The Dragon Reread

Fantastic story and amazing narration

Reviewed: 06-13-24 Listener received this title free

This review was originally posted on SFF Insiders.

What a fun ride! To start, this review is for both Stone & Sky and the accompanying Preludes Collection. I think reading these two books concurrently is 100% the correct way to start off this epic series. Diamanti has written the Preludes Collection as a way to expand the character arcs for multiple different characters, some minor and some major, and really delve into their backstories and motivations. Before each of the 7 short stories in the Collection, Diamanti tells you where in relation to Stone & Sky the story should be read, ie read this story before Chapter 5 or 23 of Stone & Sky. They’re completely interconnected, and I don’t think it’s possible to review one without the other. I LOVE how Diamanti structured these two books to work together, feed off each other, and ultimately enrich the reading experience.

Stone & Sky is an epic, classic fantasy story with multiple POVs telling the story of two main factions in the land of Finlestia: a loose alliance of orcs, trolls, and goblins versus humans, dwarfs, elves, and gnomes. However, as you quickly learn, these are not the orcs and goblins of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, but rather a highly sophisticated, intelligent people who are fighting a war against the humans with motivations that parallel their human foes. Diamanti is able to expertly craft both sides of the conflict so the reader is able to understand and empathize with both groups.

This is a fast-paced story that is exploding with adventure, magic, dragons, wyverns, griffins, magical artifacts, and evil advisors. From the first pages, we’re thrown into the bloody aftermath of an unusual conflict between the human’s elite griffin mounted Griffin Guard and the orc’s wyvern riders. The pace never lets up as we follow a sprawling cast of characters all around Finlestia as we explore the continent, all while the threat of a mysterious land called Kelvur looms ominously in the background.

Again, this is where I think the inclusion of the Prelude Collection really shines. Stone & Sky on its own isn’t a huge book in terms of page count, but Diamanti throws a lot of characters at us as he fleshes out this rich world. But with the Prelude Collection, you’re able to take a brief breather from the main action while you learn about different characters in detail, allowing the world to feel so full and detailed. While all of the short stories are good and provide great context for the main story, one of the standouts for me was Smarlo’s story. So action-packed and fun. Diamanti has so many fantastic, terrifying magical creatures scattered throughout his world, and that’s all I’ll say about that short story.

The prose snaps along and the dialogue is fantastic, especially for a debut novel. We have witty banter and the creation of deep friendships among the characters that feels natural. I’ll also mention here for those who are trying to determine if this is something that they should introduce to their fantasy loving teenager. While this story 100% works for an adult audience (I loved it and I unfortunately fall very firmly in the adult category), the language is clean, there is no explicit sexual content, and the battle scenes are action packed but not gratuitously violent.

As a side note, I listened to these books as audiobooks, and the voice actor—Peter Leppard—is absolutely phenomenal. He has voices for each different character and does a stellar job. For me, narrators often play a fairly neutral role in my enjoyment of a book. But Peter completely kills it with his performance, and I would highly recommend the audiobook!

Ultimately, Stone & Sky is the perfect start to a lighthearted, epic fantasy series that is brimming with wholesome fellowships, fun adventures, and hopeful heroes. The villains are diabolical and evil. The heroes, on both sides of the initial divide, are heroic people/orcs you can get behind and cheer for. This is a modern take on classic fantasy that leaves you cheering for more.

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