The Blessing Stone

Rating:
Summary: Great book! Highly Recommended!
Review: Barbara Wood has too many stories to tell. For some authors, that could be a problem. For the redoubtable Ms. Wood, it is a challenge, and with "The Blessing Stone" she rises to that challenge superbly. The mysterious blue stone of the title connects the stories as it moves from hand to hand throughout the ages.

We begin at the dawn of, er... Woman, with an early human woman named Tall One who finds the stone and with its guidance (or at least it inspiration) leads her people to water and safety. The tale progresses to pre-Biblical times where we visit with some people who might be the ancestors of the Hebrews. (Was it the Reed sea or the Red sea? Hmmm...) The story pulses with the charm of a well-told folk tale as we learn the (unlikely?) origins of wine and beer. Ms. Wood's eye for the interesting detail is ever sharp, and her sense of humor holds sway even during the most dramatic episodes. On through ancient Rome to an England under siege by Vikings, we visit a Turkish harem, the island of Martinique (beware of pirates) and take an arduous journey through the American west along the Oregon trail.

If all of this sounds like too much, then heed the words of Bono when he sings "too much is not enough," because the author leaves us happily wanting more.

In her latest book, Barbara Wood touches on some familiar themes and visits some familiar settings, but what's most familiar here is her deft control of the narrative thread as she weaves this enchanting tapestry. Some of the episodes are quite short, others nearly novelette length, but all are perfectly constructed to bring home Ms. Wood's overiding statement that, in any age, sisterhood is powerful and women are indispensable.

Yes, "The Blessing Stone" is a gem.

Rating:
Summary: A blessing in book form
Review: Barbara Wood has written a truly magical book. It not only entertains but educates with tidbits of information about religion,history,cultural differences,geography, etc. I was mesmerized from the first page and hated to see the last page appear. Fix a cup of tea, curl up in a cozy spot and prepare to be enthralled.

Rating:
Summary: Wood has masterfully written what is sure to be a bestseller
Review: Early in our world's life, a meteor crashed into the Earth's surface leaving mass destruction in its wake. Buried among the mastodon and mammoth fossils was an enchanting stone that would be uncovered only after centuries of wind and rain. Possessed by dozens of women throughout time, the stone embodied a unique power for each of its guardians. Some believed it to give them extrasensory abilities, others imagined it contained the soul of their religious icon.

Considered responsible for the successes and failures of whoever held it, the stone was involved in many of the turning points in history. One of the most captivating aspects of THE BLESSING STONE is the accuracy of the depictions of these events. Barbara Wood has done an admirable job of telling this inconceivable tale in a believable way. From her stunning descriptions of an ancient city with unlimited wealth to her agonizing portrayal of a starving nomadic clan in Africa, Wood inundates the reader with tremendous imagery.

The story of the blessing stone is more than just a tale about a precious gem. It is also the story of the development of civilization, the changes in organized religion and the evolution of women's roles in society. Through each character's tragedies and triumphs, the story of the blessing stone unfolds and a new chapter in history is written.

As the stone is passed from hand to hand and travels from country to country, Wood masterfully weaves a legend destined to make THE BLESSING STONE a bestseller. Rarely does an author manage to combine so many vignettes into one book of such excellence.

--- Reviewed by Melissa Brown

Rating:
Summary: What a terrific journey!
Review: From 3,000,000,000 years ago, to the "wild" west, this stone has seen it all...

Everyone of the stories captured something wonderful, survival, love, hate, passion, faith, hero's and heroine's, villians and nature.

I enjoyed the stories all by themselves, but it was so cool to read the history of the world through the travels of the "Blessing Stone", and to see it come full circle and back out again to enchant someone else's life.
I really enjoyed every story and every character, I think most people will...so read on!

Enjoy,

Debbi :)

Rating:
Summary: Not her best book
Review: I am a huge fan of Ms Wood's books, but was a bit disappointed by The Blessing Stone.
My criticism is mostly about the two prehistoric stories.
1) Why is she explaining constantly about the things the people in the first book did not have any knowledge of? It seems a little patronizing towards the reader.
2) Is it really true that up to the time when the second books ends (10.000-8.000 BC?) people did not have any idea where babies came from?

