The Stone Boatmen  | $20 (paperback) | |
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| $9.95 (e-book) |
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Shortlisted for the 2014 Crawford Award
A Locus Recommended First Novel for 2014
"Certain imaginative novels never best-sell, yet remain alive, a
singular treasure to each new generation that finds them—books such
as Islandia, The Worm Ouroboros, Gormenghast.
The Stone Boatmen has the makings of one of these quiet
classics. It is lucid yet complex. Its strangeness fascinates,
captivates. To read it is to find yourself in a country a long, long
way from home, taken on a unforeseeable journey—and when it's over,
you wish you were still there. "
— Ursula K. Le Guin
Tolmie tells a tale of three cities, separated by oceans, lost to
one another long ago: the first, the city of rituals, of ceremonies;
the second, the city of words, of poetry; and the third, the city of
the golden birds, of dreams. In their harbors stand the stone
boatmen, pointing outward toward the unknown. Now the birds are
fostering a new-found relationship of the three cities of the
ancestors, and the voyages of the ship Aphelion and its crew are
beginning to rebuild the links.
Reviews
Whether or not The Stone Boatmen is but a dream remains for the reader to decide, but this I can say: this is a novel that will remain long in my mind, because of the quality of the storytelling and the ideas it explores. I cannot recall reading anything quite like it in recent years. It is perhaps a little early in the reading year to say this but I am sure already that it will be one of my books of 2014. (Read the whole review.)
 —Maureen Kincaid Speller, Strange Horizons, May 2014
...a powerfully original first novel...At any moment, beauty may strike with random grace, and unpretentious little details evoke the sense of wonder. Reading The Stone Boatmen feels as natural as breathing, but you can't take anything for granted.
—Faren Miller, Locus, April 2014
In Tolmie's novel, writing becomes a holy act, temple birds carry an ancient grief, and statues that never move are eerily alive. You will want to find such places once you've finished reading this remarkable novel.
—Nancy Hightower, The Washington Post, March 18, 2014
The voyages of the ship Aphelion reconnect three isolated cities whose
shared past is an enigma of half-understood relics and myth. Tolmie
gently guides the reader through a winding thread of linked
relationships that span decades as each generation rediscovers
infatuation, love and hate, grief, and joy; what could be mere grand
inhuman spectacles of epic historical processes are firmly rooted in
individual friendships, romances, and bitter feuds that add a vital
human dimension. Tolmie's prose is addictive, "a feast of words
burning bright against the dark," drawing the reader into the subtle
tale. Intimacy is favored over flashy action, contemplation over bold
speeches. This unique little gem eludes comparison to other works, and
discerning readers will count themselves lucky to discover
it. (Apr.)
—Publishers Weekly, Feb 17, 2014 (starred review)
ISBN: 978-1-61976-027-1 (13 digit)
Publication Date: Feb 2014
paperback 312 pages
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