A History Based Conspiracy Thriller - Stone of Destiny

Typos and seemingly filled in afterwards plot movement. 3 stars for a good attempt that should have been thoroughly edited and vetted prior to publishing. To the author, read some Vaughn Heppner prior to your next book.

This really was such a great book. I would highly recommend it. Plus with the history of the stone being true made the book that much better. Thank you for writing such a great book that you don't even want to stop reading,by the end you wish that it wasn't over. Thank you so much. Chad

What I liked about Stone of Destiny, apart from the intriguing plot and subject matter, was the author's ability to capture the look and feel of the places he describes and to position us firmly within those worlds. I wish this promising new author success and eagerly look forward to his next offering.

It was obvious from the first sentence in Chapter One that this book was written by an American. Only Americans call central London 'down town.' Later, the characters are trying to break a computer password by entering dates, but they are entering them the American way, ie month/day/year. Brits don't do that. These might be dumb, but forgivable errors if the book was otherwise intelligently written, but it wasn't. If you are going to base a 'thriller' on historical fact, the facts absolutely have to be accurate. An awful lot of the plot was balanced on feeble misconceptions and downright, glaring errors. The Scottish wars waged by Edward I were about independence, not possession of a rock. Knowing the importance of tradition and symbolism in the Scottish enthronement (NOT coronation) ritual, Edward took the Stone to discourage the Scots from enthroning their own king instead of recognizing him as sovereign. The author claimed that it is only the Stone that gives English royalty the right to rule. Nothing could be further from the truth. English kings had been crowned since 1066 without the Stone, and Edward incorporated the Stone into the English coronation ritual no doubt to reinforce his contentious sovereignty over the Scots. It was so obvious at this point in the book that the author had only the most superficial, tabloid-level understanding of the scope of his material, that it was pointless to continue. There is nothing to be learned here. I am still waiting for the book that should and could be researched and written about the Stone of Destiny. I don't think any of us has laid eyes on the real Stone, not even Edward I. I have seen photos of sacred stones in Ireland, remarkable for the Celtic artwork that graces them. The Stone of Destiny that sat under the coronation chair for 700 years looks like an ordinary building block, devoid of any artwork at all. I would be willing to bet that Edward I was duped, and that the real Stone of Destiny still lies hidden and under the protection of a secret society. THAT is the story I would like to read about.

I was pleasantly surprised once the story actually got rolling, once the main characters of Trevor, Katherine, and Archer started working together. The story has some nice plot twists and surprises.
I was a little disappointed with shoddy editing. It takes more than a spellchecker to make a quality edit. There were also some events which were out of continuity, for example when Katherine leaves her cell phone with "Oakie" at the accident scene in case the police call then suddenly uses it herself from the car she is riding in an hour or so down the road.
Overall a good read if one can be a little forgiving... hence better than a 3.5 star much closer to a 4 with just a slight rounding, much like the edges of the stone!

I was looking forward to reading this book since I have known about the Stone of Scone (which is what my Scottish Gran called) from the time I was a small child. The facts are accurate in that they match what Gran told me, but the story seemed a bit contrived and the characters were not consistent. Also spell check is not a substitute for an eagle-eyed proofreader and a good editor. It is difficult to read a book that has so very many simple AEs (author errors).... "their" when it should have been "there." And misspelling a character's name when it was correct a sentence or two before especially when the they line up on a page... "Winston"as opposed to "Winton."

I enjoyed the story very much. Early in the story the conversations between the characters were a bit stilted but they became more natural as the story processed. The scenes were well written, and I was able to visualize them easily. Overall, a good time spent in the digital pages of "Sri e of Destiny". I recommend it to any one looking for a light adventure, and hope for more adventures of Trevor and Katherine.

This is the poorest editing job I have ever seen - run on sentences, punctuation errors, extra words, missing words, spelling errors!! This grouchy, old English teacher gives it a grammar grade of F and refuses to waste any more time trying to read it!

Twisty, suspenseful and caulked full of history. If you like a well researched story with some solid characters this is the read for you. There are even some moments you swear you hear the Indiana Jones theme song!

Twisty, suspenseful and caulked full of history. If you like a well researched story with some solid characters this is the read for you. There are even some moments you swear you hear the Indiana Jones theme song!

Really enjoyed the premise and the use of England as the backdrop. I'm a bit of a sucker for conspiracy plots! Is the Queen of England playing the world for a con? Good question. You'll have to read it to find out.

This novel is adventurous and exciting! The story is captivating and keeps you anxiously reading on. The story is complex and the mystery intriguing. There are unexpected twists and turns that kept me fully interested. I really enjoyed it. Very well done.

This is a very compelling and intriguing story which will captivate the reader. One who has traveled abroad to the "other side of the pond" will enjoy the settings and locations mentioned in the book. The author is a very persuasive and talented writer.