Hunt, Walter H.: A Song in Stone
A Song in Stone (2008)
Written by: Walter H. Hunt
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 392 (ARC)
Disclaimer: received ARC from publisher via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's Program
I've been quite curious about the titles released by Wizards of the Coast Discoveries. One was an absolute hit; one was an absolute miss, and I've got another unread on my bookshelf. A Song in Stone nabbed my interest in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers list, so I signed up. Why not? Of course, when I actually got the book, I let it sit on my shelf forEVER, and LT keeps reminding me I need to read and review it so I'll be eligible for later drawings. Okay, FINE. I'll read it. :)
The premise: I'm not even going to try and summarize this, so we're going to the WotCD site for this one:
Friday the 13th of October
1307
A fateful day for the powerful Order of the Temple.
Arrested by the King of France, betrayed by the Holy Father, the Templars will cease to exist.
And Ian Graham, twenty-first century television personality, has just found himself in 1307 -- and an initiate of the Order.
He has ten weeks to escape death or torture -- if he can find his way home.
Review style: two sections, what I liked and what I didn't. Expect some spoilers.
What I Liked
One of my favorite things about this book, something the premise doesn't even mention, is the music. I once heard that music was the closest we could get to God, and there are times I truly believe that. Seeing that notion spelled out in fiction was really cool. I loved how the healing music of Rosslyn is essentially the focus and the guide for Ian Graham, though I have trouble suspending my disbelief when it comes to the music being the key (ha ha) for Graham's transportation back in time. But I love how I have a basis to find the music that Hunt had in his head with Poulenc's Litanies de la Vierge Noire (though there's a good chance I heard it during my years as a music major and simply forgot).
I also liked the treatment of religion in this text. Too often I read fantasy and fiction, even SF, where religion feels exaggerated, extreme, or simply awkward in the course of the story, like it doesn't fit. It fits here easily, in part due to the nature of the plot, going back to 1307 where religion was IT. And while my knowledge of the Knights Templar is pretty much limited to The DaVinci Code (yeah, I know, I'm bad), I was interested to see the pilgrimage, and I was also interested in just what each site was supposed to accomplish, if said visions were the expected this. Granted, this is fiction, so I'm under no illusions here that what Hunt portrays in this book is factual in terms of expectations (time travel and magical music aside), but the idea that a person would travel to different cathedrals and experience some kind of vision, which would be considered an initiation, between him and his God is quietly powerful. I also found myself fascinated by the history of the various cathedrals and how they were built, like Christianity itself, on the roots of pagan symbols and religion. All very, very interesting stuff. I just hope those little factoids were true, and I'll explain why here in a little bit.
Also fascinating was the treatment of differing selves. Echoes or whatever you want to call it. I did have trouble (still do, to be honest) grasping that whole concept of how some people seem to live simultaneously in two times and others are echoes of something else, but anytime you smack any form or indication of reincarnation in a book, I'm usually happy. I liked seeing Ian walk the labyrinth with his medieval self--that was a very A Wizard of Earthsea-esque moment, and quite lovely.
And most amusing was the fact that the music was, when translated, the numeric key for the genetic code for Jesus Christ, or something along that line (actually, the music helped translate the Holy Grail, with was the DNA code for Jesus Christ, or SOMETHING like that). Whatever the specifics, I was very entertained.
What I Didn't Like
While the writing itself was smooth and easy to read, for a time-travel story, I was pretty bored. I mean, I've read and been FASCINATED by such books as Connie Willis's Dooms Day Book, Michael Crichton's Timeline, and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, but this one, not so much as a whole. For starters, the method of time travel has to be pretty solid and understandable, and this particular method with Ian being the only one to hear the music was kind of nebulous. Why did he travel during the shoot, and not when he visited the chapel the first time? A part of me also balked at the fact that he traveled not a completely different location. I must have some inner rule that dictates if time travel is going to occur through magical or supernatural means, it must take the person to the same LOCATION they were in before. I didn't realize I had this rule until I read this book, but I do!
Also what fascinates me with such time travel books is the amount of sheer detail that goes into the narrative to make me really feel the time period. Admittedly, this book couldn't have handled being a huge epic filled with minute details of clothing and whatnot, but save for the histories of the cathedrals, it felt pretty skimpy. Also disrupting my suspension of disbelief were the names: I can't picture someone going by the nickname of Rob in 1307 (maybe they did! I just can't swallow it), or moreso Rodney (but hey, maybe those WERE common names of the time and I'm just being silly). At least Sean was changed to Juan, which worked well, and Ian itself is fine, but everything felt just a little too modern, so even though Ian was saying some mighty strange things at times, I didn't feel they were overly out of place. Probably because he wasn't trying very hard to blend in, and also because he magically spoke the language of the time, rather than jabbering in English. There was a block that prevented him from speaking words that had no place in 1307, like email and PDA, that sort of thing, and while convenient, it was also a little too easy. In Diana Gabaldon's Outlander, Claire lived in fear of saying and doing the wrong thing, something that would betray her, because it'd be interpreted by the people of the time as witchcraft, and we all know what happens to witches. A similar threat is mentioned here, but it's glossed over and never truly a threat to Ian as he's making his pilgrimage and simply trying to find out what the hell's going on.
All of that is why I said I hoped the stuff I read about the chapels was true, because I never felt a voice of authority pulling me through the text. Even Dan Brown managed that, despite his technical flaws as a writer.
There's a lot of visions and dreams and sleeping and waking in this book, and while important to the story, it's not very exciting. I was glad when we finally got an antagonist, though confused as to how the antagonist knew of Ian's existence. Also confusing and not adequately explained for my personal benefit was the throwaway scene to Ian's ex-wife, whom he sees in the past and she recognizes him. If you're going to do that, at least have her have a ROLE in the story. How fun would it have been to make her a major player on the antagonist's side? So fun! But no. He sees her, she seems to recognize him, and he gets knocked out. The end of that.
And I must stress I dislike, very much, how nebulous a method the music is for time-travel. Rob and Rodney were able to travel forward once Ian unlocked the music so they could all hear it, but I'm still in the dark about the technical details of it all and feel I gotta accept it on faith. Ironic, given the personal journey of Ian and the nature of the book, but I don't want to accept THAT on faith. I wanted something more solid. I also questioned why Ian, during the six/seventh initiation, had to travel to different points in his own journey to help himself out. Interesting, but odd. Really nothing within the plot to support its necessity other than it just simply happening.
My Rating
Glad It Was Free: I received an ARC thanks to LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's Program, but it's currently available in hardcover, so if this is something you're really interested in, I'm tempted to say wait for the paperback or get it from the library. It's an interesting book and enjoyable on the whole, but lacking in certain respects that drove me personally a little batty as far as the time travel is concerned. In terms of writing, it's a very smooth, clean style. The subject matter of the Templars and the healing music of the Rosslyn Chapel and Hunt's take on what the Holy Grail really is is all really interesting and different than that of Dan Brown, so if you're predisposed to the subject matter, this might be the book for you. It's not a page-turning cliff-hanger like The DaVinci Code, rather it's much quieter, but far better written in terms of technique and style. It's enjoyable, and there's not much else I can say beyond that, but I'm glad it was free.
Cover Commentary: I love the cover for the hardback. It's very elegant and pretty, but that's not what I got to look at while I read: the ARC cover, in a word, sucked. Of course, they're usually supposed to suck, but it made me sad that I didn't get to look at that oh-so-pretty hallway (or is it a breezeway? I'm not sure what the technical term is for that). The title angled into the walkway is also a very excellent touch. I gotta give Wizards of the Coast Discoveries credit: they know how to make an eye-catching cover!