The Heart of Stone

ARC provided to me by author Ben Galley in exchange for an honest review.The Heart of Stone is a very addicting read, with very heart filled characters that will make you question your empathy It may also be the only book I ve ever read that s main protagonist is a Golem A knight A girl A lord A golem Task is a Windcut Stone Golem, the last of his kind, and was solely made for killing, destruction, and war Yet, Task has a soul, a heart, and feelings, no matter how hard he tries to suppress them [...]

The Heart of Stone is the first book of Ben Galley that I ever got to read, and oh boy do I ache for .Task is, and was for all of his life, a war machine Build with stone and magic than four hundred years ago, his only purpose is to serve Bought and sold between Kings, Generals and Warlords, Task doesn t pick sides he kills everyone instead But just because he is good at it, it doesn t mean that he likes it So when he s given a chance for redemption, he is willing to sacrifice everything to get [...]

You can find this review and at Booksprens.I would like to start by thanking the author for providing a copy of the Heart of Stone in exchange for an honest review I would also like to mention that I alternated reading the ebook and listening to Adam Stubbs s amazing narration via Audible.Nine feet tall, four hundred year old and made of stone and magic, Task is one of the last Golems in the Realm and a powerful, nearly invincible war machine Task is bought by the Truehards of Hartlund to help [...]

I was excited to read this one, I knew a little bit about it before I picked it up, I knew that it had a golem as one of the main characters which is what got me so interested I love non human POV s I m so glad to say this didn t let me down and I absolutely loved it Bingo Self Published, 2017, Non human protag Characters Task Task was meant to be the star of the show in this novel, and man did he deliver He s such a complicated character, he s over 400 years old and was bred for war He wasn t a [...]

I had the great pleasure of meeting Ben Galley through Mark Lawrence s inaugural Self Published Fantasy Blog Off contest While the coming of age element in Bloodrush didn t work for me, there was enough imagination and narrative flair that I was definitely open to reading of his work So, when he offered me an early glance of his latest work, I was happy to give it a read.The Heart of Stone is a much darker, mature story than my introduction to Ben s world, and that s precisely what I was looki [...]

This was my first read of the SPFBO Self Published Fantasy Blog Off books I was definitely hoping for good things as I ve previously read a book by Ben Galley, and enjoyed it, but as this is a new series I wasn t sure what to expect I would describe this as a fun, military focused story which centres around the Fading and the Royalists Basically the Fading are a fracture group who have broken away from the throne becuase they believe the young boy King is being ruled by his advisors and isn t ab [...]

3,5 I was lucky enough to get an arc of this one Let s start this off with a quote to set the tone People don t like the reflection of what I am to them I may be different, all stone and dust instead of skin and blood But they still see themselves Copied Faked in stone They see their Architect s work in something that isn t flesh, and they can t help but be offended by it, scared by it Fear breeds hate So this one felt quite a bit serious in tone, than Bloodrush, which is the last book of the a [...]

This is a solid, competently written novel that fantasy fans can appreciate and enjoy Galley has created memorable characters you ll want to read of and breathed life into an unconventional hero you probably won t want to say goodbye to.Read the full review on Fantasy Faction.

PlotTask is a 400 year old Golem, amongst the last of his kind He was built with old magics as a tool of war, bound to the bidding of his human master But something went wrong in Task s creation that gave him the ability to think and feel Weary of the ugliness and chaos of war, over the years he has deadened himself to the destruction he is forced to wreak on humankind That is, until he meets a fearless young stable girl who awakens feelings in him that have long lain dormant.Dangerous feelings [...]

A podcast review of this book is available here The Nerd Book ReviewSome details Task is a 400 year old golem who was created to be a machine for war He s always been a bit broken as far as golems are concerned because he thinks and feels and doesn t enjoy killing Unfortunately he is unable to disobey his master Task is then thrown into a civil war that has been raging for 9 years He makes a friend in a teenage girl who isn t scared of Task Lesky, The girl, is clearly special in some way and her [...]

The opening chapter of The Heart of Stone had the 15 year old kid in me cheering and the author in me applauding I was hooked, and that enthusiasm for the story never abated throughout.I mean, it s a golem, a monster, a war machine made out of stone It s like 400 years old, 9 feet tall, and it s name is Task What could I want Extremely well drawn and memorable characters arranged in a rounded and wonderful cast, maybe Well it s got that A really interesting alternate world Check Characters to b [...]

Having already read and enjoyed Bloodrush by Ben Galley I was delighted to receive an arc of Heart of Stone As ever with Ben, the books he produce feel like a quality product you know as much effort goes into every aspect of the book as the actual writing of it Sadly I cannot give the book the 5 stars so many other much qualified and renowned bloggers and reviewers have, for a few reasons, but mainly it is the beginning The story just didn t hook me as quickly as I d like, 50 pages is usually t [...]

My full review with my amazing Goblinized art can be found at thebloggoblin 2017 02 20 The main Character is a 400 year old Stone Golem His name is Task and his task is to kill people He is bound by the magic that made him to serve his master So for 400 years he has been moved around and sold from one master to the next And since he is thought of as a war machine that means he was sent from one war to the next.Like I said before the world is a pretty Grimdark place with a lot of wars Since Task [...]

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum bibliosanctum 2017 08 20 Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was the timing, or maybe it was just the nature of this book itself, but for some reason The Heart of Stone took me a long time to read That said, I really enjoyed it The story is not just about war and fighting, as the description had initially led me to believe Amidst the action, we also have a lot of adventure and intrigue, as well as a number of unexpected twists in perspective and moments of pure emo [...]

