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Keeper Of The Black Stones (2013)

by P.T. McHugh(Favorite Author)

4.28 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0981676804 (ISBN13: 9780981676807)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Glass House Press

series

Stone Ends

review 1: I was so excited for this book! It combines historical fiction and fantasy - two of my favorite genres. It also grabbed me right away; I was completely taken in with the characters and concept. And then they went back in time and - in my opinion - it all fell apart.Now, in all fairness, I happen to be a medieval reenactor, so anything dealing with the medieval or renaissance time periods automatically gets critically judged by me. Here were my pet peeves:- It is under debate as to whether or not the late 15th century is even medieval. Some sources and some parts of the world still claim it is, but from what I've read and understand, I would consider it to be early renaissance. Is this nitpicking? Yes. But it always bothers me when people confuse the terms medieval ... moreand renaissance. We clarify the difference between 1980's and 1990's fashion but when it comes to these two time periods with vastly different clothing, beliefs, and events, there were hundreds of years apart, everybody seems to just clump them together. I think this was a teaching opportunity the author missed out on.- In the 15th century people were still speaking middle English. The author mentions "an accent" that those from the future have, but that's as far as it goes. I am sorry, but if a bunch of teens from modern America stumble upon a group of people who speak nothing but middle English, they won't understand ANYTHING they are saying. MAYBE if they saw it phonetically written out they could make parallels, but listening to it by fluent speakers? No way. The author had every opportunity, using the magic black stone to have those who time travel be automatically imbued with some sort of translation abilities, but he instead just chose to ignore it completely. I could see how Dresden, who had been there for 17 years, could be fluent. Even maybe Doc who had traveled in and out and maybe took some advanced courses to learn middle English. But there's no way those kids could have accomplished all of the dialogue they did in that story without a translator. - A 15th century girl wouldn't just up and wear pants! Katherine, a girl native to the past that the protagonists met along the way, goes from a "normal" 15th century girl to adopting ridiculously modern ways of thinking within days of meeting the main characters. That's so unrealistic it broke the character for me. A girl that was raised in the 15th century would have been so indoctrinated with that time period's way of thinking, there's no way she could have made those leaps without years of time to adjust. In reality she probably would have been in fear of her immortal soul for showing the outline of her body in such a way. The thought of putting on pants never would have occurred to her and she should have been shocked by Tatiana's behavior and clothing. As members of a modern society, we desperately want to emancipate oppressed women like Katherine. That's laudable. But to make it happen in a matter of days just to make the reader happy and to make the character fit in better with the rest of the group is just irresponsible. In my opinion, the beauty of historical fiction is that non-real elements can outline and bring to light real events, thereby bringing excitement AND education to the reader. When you add fantastic elements to the mix, like in this book, it just makes it even more exciting. But the historical elements need to be accurate or it all falls apart. Keep your fantasy fantastic. Keep your science scientific. Keep your history historical.
review 2: KEEPER OF THE BLACK STONES by P.T. McHugh is an exciting YA Fantasy/Time Travel story. #1 in “Stone Ends”,what a beginning. Follow fourteen year-old Jason Evans on a journey of discovery, as he learns about his legacy, tries to save the world,save his grandfather and find his place. Young Jason jumps through time from modern day, Lebanon, New Hampshire to 1485 A.D. England,this is done by the use of some Black Stones. Follow, Jason and his friends on a grand adventure filled with danger,secrets, Henry VII,Richard III, the Dark Ages,an evil man who wishes to shape the world according to his plans and save the world. What a powerful and intriguing story! “Keeper of the Black Stones” is a fun read, written cleverly,with historical facts and events, including the Plantagenets and the Tudors,and a grand adventure. Oh did I mention educational as well as a fun read! Well written with vivid descriptions and engaging characters as well as an intriguing plot. Any avid reader, rather YA fan or not will enjoy this fast paced, adventure filled story of Jason Evans and his friends. A must read! Received for an honest review from the author and Pump Up Your Book.RATING: 4HEAT RATING: SWEETREVIEWED BY: AprilR, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More less

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