The rest of the stories was better, but still not up to her usual standards. Maybe Ms. Wood was limited by the short stories? I liked Sacred Ground, The Dreaming, The Prophetess, Perfect Harmony, Green City in the Sun and Virgins of Paradise much, much better and am looking forward to her next full length novel!

Rating:
Summary: Not up to her usual standard
Review: I have read and enjoyed several of Barbara Wood's previous novels. My favorites have been Domina, Green City in the Sun, and Virgins of Paradise. Those books have held my attention with interesting plot development and settings which enhanced rather than detracted from the story telling.

In contrast, The Blessing Stone is a series of vignettes set in different periods of human history. It reads like a novelization of an anthropology textbook. The first several stories illustrate specific developments in human history, with the emphasis being on why certain changes in societal organization took place. The characters were one-dimensional and did not hold my interest.

I did enjoy the stories of Lady Amelia, set in the Roman Empire, and of Abbess Winifred in pre-Norman Conquest England, but these didn't come up until halfway through the book.

The use of the stone as a unitary device between the stories seemed contrived. The connecting sections were very choppy and didn't contribute to the stories, other than to open up the possibility of untold stories. For example the two page interim section between the story about Mother Winifred in 1022 C.E. and the next story, set in 1520 C.E tells us that the stone went from a Viking raider to an English soldier to the Caliph of Baghdad to another soldier to Francis of Assisi to a baker's wife to a pickpocket to a Medici prince to a traveling scholar. We never meet any of these characters.

I hope that Ms. Wood returns to writing full-blown novels with less of the expository language that made The Blessing Stone bog down.

Rating:
Summary: most engrossing book I've ever read
Review: I loved this book. It had something for everyone. It was part clan of the cave bear, part history novel, part romance, part fantasy and a really good read. The book is divided into several vignettes that follow a central character's journey. I worry I'll never find anything as good as this again.

Rating:
Summary: most engrossing book I've ever read
Review: I loved this book. It had something for everyone. It was part clan of the cave bear, part history novel, part romance, part fantasy and a really good read. The book is divided into several vignettes that follow a central character's journey. I worry I'll never find anything as good as this again.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best book
Review: Three million years ago, a meteorite journeyed through the atmosphere of the third orb around the sun. The remnants of the meteorite crash on the planet leaving as its survivor a blue crystal. 100,000 years ago in Africa, The Tall One finds the crystal that somehow saves the life of her ailing Old Mother. Over the millenniums, the gem is passed from one generation to another, ultimately crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, eventually to the Middle East, and finally the Atlantic during the California Gold Rush to America. A hundred plus years later in an upstate New York hamlet the jewel resurfaces on the handle of a hippy's roach clip.

THE BLESSING STONE is actually an anthology consisting of eight solid tales that are tied together by the blue stone. The stories are well written though a few are obvious as to what will happen. The three BC "books" are incredible while the Roman and Dark Ages tales are terrific. Though the remaining trio is well done, they feel too "modern" (even with one in the sixteenth century) to focus on the mystical jewel until that 1969 farm with a half of million strong. Still Barbara Wood provides an engaging history of the world.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Fine historical collection
Review: Three million years ago, a meteorite journeyed through the atmosphere of the third orb around the sun. The remnants of the meteorite crash on the planet leaving as its survivor a blue crystal. 100,000 years ago in Africa, The Tall One finds the crystal that somehow saves the life of her ailing Old Mother. Over the millenniums, the gem is passed from one generation to another, ultimately crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, eventually to the Middle East, and finally the Atlantic during the California Gold Rush to America. A hundred plus years later in an upstate New York hamlet the jewel resurfaces on the handle of a hippy's roach clip.

THE BLESSING STONE is actually an anthology consisting of eight solid tales that are tied together by the blue stone. The stories are well written though a few are obvious as to what will happen. The three BC "books" are incredible while the Roman and Dark Ages tales are terrific. Though the remaining trio is well done, they feel too "modern" (even with one in the sixteenth century) to focus on the mystical jewel until that 1969 farm with a half of million strong. Still Barbara Wood provides an engaging history of the world.

Harriet Klausner