A Song of Stone

Title: A Song of Stone
Author: Iain Banks
Published: 1997, this Abacus edition is from 2003
Genre: War and the upper classes
Pages: 280


From A Song of Ice and Fire to A Song of Stone. Dragons has suffered, being carried around in my bag, and it is a bloody big brick, so I took this one with me while visiting the parents over the holidays. Finished both last night. Hey, fifth of January and two books down already!

There is a war going on, and it's forcing Abel and Morgan to leave their home castle in search of a more peaceful place to weather the storm. On their way they come across a lieutenant and her small troop who 'convince' them to turn back, and take the soldiers with them, to rest inside the safety of the castle's stone walls.

Abel tells the story from his point of view, and, let's face it, is a bit of a pompous git. Almost poetic, though, his words drag you in and paint not so pretty pictures of his smallish world. He's also one of those characters you want to slap around a bit. But the story flows well and there is a mystery hidden within the castle's situation spiralling into chaos.


   She comes to me and puts her mouth to my ear. 'This is the dangerous bit, Abel,' she whispers. 'Soon the shooting starts.' I can feel her breath on my cheek, sense the physicality of this low murmur entering the soft convolutions of cartilage and flesh. 'You can stay here with the horses, if you like," she tells me. 'Or come on with us.'
   I shift my head, put my lips to her ear. Her olive-dark skin smells of nothing at all. 'You'd trust me with the horses?' I ask, amused.
   'Oh, you'd have to be tied up,' she says softly.
   'Tied up or getting to watch,' I tell her. 'You spoil me. I'll come.'