Stone Circle by Kate Murdoch

Stone Circle by Kate Murdoch is a mixture of fantasy, historical fiction and coming-of-age set in Itlay during the 16^th century.  It is a fascinating story of a young man’s first steps into adulthood.

Antonius has always known he was special. He can hear others thoughts.  So when he finds out that the local seer, Savinus, is having a trial to accept a new apprentice he is eager to go.  Once Antonius demonstrates his abilities to the seer, there is no question who will be the next apprentice. However, the Conte’s son, who is a major employer of Savinus, also shows a small amount of talent. Rank is everything in this society and the seer is left with no choice but to accept both as apprentices.

Based solely on skill, Nichola, the Conte’s son is to be the secondary apprentice and Antonius the primary. As you can imagine, this does not go over well with Nichola. He has lived a life of privilege and always gotten all the things he wants. In other words, he is spoiled.  This leads to a rivalry between to two and only gets worse when they both fall for Savinus’s beautiful daughter Giulia.  Nichola, being of questionable character, takes extra ordinary measures to make life difficult for Antonius. He will stop short of nothing to have Giulia.

The story was imaginative and original. The author did a wonderful job of mixing the historical elements with the fantasy elements. In particular, I appreciate that the author made an effort to present the times in a factual way such as the use of alchemy which at that time was considered a science and studied as such. The pace of the plot was just right. The only negative, and it is very minor, I felt some of the characters could have been represented better. Overall it is a good story and I see a variety of readers enjoying.

The book crosses beyond the boundary of traditional fantasy; therefore, as stated above, I can see it appealing to a variety of readers. I recommend this to anyone you likes historical fiction and fantasy. If you are like me and enjoy both, you need to read this book.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.