to overlook this book. Seriously, do yourself a favor and dive in.

This one appeals to the adult fantasy reader that I am.

3.5ish stars

This book has transportive worldbuilding and exquisite descriptions of a unique setting. Some interesting characters are introduced and the stage is set for what seems like it will be a great series. The downside is that the book is almost entirely stage-setting; it hints at great things to come, but doesn't show a lot of greatness in and of itself.

It might be a more fulfilling read for those who are familiar with Bear's Eternal Sky series, with which this book shares a universe. I have not, so some nuance might be lost on me. I thought the first 3/4 was very slow. Things get exciting at the end (including a horrible cliffhanger!) but it was too little, too late for me to love the book. I'll settle for liking it instead, and probably pick up the next in the series with the hope that the pace picks up.

The Stone in the Skull kicks off strong with a unique and visual scene of a group of mercenaries featuring two of the main characters. Gage is an automaton and the other one? He is called The Dead Man. OK, it got my attention! Then when the setting changes, I honestly became more invested and quickly preferred the perspectives of Sayeh and Mrithuri, two powerful women who are each ruling their own kingdoms. Gotta love a book that features not just one, but two powerful women that can control the fate of their land. So, my first impressions this book were really strong, however, I am was disappointed that my overall experience was not on that same level.

This is one of those books that I leave feeling quite conflicted. It started strong and through out, there were parts and passages of it that I loved, convincing me that I would have an overall positive experience. Unfortnately, something held me back. While I love the premise of this book, and I actually quite like most of her prose there seemed to be a pacing issue as well as inconsistent strength of perspectives. As the book progressed, I realized I found myself rather detatched from most of the characters and in turn, eventually, the story itself. This book was so different from the fun and fast paced Karen Memory and maybe it was at a slight disadvantage because when I started as I was in the mood for fast and fun.

Honestly, this book has some impressive strengths, I can not deny Bear’s ability to craft prose and create richly detailed scenes as the book is vivid and quite descriptive. The passages hold on their own, particularly if you enjoy details. However, I really feel like I would have enjoyed this more if more time had been spent on character development. I am a reader who needs an attachment to the characters or at least their story and I found the slow pace just didn’t work for me in this one. So while I had an initially positive experience, unfortunately the story as a whole just didnt hold my attention. For readers that love descriptive prose, I would still recommend they give this one a try as there were enough strengths that I am sure other readers may have a more positive experience than I did.

Elizabeth Bear's The Stone in the Skull is the start to a lush fantasy trilogy that felt a lot at times to be the fantasy counterpart to Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness as it explores gender and identity against the backdrop of political intrigue and upheaval. I hadn't realized it is the start to a sequel trilogy of a previous series of Bear's. While I think that I probably could have benefited from being a little more familiar with the world before diving into this one, I don't feel like I was alienated in any way from the enjoyment of The Stone and the Skull's story because this story is set several decades after the first trilogy. My only issue with the book was that it took too long for the heart of the story to really reveal itself. I was more than halfway through the book before I felt as if I could connect with almost any of the characters. My favorite characters, however, are the Gage and the Dead Man, so I'm looking forward to seeing how their story progresses in the rest of the trilogy!

This starts off well. The two main characters, mercenaries, are currently signed on as caravan guards to get to where they are going (to deliver something important). What immediately sets them apart is that one is a Dead Man, the one-time bodyguard of a now-dead caliph who hides his face behind a veil (only revealing his face to someone he's about to kill). The other is a Gage, a metal man created by a now-dead wizard. The Gage used to be a human, but physically there's nothing organic left. The Gage and the Dead Man have formed a good working relationship that has become a friendship. Mrithuri, the young rajni of the Lotus Kingdom is beset my enemies. The message the two mercenaries carry is supposed to help her. In the meantime, in the kingdom next door, Mrithuri's cousin Sayeh is regent for her young son, and in an even more dangerous predicament as volcanic activity, and an army led by the Boneless and both vying to destroy her kingdom.

This book doesn't quite end on a cliffhanger but it's obvious that the biggest battle is yet to come, but the characters are all in place now and their relationships established. The world-building is rich and detailed with a strong flavour of southern Asia and a completely weird 'day-is-night' vibe going on with the 'cauled sun'

This is in the same world as Ms Bear's Eternal Sky trilogy, but set fifty years later with new characters. I haven't read the previous trilogy and I would say this easily stands alone.

I really enjoyed this read and being one of the few people that hold world building of greater importance than character development this book was right up my ally, because.. WOW the world building!!
Saying that, the varied cast were brilliantly entertaining as well as the wizards and cat-ish people, WIZARDS AND CAT-ISH PEOPLE!
By no mean was this a quick read for me, although I do take longer when reading fantasy but that is purely because I didn't want to miss anything.
Yes, this is part of a sequel series, but I had no clue until about half way through, and it definitely didn't take anything away from the story.
I especially enjoyed all the varied influences; steampunk and Asian/middle east. as well as the travelling and varied settings. It really was a great read.

