The Stone Crown (Malcolm Walker, Walker Books, $19.95 pb, ISBN 9781921150197, May) ****

The Stone Crown by Malcolm Walker makes an intriguing use of Arthurian legends to frame a modern adventure fantasy. Emlyn and Max teal a wooden figure of a mounted knight from an ancient burial site, not only setting in motion their own adventure but also awakening an ancient curse that has dogged both of their lives. Every movement is balanced between the need to stay ahead of those that want to restrain the power they have unleashed and those trapped from ancient time within the figures. The story is not a retelling of the Arthurian tales. Although the story does make some interesting historical assertions about the legends, the Arthurian elements are little more than a McGuffin to get the story moving in the right direction. There are small uses of dialect to give the story its Scottish flavor but this was not so overwhelming as to distract from the tale. Each of the protagonists are believable and although they are dealing with the issues involved with being a teenager these are not the central elements of the narrative. In the end it is the pace of the adventure and the need to stay one step ahead of their pursuers that defines the shape of the story.

Chris McDonough is the store buyer for Dymocks Brisbane

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker