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Clefspeare
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The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
Since The Candlestone is now available, I hope many of you will be getting it and reading it soon. Please post your initial reactions to the story. What did you like in particular? Any surprises?
Feel free to give your thoughts about The Candlestone.
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Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
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10/15/2004, 2:15 pm
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knightofhyn
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
I got my copy a couple day ago in the mail and nearly got myself in trouble the next morning at work...I started reading and couldn't stop. I think it was four in the AM when I finally put the book down and said, "I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow...I should probably get some sleep."
You knocked it out of the park with this one. I'm looking forward to a reread on this one. I love the way you address honor and chivalry and faith in real people, not like the stories usually go where there is no doubt in the person. You gave us human characters with human flaws and showed how they overcame their flaws. Now I get to try to contain myself until the next book.
I'm hesitant to say more lest I give something away (though, without being too specific, the line four or so pages from the end with Walter and a misplaced foot had me laughing for a few minutes...I think you know what I mean...loved the matter of fact statement.)
Definitely looking forward to book three...and will probably flesh this out after my reread of book two.
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Dreaming frees the soul, energizes the spirit and allows you to do things that would get you thrown in jail if you really tried them.
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10/20/2004, 6:53 am
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Clefspeare
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
quote:
knightofhyn wrote:
I'm hesitant to say more lest I give something away (though, without being too specific, the line four or so pages from the end with Walter and a misplaced foot had me laughing for a few minutes...I think you know what I mean...loved the matter of fact statement.)
I'm not a hundred percent sure of what you're talking about. Could you give me a page number?
I'm delighted that you enjoyed the book. I'll look for further comments after you've had a chance to digest it.
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Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
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10/21/2004, 8:49 am
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Clefspeare
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
Just to let everyone know, Amazon is now allowing reviews to be posted for The Candlestone. If anyone wants to review it, I'd appreciate a positive statement or two. If you could give it 5 stars, that would be wonderful
Thank you.
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Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
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10/21/2004, 3:49 pm
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WarriorPoet
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 Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
Whew! The Candlestone was at least as good as the first one! I just got done reading it for the second time.
I loved the battle scene near the end, the prophecies are awesome, and Bonnie's prayer for Billy was beautiful (I think your writing skills are being challenged by one of your own characters, Clefspeare  . Then again, it is one of her dragon abilities, right?) It left you with just as many or more questions as the Raising Dragons, but I still got a slightly better picture of what the next book will be like than Raising Dragons left me with.
I have to go over The Candlestone with a critical microscope to offer negative feedback. But for the sake of helping make a great story better, here goes. I kinda got the impression that the peril scenes were a bit drawn out. Again this is being really picky, but I thought It would have been a tad better to save more of the peril for the final battle. Also, Raising Dragons usually gave the reader kind of a 'break' between intense peril scenes, which gives the reader a bit of time to digest it and savor it. The Candlestone pushes right though, and some of this gets lost.
On the lighter side, I think you really nailed the humor/peril sweet spot you were looking for. Keep it up! Walter is hilarious!  Maybe you could spread it out though, lest he be tagged as the 'comic relief character'.
By the way, is mild telepathy one of Ashely's dragon traits? It sure seems like it, but it was never confirmed. If so, does that mean that dragons can read minds? And what's the story behind the rubleites? Or is all that coming in the next books?
Bravo! All in all, The Candlestone proved to be just as awesome as I hoped, which is saying a ton. And now we all have to wait for the next one...
Last edited by WarriorPoet, 10/21/2004, 8:59 pm
--- How do you learn to live? Prepare for death.
How do you prepare for death? Learn to live.
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10/21/2004, 8:55 pm
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knightofhyn
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
Gah! I can't remember the page number. I'll try to remember to post it when I get home from work. I just remember that it was in the last chapter. Walter not paying attention where he's going, that sort of thing.
I had questions about the rubellites myself. Are they going to be explained in the next book?
I thought the lack of breaks between the "peril" scenes were more than appropriate. I mean, they are maturing while under duress, besides the fact that Bonnie and Billy were a little more mature than the others in the first place.
I'm gonna reread it tomorrow (hopefully!) and try to give better thought out reasons and such.
---
Dreaming frees the soul, energizes the spirit and allows you to do things that would get you thrown in jail if you really tried them.
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10/22/2004, 7:22 am
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Clefspeare
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
quote:
WarriorPoet wrote:
Bonnie's prayer for Billy was beautiful (I think your writing skills are being challenged by one of your own characters, Clefspeare .
Yes, Bonnie has quite a talent for words. She is a great inspiration to my writing. Maybe someday I'll be able to write as well as she does 
quote:
WarriorPoet
I kinda got the impression that the peril scenes were a bit drawn out. Again this is being really picky, but I thought It would have been a tad better to save more of the peril for the final battle. Also, Raising Dragons usually gave the reader kind of a 'break' between intense peril scenes, which gives the reader a bit of time to digest it and savor it. The Candlestone pushes right though, and some of this gets lost.
I understand your point. It's important to allow the reader to rest after a harrowing scene. The Candlestone definitely pushes readers to the brink. Even in the midst of the action, I tried to provide little islands of rest, and if you analyze it closely, you'll probably spot some of those. In Circles of Seven, even though it's filled with action, you'll probably notice more generous rest periods.
quote:
WarriorPoet
By the way, is mild telepathy one of Ashely's dragon traits? It sure seems like it, but it was never confirmed. If so, does that mean that dragons can read minds? And what's the story behind the rubleites? Or is all that coming in the next books?
Ashley is a mystery, isn't she? Well, you'll have to wait for book #4 before you get much more about her history. Sorry.
And you'll learn much more about rubellites in book #3.
It's great to see you raising these questions, because I had hoped to pique interest with foreshadowing about these subjects sprinkled throughout the story.
---
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
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10/22/2004, 7:51 am
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Clefspeare
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
quote:
knightofhyn wrote:
I had questions about the rubellites myself. Are they going to be explained in the next book?
You will learn a lot more about rubellites in Circles of Seven, though some mystery will remain.
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Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
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10/22/2004, 7:53 am
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meteoricyoyo
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
It was awsome. One thing I really liked about it was that you had a perfect blend of a serious plot but you weren't afraid to throw in comic relief a few times. Bountifully provided by our own Walter.
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I AM the Master Cellist!
~Caleb~
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10/25/2004, 7:49 am
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knightofhyn
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Re: The Candlestone - Initial Thoughts
Well, a sudden burst at work kinda caught me so that I can read, but I've figured, two things:
1) The book's been out long enough that I'm sure I wont' be ruining anything by giving the quote (I can't stand it when people spoil endings on things.) The scene that got me was when Billy said (page 379, if my memory doesn't fail me) "Walter, you kicked Excalibur." I don't know why, but I visualized a kind of dull monotone shock about it. Can you imagine kicking over one of the most well known historical objects? I'm sure that wasn't the intent, but it just got me laughing.
2) That I can't wait until the next book comes out.
BTW, love the idea of writing to the characters...it adds to the realism of the books.
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Dreaming frees the soul, energizes the spirit and allows you to do things that would get you thrown in jail if you really tried them.
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10/28/2004, 8:30 am
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