With worldbuilding that rivals those of Brandon Sanderson and a magic system that nearly breathes life in its danger and spellbinding intricacies, THE STONE IN THE SKULL is a pretty kick-ass read.

Amazing, fresh fantasy with vivid characters and a plot that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Stone in the Skull is a fantastic book for all fantasy fans. With Middle Eastern influences, extensive world-building and solid writing you'll be desperate for Bear to write the next installment quickly - I know I am! Really enjoyed this book.

Although I didn't release until halfway through this book, this is actually the start of a sequel series. I found that you can still read it without reading the other series though. There are many good things about this book but unfortunately it just didn't quite work for me. The world building is definitely a strength of this book and the two main characters are interesting but I found that the plot didn't translate into an engaging story for me. This book seemed alot longer to me because it took me quite some time to get through it. Overall I think this has a lot of potential but in the end I found the slow plot to be a bit of an issue. If you are interested in the plot I think it is still worth checking out.

This review and others posted over at <a href="http://milliebotreads.com/"><b>my blog.</b></a>

I have no idea how to describe the plot of this book in a succinct way that also makes sense. It’s fantasy, with a touch of steampunk and an Asian feel to the world. The book is heavy on political intrigue and geography, yet the characters are so compelling that two potentially boring (for me, anyway) subjects fell neatly into the background.

I don’t normally refer to maps, but I found the one in this book particularly helpful in giving me a sense of the world. In the first half of the book, there’s a lot of travel going on and it was nice to get a feel for where the characters were headed.

Oh, the characters. What an unexpectedly varied cast this book has! The Dead Man is not actually dead – I think his title has something to do with his religion or like, former job – his face is just constantly veiled. His home is gone and I got the sense that he’s the “dying breed” type though people still recognize his title. The Gage is a sweet fuckin’ automaton built by a wizard and towards the end of the story, his character had some excellent development that I didn’t see coming. There’s a priest of indeterminate gender who is much more powerful than they seem and has a badass golden eye. There are two ruling Rajnis (like princesses or queens, I suppose) who are actually cousins. One is addicted to snake venom because it helps her deal with the stress of ruling alone, the other is of “the third sex” and has to fight to keep her reign so that her young son can rule in the future.

On top of all that there are court wizards both male and female, cat-like people and dragons! There’s even a boneless man. The cast was more diverse than any I’ve come across in a fantasy book in quite some time and I loved it.

I loved the world building too. It wasn’t heavy-handed, yet I felt I really had a grasp on what Bear was going for. I love when an author can accomplish some complex world building without dense chapters of history and geography.

Totally random gripe: There was a sentence that felt incredibly modern and it really pulled me out of the story for a moment.

“Pain is the proof that sometimes God is too busy thinking about blowjobs to do Her work properly, and in the interstices people get hurt.”

I’m not implying that people didn’t use the word “blowjob” in ye olde times, but something about the way this sentence was constructed had me scratching my head. Incredibly minor issue, however.

I do take issue with the end of this book though! It’s a total cliffhanger and I’m mad as hell because this book just came out AND I NEED MORE! I wanna know what happens next right now not in a year or more. I’m going to forget everything by the time the next book comes out (shush, those of you saying how I forget a book a few weeks after I read it).

I will definitely be reading more work by Elizabeth Bear. Fun fact, she’s married to Scott Lynch of Lies of Locke Lamora fame! I knew she was cool! I highly recommend this if you’re looking for something a little different in your fantasy, but be prepared for that ending!

I received this book for free from Tor in exchange for an honest review.

This book has some absolutely beautiful prose, to start with. Just sitting down and having a good couple hours over the weekend to get settled in the world was nice. It starts out with a bang, with a good deal of action in the first chapter but slows down a bit after that into more intrigue and politics. It’s still full of twists and turns, most of which I didn’t at all guess at, and settles into an ending that left me wanting more.

This story moves between a few POVs, alternating between four characters, the Gage and the Dead Man, mercenaries who are guarding a caravan traveling over the mountains into the Lotus Kingdoms while they also carry an important message to one of those kingdoms, and Mrithuri and Sayeh, two of the queens of different Lotus Kingdoms. There’s a war brewing in these kingdoms, and getting to see different facets of that from different places was neat. The changes in POV give a really interesting view of the world from different perspectives, and I liked that quite a lot.

The Gage is an interesting character, in that he is a humanoid automaton. Created by a long-dead Messaline Wizard, he’s human at his core, and brass everywhere else. The idea of how he came to be and where he comes from lent a little bit of wondrous curiosity to the story. The Dead Man is another interesting character, a mercenary now that his more or less raison d’être no longer exists, he and the Gage have become friends, of a sort, because of their very similar, and yet profoundly different circumstances.

