THE STONE ROAD
Trent Jamieson
The Stone Road is a gothic fantasy set on a future Earth where much of our modern technology has been lost. On the day Jean was born, a distant Furnace burned to life. That Furnace calls to the people of her town, seducing them away with an irresistible call. An irresistible call that Jean, herself, has never felt. Since that first day, awful occurrences always happen on Jean’s birthday. The day becomes an ill omen and she blamed for all that befalls the people of her town.
Born to a family with the power to hear the dead, Jean has always known them as presences under the ground. They grab at her toes as she walks in the dirt, their voices filled with hate and fury. But they are stuck, unable to move on down the stone road, for something closed the road off. So the dead simply gather beneath the surface while outside of the town the monsters linger.
Jean is raised by her grandmother, who slowly reveals all that Jean will be responsible for, from the monsters without, to the dead within. And forever unmentioned, but always looming, is the day when Jean must face her Trouble–that ever-burning Furnace.
This is a tale for those who love reading of slow unveilings of mysteries and powers. We follow Jean’s struggles throughout her childhood, learn along with her of all the horrible beauty and monstrous friends that stand beside her in her town. The characters are distinct and memorable—from a tree that carries their story on its bark, a not-quite man who is always an artist, a bird called Bird, and a man who boasts all the grace of the leaves dancing in autumn.
However, be aware, there are questions that remain unanswered and answers that never truly had questions by the end of this novel. This story will leave you with a wild taste of a world that feels more removed from our own than many fantasy novels.
Thank you to Erewhon Books for the eARC of The Stone Road by Trent Jamieson!
