Synopsis:
When Aster Rutherford, the postmaster’s son and his childhood friend, Zinnia Hollyhock deliver a letter to the Pelware Mines, they are attacked by a birdlike monster that turns men to stone. Even worse, Buckwheat Village is plagued by an illness that’s incapacitating villagers, including Aster’s own father.
A chance encounter with Kara Reeves, the brash quartermaster of the Blue Skies, leads Aster to hitch a ride to the capital city in search of a doctor. Aster’s quest takes him from the dizzying spires of New Portsmith to the caves of Munayallpa and the forests of Tembour. Along the way Aster reconnects with his estranged mother and comes face-to-face with the god of a foreign land. Can Aster and the crew of the Blue Skies overcome pirates, politics, and monsters to cure Buckwheat Village before it’s too late?
Review:
The Odyllic Stone is a wild tale of adventure, friendship, and magic, with some monsters (both literal and figurative) sprinkled in. It was a fun time!
The story begins with Aster Rutherford and his friend Zinnia Hollyhock. Aster is the local postmaster’s son, but since his father is ill, Aster is taking up his duties of mail delivery. Zinnia tags along occasionally, when she isn’t tending her family’s store. Delivering a letter is what brings the pair to the Pelware Mines, where they’re confronted with a cockatrice and a few miners who have already been petrified by the creature.
Surviving the encounter gives Aster the courage to leave the village in search of a cure for his father’s illness, which is also afflicting several others. But finding a doctor and a cure isn’t as straightforward as he thinks.
Along his journey, he meets a varied cast of characters, a goddess, basilisks, more cockatrice, an ancient being trapped in an artifact, some ruthless and greedy villains… and somehow winds up in the center of the kingdom’s political machinations. But he makes lasting friends along his journey and reconnects with family, which gave this story some heartwarming feels.
One of my favorite side characters was Calantha. She’s a researcher, and would be considered a biologist if that term existed in the book’s world. I fell in love with her fascination of nature, and later in the story when more is revealed about her, she was even better. I don’t know if the author is planning a sequel, but if he is, I hope we’ll get to see more of Calantha.
I really enjoyed my time with The Odyllic Stone. While it isn’t as fast-paced as many fantasy books, I think the time spent getting to know the characters along the way was well worth the read. At times it almost has cozy vibes, and at others it feels more epic, but it doesn’t really hit all the checkmarks for either—so I’m calling it an “adventure fantasy.” And what an adventure it was.
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