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A review by 2ndchance_chad
The Stone of Destiny by Andrew Neil Macleod
4.0
I picked this up as an eARC via Netgalley earlier this year. I did anticipate this one being a bit different than my usual reads let alone ARC's. I didn't realize when I first signed up for it that it was book two but I figured I'd give it a shot anyways. I still want to go back and read the first book. However, the way book two is put together it wasn't that bad just jumping into this adventure.
With that being said, as I started The Stone of Destiny it definitely gave strong vibes of Sherlock Holmes and even so far as just some retellings of some well know stories from yester-year.
Character development was solid in this book. We definitely learn a lot about our two main protagonists throughout the book. We also have many supporting characters through out each story as well to learn about. Some are very shallow in what we learn but others do go a bit more in depth, especially those that do come back around more than once.
Pacing the pacing initially started off a bit rough for me. Not so much the speed of the story but the confusion and jarring switch of stories. It wasn't until about halfway or more through the book that I realized the collection of short stories being told were in fact the same grand adventure as things started falling into place. I really liked the initial plot of the Stone of Destiny and was kind of disappointed when I thought that story kind of got abandoned as we moved onto other stories. However, trust in the author's process as things will make sense eventually!
World building was probably the strongest aspect for me. With the telling of so many different stories around the world and connecting these to historical facts and/or myths (however loosely) was what made this such an enjoyable read to me. When finished, I couldn't help but take a breath and only try to grasp the grand adventure these two just took part in over a relatively short time period!
Overall the book got stronger and became more of the authors own as it progressed. The ending was solid and I enjoyed the note from the author at the end apologizing on how fast and loose he used historical events and persons. As a consumer of entertainment I am blessed with the ability to take most stories regardless of media at face value and hope to simply enjoy the ride. But I know not everyone feels the same. So I enjoyed this little addition at the end. I could definitely see myself looking into more works from the author especially more adventures from Johnson and Boswell.
I'd recommend this to a reader that likes a more traditional mystery such as Sherlock Holmes with a general sprinkle of history and mythology. This isn't a long read and the writing style did flow well. I did find myself looking up a few words here and there that weren't familiar to me in present day United States. Not sure if they are used in the United Kingdom these days or if they harken back more to older times when the story takes place.
With that being said, as I started The Stone of Destiny it definitely gave strong vibes of Sherlock Holmes and even so far as just some retellings of some well know stories from yester-year.
Character development was solid in this book. We definitely learn a lot about our two main protagonists throughout the book. We also have many supporting characters through out each story as well to learn about. Some are very shallow in what we learn but others do go a bit more in depth, especially those that do come back around more than once.
Pacing the pacing initially started off a bit rough for me. Not so much the speed of the story but the confusion and jarring switch of stories. It wasn't until about halfway or more through the book that I realized the collection of short stories being told were in fact the same grand adventure as things started falling into place. I really liked the initial plot of the Stone of Destiny and was kind of disappointed when I thought that story kind of got abandoned as we moved onto other stories. However, trust in the author's process as things will make sense eventually!
World building was probably the strongest aspect for me. With the telling of so many different stories around the world and connecting these to historical facts and/or myths (however loosely) was what made this such an enjoyable read to me. When finished, I couldn't help but take a breath and only try to grasp the grand adventure these two just took part in over a relatively short time period!
Overall the book got stronger and became more of the authors own as it progressed. The ending was solid and I enjoyed the note from the author at the end apologizing on how fast and loose he used historical events and persons. As a consumer of entertainment I am blessed with the ability to take most stories regardless of media at face value and hope to simply enjoy the ride. But I know not everyone feels the same. So I enjoyed this little addition at the end. I could definitely see myself looking into more works from the author especially more adventures from Johnson and Boswell.
I'd recommend this to a reader that likes a more traditional mystery such as Sherlock Holmes with a general sprinkle of history and mythology. This isn't a long read and the writing style did flow well. I did find myself looking up a few words here and there that weren't familiar to me in present day United States. Not sure if they are used in the United Kingdom these days or if they harken back more to older times when the story takes place.