Review also published hereDisclaimer The author contacted me via email to ask for offer a review copy I accepted the request and have not regretted it Since then I ve also ordered a print copy for my shelf off.The Heart of Stone is already a strong contender for my favorite books in 2017 Not just because it is still early in the year, mind you, but because it had an incredible blend of emotion, action, philosophy and compellingly complex characters I m honestly still amazed by how human a story [...]

I really enjoyed this book I d recommend it.There we go Don t need to write anything else.No, damn it, Ben interviewed me a while back and made way effort Okay, here s a review It s nicely written and I know these things, trust me, I m very particular about people s prose Densely plotted with some nice, neat little plot twists and lovely nods to classic fantasy tropes actually, thinking about it, I d possibly not recommend it if you ve never read a fantasy novel in your life before It s cynical [...]

Task is a stone golem hundreds of years old But something went amiss in his construction, and he has a sense of conscience independent from following his given master s orders We begin the story with Task arriving at his newest master, purchased as a weapon in yet another war The war experience in this story feels authentic, including down time between battles, getting to know soldiers, cleaning up the aftermath of skirmishes These moments in between the conflicts lead to character insight Ther [...]

Genuinely the best standalone novel I ve had the pleasure of reading Completely unique protagonist as far as I m aware Used to tackling golems as mindless automatons in DD and so on, it was completely refreshing, intriguing and exciting to read a well planned and thought out world and story from a golem s point of view The supporting characters are fantastic and important in the progression of Task as a character They made him as much as he made them Twists and turns and laughs and sobs, The Hea [...]

I d read a review of this on here and the premise had me intrigued It is a standalone story of a Golem, told primarily from his point of view At the beginning of the story he is already 400 years old and spent most of that time in war He is tired and jaded of it but has just been sold to a general fighting a civil war that has being going on for 9 years It is here that he forms a friendship with a stable girl Lesky and this begins to change him, or accurately awaken things in him that were alwa [...]

Task is a war machine built to win wars and follow orders of his masters During long centuries of existence he s seen it all and he doesn t have a lot of esteem for skinbags humans Sadly, because of magic binding him, he can t just run away to paint, read grimdark books and live in peace.He is thrown amidst a kingdom s civil war between royalists, the Truehards, and the capitalist factions under the Last Fading His master, as many before him, turns out to be a petty and cruel man and a coward de [...]

This is the first of Galley s books I have read and I have to say I was impressed The concept alone is enough to pique anyone s interest A golem, long established in myth and fantasy as being a semi mindless automaton, yet with a soul and the ability to care Used as a war machine for centuries and bound to the will of its master, the golem, Task, has seen enough bloodshed to horrify a generation Yet despite his skills at warfare, Task is unable to refuse the orders of his masters.Galley drags th [...]

You can see a bigger, prettier version of this review here, on my blog To begin, I should probably let you know that I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review Just FYI or whatever I m still going to be honest AF and probably definitely curse a lot DThis book has, among many things, some extremely quotable quotes I don t think I ve actually ever had so many highlights in one book, ever There s some excellent use of similes as well here, with things like the lines broke like [...]

I can t get through this nonsense More to come.This book looked good and maybe it is I mean a book about a golem, where is the bad part Well for me it was about the pacing and the POVs.I went into this book wanting an interesting look at a fantasy world through the eyes of a golem While that is present there are a bunch of side characters and stories that I just wasn t interested in I understand that the author was trying to make a big story and I might ve enjoyed that except for the pacing The [...]

This is Ben s best book yet Plain and simple Task is a 400 year old golem a wind cut stone war machine who has served countless masters and fought their wars Yet Task was always something His very first word, spoken just after his creation, is why This baffles Task s creator Fourteen golems, and you re the first to ask why And this aptly draws Task character Yes, he is a war machine, yes he can be brutal, but this golem has a brain inside that head and a better heart than most in his chest Thou [...]

This review appears in A Bohemian Mind at Work.Ben Galley wanted to fight the Big Bad Wolf, so he created a monster He used some ancient magic to bind pieces of wind cut granite together into a gigantic golem.No Okay, let s try again.A crazy warlord and mass murderer creates the ultimate machine from wind cut stone and ancient magic One problem, the stone develops a heart A pesky little girl without the red riding hood has secrets of her own and befriends our big stone guy in a war camp.Huff doe [...]

One could say it s the Heart in the stone that is the beat of this riveting tale of a war torn country locked in a nine year stalemated civil war The Truehearts locate a 400 year old stone golem Task to bring the war to a favorable end Task, a wind cut stone giant flowing with old magic, is a true havoc wreaking war machine Bound to his master, by contract, he must obey their every command For the past 400 years those commands have resulted in massive death and destruction But, now the golem be [...]

Took me awhile to get into this book The writing was there, it just was missing something Certainly not the violence but I really didn t like any of the characters except the main character Galley was getting a little too descriptive in certain parts I would recommend this book for those who like military fantasy reads Just missed the mark for me.

The Grim Reader has taken a break from horror to check out The Heart of Stone , the new novel soon be released by Ben Galley.Firstly, the artwork for The Heart of Stone is quite superb If I saw this book on the shelf then I d be straight over there to pick it up and check out the synopsis The story tells of a golem called Task A war machine made from stone and built out of old magic Task is the last wind cut golem, one that is passed around from master to master, doing their deed until said mast [...]

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I didn t have huge expectations when opening this stand alone fantasy about a golem built for war but I thoroughly enjoyed it The pacing was perfect, with some super characters and an unconventional hero who shows us the world through his eyes We see the horrors of humankind as they wage war and the beauty of redemption, hope and friendship A super read