I really enjoyed how the story unfolded in this one, as you learn more and more details about each of the characters and how they got to be where they are. I loved the relationships that were forged between characters. I wasn’t sure right at the onset of her storyline whether I was going to end up liking Mrithuri, but she ended up being pretty much my favorite by the end. Her and the Dead Man.

All told, I really liked this one. I’m excited to read the next volume!

Thank you so much for sending me a copy of this book for review.
Unfortunately - this book just wasn't for me and I find myself struggling to finish it. Elizabeth Bear is a talented writer, but I found it difficult to stay focused on this story.

I had previously only read one book by Elizabeth Bear (Karen Memory) and I knew this new one was the first in a new triogy set in the same world as her Eternal Sky trilogy that I had been meaning to read for a while. PLUS the cover of this new one features some sort of dragon or wyrm and was made by a cover artist I really like the style of: Richard Anderson!

I read that this was a good entry point for new readers so I thought, why not! And guess what, I was not disappointed! I really need to invest in more books by Elizabeth Bear because she could very much become a new favourite author for me!

I struggled a little bit for the first few pages to get past the descriptions and understand what was going on, who I was following and where. But then it quickly picked up and I started enjoying myself quite a bit. This starts with a fight against an ice-wyrm by one of the main character, called the Dead Man (an old soldier from a fallen empire) and his companion: the Gage, a brass automaton who used to be a human. For an epic start, that was an epic start! The cover reflect this fight, because there are no more apparences of such ice-wyrm or such epic battle for the rest of the book.

This is mostly a set-up book, you can feel everything building up for the sequel, the stakes are laid down, the characters are fleshed out and their motivations are explained. The main storyline is of these two accompanying a caravan throughout mountains and border kingdoms, in order to arrive to the Lotus Kingdom to deliver an important message from a Wizard.

The other main characters are both Rajni (queen, or ruler): Mrithuri is a young rajni who’s refusing to marry and trying to hold the throne with all her strenght, and Sayeh is older, in her fifties, also trying to hold her throne now that her husband is dead and she has a young child. It is notable that Sayeh is a trans woman, who was able to give birth thanks to her Wizard’s knowledge of magic and surgery. I felt like the way the narrative handled this side of her identity was great because it is never questioned, and even a side thought by Mrithuri on another occasion addresses the idea of gender. (I haven’t been able to find reviews from trans reviewers and I will try to link several as soon as I can find some!)
They are both very strong women in different ways, struggling to take a hold of their very different kingdoms and fighting against bad omens.

The worldbuilding is really rich, you can see the author is really trying to make us have a feel of it through a lot of descriptions, of clothes, towns, people, architecture, landscapes… I usually do not like the long descriptions/little plot combo, but I actually really enjoyed it here, it really helped to give a body to the story, the world being as important as the characters. The world is inspired by pre-colonial India (if I understood correctly), and I was glad to see in the Acknowledgments that the author had asked for several Indian or Indian-American women’s insight. This makes me think that it was all done with respect to the source material and with care. Of course I cannot judge, feel free to link any review you could find from “ownvoices” reviewers on the comment section! I looked for them but since the book only came out this month I didn’t find any yet as well.

I loved how magic was incorporated to the story, how many magical creatures and different religions and deities, different kind of wizards and school of magic there were. It’s one of my favourite thing in fantasy novels!

The voices of the Dead Man and the Gage were really funny, with a lot of snark and sarcasm, them having lived such a long time and being a bit disillusioned about the world and what they’re expecting from it.
Another very good point for me is the number of female characters in the novel. The Stone in the Skull has four main characters where two are women, but there are also a great number of supporting characters that are women: very young ones, elderly ones… From the first chapter I was worried about the absence of women but to my delight I was very quickly proven wrong. They have a lot to say about their place as women, what the world hold for them and a lot of my favourite quotes are from Sayeh and Mrithuri.

A note before the conclusion: There is a (long) sex scene around the end of the novel, and I’m mentionning this since I know some people do not like to read graphic sex. Still, I have to add that I liked how this scene did not involve penetration and was consensual, focused on the pleasure of the woman. This is still a bit rare in epic fantasy and that is why I felt I needed to mention it. In case it might be the tilting point for someone to buy this 😉 or the contrary!

While being a book with not too much action and a lot of political intrigue, I really loved the characters and grew to care very much for them. I highlighted a lot of this book, from really cool or fun quotes to quotes that resonated with me. I love Elizabeth Bear’s style and will absolutely read the next one, plus more novels from her!

Don't take this summary for an example of all the book is. While The Gage and The Dead Man are important characters, there are other amazing characters who are also driving forces in this novel.

