Product Description

A fantasy novella by the best-selling author of Ender's Game.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #161958 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 112 pages

From Publishers Weekly
An overly predictable plot, a deficit of character development and a deus ex machina conclusion distract from the dreamy prose and intricate world-building of this fairy tale novella from Hugo-winner Card (Keeper of Dreams). Runnel, a friendless peasant from a village so humble that money is a new concept, stumbles into a centuries-old feud when he travels to Mitherhome, the city of the wetwizards, seeking his fortune. He accepts a servant's position in the household of the sole stonemage permitted within the city walls, where his untapped magical talents and his fascination with his master's abilities are a predictably dangerous combination. Card's obvious familiarity with his world and its enthralling history, due to be expanded in the forthcoming Mithermages series, makes for a pleasant, if shallow, interlude. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
In this novella-length precursor to Card’s forthcoming fantasy saga Mithermages, a young man leaves his home town for the big, mage-ridden city and learns that he has powers. Unfortunately, he hasn’t learned how to wield them, a good many people want to exploit his ignorance, and his strong ethical standards make him cautious about risking harm to anybody. Absorbing tales have sprung from such plot and character mainsprings for millennia, including much modern fantasy, from Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter, and not excluding Card’s own magisterial Hatrack River saga. Judging from Stonefather, it seems we’re about to receive another American fantasy classic from Card. --Roland Green

Customer Reviews

Quintessential Card
Orson Scott Card hooked me with a neat little story in Omni magazine many years ago called "Fat Farm"--in fact, his short story collection Maps in a Mirror is among my favorite books. I had felt that his interests in writing fiction were waning as he pursued other artistic and commercial goals but was wonderfully surprised to discover this story, which is reminiscent of "A Planet Called Treason" and harks back to Mr. Card's powerful early work. Though ostensibly a fantasy, I suspect that the world of the Mithermages and the conflicts of its inhabitants will bear more than a passing familiarity with current world events.

Mr. Card is at his best when discussing Powers--he often utilizes creation themes and his characters, like all of us, have gifts waiting to be discovered. There are echoes of Jason Worthing lurking in this story of a young man who discovers that his life offers much more adventure than he had any reason to suspect. A young man from a hick town who comes to a realization of his pivotal position and stature, no doubt to play a major role in the promised series. With Power comes Choice and nothing is more evident in Mr. Card's writing than his care to portray the struggle to do good and to make wise choices.

There is joy and meaning in this story as well as evident mastery in the telling of it. I look forward to the remainder of the series with great interest and am grateful to have found this volume before it sold out. It is a must own for any fan of Mr. Card's work.

Highly Recommended

Great Start to a New Series, Only Wish It Was Longer
You can read the summary of the story in other reviews. This is just some of my impressions about the novella.

I've heard this was the start to a new series, which couldn't make me happier. I enjoyed Stonefather a lot more than some of Card's other novellas of late.

The story set up the magic system in this new fantasy world and had a typical Card hero (a young boy coming into his power and learning more about it).

Because it was a novella, I finished it in a day. So take a Saturday and sit down with this book. You won't be disappointed.

Definitely interested in the series (3.5 stars)
"Stonefather" is our introduction to Orson Scott's new series, the Mithermages. It's the story of Runnel, an abused child from parents who'd just as soon forgot he existed in a village that's a few steps below third world even for a fantasy.

Runnel runs away from his village and discovers there's a whole new world out there. That includes friends, which is definitely a different concept for him. When he signs up as a servant in a stone mage's house, he quickly learns he's got some abilities of his own.

The short's rich in details of the world, but the story vehicle is one we've heard before time and again. "Stonefather" is still a hopeful tale that opens our eyes to a new world that I'm very much looking forward to exploring.

Rebecca Kyle, November 2008