Review Tour: Fraction of Stone by Kelley Lynn

Fraction of Stone

There is only one among the Tarmack nation with the ability to wield magic, eighteen-year-old Rydan Gale. He lives like a prince, cherished for his talent to bend the fabric of the universe to his will. In the war against the Liasam, he is their ultimate weapon.

The Liasam have a source of magic as well, but Akara’s mastery of her power is rudimentary at best. With a brilliant display of fire-rain Rydan’s side wins the war, giving the Tarmack sole control over dwindling resources due to the natural disasters ripping apart the earth.

When Akara is sentenced to death, Rydan questions the motive, and discovers the leaders of the newly unified nation fear magic above all else. With war a memory, his skills no longer needed, Rydan suspects he is next. Throwing away every comfort, he pulls Akara from the flames of her execution and their lives as fugitives begin.

Both have a tattoo on the back of their neck, the mark of an extinguished tribe. They discover the natural disasters plaguing the world are due to the tribe’s demise and only Rydan and Akara can save the crumbling world.

But the greatest obstacle for saving mankind isn’t the bizarre creatures and determined men hunting them.

It’s that Akara doesn’t believe the world is worth saving.

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Kelley Lynn

During Kelley Lynn’s last year at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, while pursuing her degree in Chemical Engineering, the voices in her head got the best of her. Surprisingly, they didn’t want to talk about process flow diagrams and heat capacity. They preferred the fantastical. So instead of turning to her Thermodynamics book, Kelley brought up a blank page on her computer screen and wrote.

Come graduation, not only did Kelley have a diploma and, thankfully, a wonderful job, but she had a new obsession as well. Amidst the order and exactness that came with the nine to five, Kelley found a way to create; to determine the rules of a world and take her characters to the limits of what was possible. Perhaps she has a slight control complex.

The first in the series, Fraction of Stone, was born on an airplane and took ten days to write. It probes the question, should the world be saved if there’s no one in it worth saving?

When briefly managing to quiet the voices, Kelley participates in softball, soccer and volleyball. (You probably don’t want her on your volleyball team. Unless you want to laugh.) She lives with her sister and her dog who can attest to the chair that has Kelley’s butt print permanently pressed into it. Depending on the weekend, you might be able to hear Kelley sing for an area classic rock band.

Kelley Lynn is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

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And now, here's my review of this amazing book!

My Rating

My Review

I really enjoyed Fraction of Stone. It’s been a while since I last read, and this book only served as a reminder of how much I miss reading and why I love to read. From beginning to the end, the story was well laid out, interesting and just so addictive to read. I couldn’t, or perhaps, didn’t want to look away from the book. The characters were strong, with the character development excellent. The ending was great, and only made me want to read more.

From the start, I was hooked. The book threw me into the action from the start and just made me want to read more and more. I loved the fast pace of the book, where details were shared where necessary and it wasn’t overkill. Throughout the entire story, I found myself wanting to know more about this world that the author has created. I loved the reasoning behind all the climate issues and problems the world was facing.

For the character development of this book, I truly did love reading about it. I just could feel them maturing in front of my very eyes and as Kara started to love, to trust, it just felt so beautiful. And as I watched Rydan grow up, out of that initial selfish person he was, it just felt so amazing. They were very believable characters, and very well written, such that I found no difficulty in connecting with them at all.

The ending was action-driven and fascinating to read about. Even though I was certain that there would be a good ending, I couldn’t help but clench my fists in anticipation and nervousness for the characters. Because, what if things did go wrong, what if it was an unexpected ending?

However, I do wish that there was a little more focus on magic. As in, in terms of Rydan teaching Kara how to do magic. I find it a little weird that throughout the entire journey, there wasn’t much emphasis on that part, or on the whole magic part. I do like how Kara is so talented with magic, even though she was barely taught anything, and I do look forward to seeing what more she can do in the future, after she is trained.

When I reached the end of the book, it was a bittersweet feeling. While the ending was generally what I expected, it felt sad to me, to have to say goodbye to these amazing characters and the world that the author has created. They were very three dimensional, and even the supporting characters were good. Even though I feel that at certain points, there were too many names for me to remember, when Rydan was speaking to his ‘friends’ that were chasing him, it was just a small little thing with me, and one that barely affected me.

I do look forward to seeing what more the author can come up with. If Fraction of Stone, her debut novel, can be so good, I can barely imagine what can come after with more writing experience. I’m glad that this series has not ended yet, and that I will get to see more of Rydan and Kara. Oh and I love them together. They are just so perfect for each other!

Finished reading: 7 March 2013

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