I feel like books at the moment are trending towards very short chapters with quick jumps between people and places. The Stone in the Skull goes in very much the opposite direction. I think one of the reasons this book took me so long was that the chapters are quite meaty. While it is multiple POV you stay with one character for so long it's more like reading a collection of interwoven short stories. Since the different characters and places within this story are so rich in imagination and in description it certainly doesn't make for a boring book, it just takes a bit of effort to really get your teeth into it.

I think it's the little details within the heavy text that make this book as good as it is. I adored all the descriptions of The Gage, I have a very clear picture of how he would look in my mind. This level of detail extends throughout the book into the different cultures described, the individual characters. The description is so vivid I could probably still tell you now what I thought different people or places might smell like.

I'll be interested to hear what others in the LGBTQIA+ community think of this book, since it does touch on issues surrounding gender identity and a little on sexuality. It's not the driving force of the action but it is mentioned more than once and the representation is certainly there. I'm not the right voice to dictate whether that representation is accurate or appropriate so I'll be on the look out for other opinions.

Put simply, this is an excellent fantasy novel with some lovely unique elements. Bear has set up a world I am eager to read more about, with characters whose fates I genuinely care about. I look forward to seeing what else comes of this trilogy. Also, could there be more dragons? There was some...I need more.

My rating: 4/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

https://lynns-books.com/2017/10/26/the-stone-in-the-skull-lotus-kingdoms-1-by-elizabeth-bear/
I’m going to start this review by saying that I loved The Stone in the Skull. This is a beautifully written story, truly epic in scope, resplendent with creativity and graced with wonderful characters that you can’t help feeling attached to and caring about.

The story gets off to a breathtaking start and a speedy introduction to two of our main characters. A caravan travelling south across the Steles of the Sky is attacked and only the quick thinking of two of the mercenaries hired as protection saves the day. Gage and The Dead Man. They carry an important message and are anxious to reach the Lotus Kingdom in a timely fashion.

Meanwhile we witness two important ceremonies. The first introduces us to Mrithuri as she embarks on an age old ceremony that will bestow a prophecy upon her kingdom for the forthcoming months. Mrithuri is ruler to a prosperous kingdom. As such she has been pursued by plenty of suitors and whilst she has managed to fend off proposals for many years, not wishing to hand over her power to a man, the issue is becoming more critical and her neighbours, tired of waiting for an alliance through marriage are amassing armies on her doorstep. The second ceremony is a more dangerous affair that involves divers seeking fresh water to sustain the people of the kingdom. Reyna, cousin to Mrithuri, is currently acting Regent for her three year old son. Her kingdom is much poorer and her people frequently struggle to survive. Unfortunately, the water gathering doesn’t go exactly as planned and whilst this will once again cause unrest and undoubtedly prompt the people to call for Reyna to marry, it also highlights a much greater threat to the kingdom.

To the characters then. The main four are as above, although there are also a number of intriguing peripheral characters. The two main females play strong roles and I really enjoyed reading about both heir stories but I can’t deny that, for me, the Gage and the Dead Man stole the show a little with their friendship and strange, yet compelling, banter. The Gage, once a human being, is now an automaton, created by a Wizard who no longer exists. The Dead Man was once a bodyguard to a deposed Caliphate. Both, lacking purpose, have become mercenaries. Strangely enough, and in spite of the scope of the story here, I would almost say that the real focus for this instalment at least, is for these two to find a purpose – which they certainly manage to do by the end of the book. What I really liked about all the characters is the amount of emotional depth that Bear succeeds in bestowing upon them, it’s enough to make you weep with joy. Seriously, this author is an expert at characterisation. I think where she also really succeeds is in finding their individual motivations and this is what makes them so compelling to read.

I’m not going to elaborate on the plot, suffice to say that there is truly a lot of scope here not to mention an elaborate set up for the next book – in a good way. However, if you’re expecting 10,000 orcs marching into battle with all the resultant bloodshed then you may be slightly disappointed. This story may be epic but the majority of the action takes place off page. Don’t get me wrong, I’m probably making it sound as though nothing happens, which is far from the truth, there are disasters and betrayals that inevitably lead to bloodshed and violence, but the nature of this story focuses much more intently on the central characters and the political and court intrigue surrounding them. There are riddles, poets, magicians, revenants and kidnapping and a final uncovering of certain inevitable truths that will no doubt be the focus of the next book. The writing is compelling and beautiful and the overall result is a gradual but deep connection to the main cast and for me an irresistible urge to have the next instalment in front of me right now.

Put simply, I loved this. The setting is well portrayed, the cast are easy to embrace and the overall plot is intriguing. I’m not going to deny that this is a slow build and that once the initial burst of excitement from the opening chapters is out of the way this does calm down considerably but personally I didn’t find that a problem because I was so engrossed in the Lotus Kingdom and it’s rich descriptions. A real beauty of a book.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.