Today, arrived a package bearing a golden sticker.
"Bear the Flame" it exclaims.
Here I have demonstrated the proper way to handle the golden stickers before recycling the package:
Oh! And this book was also included in the package:
You may want to check it out. Right, now. Before it's too late.
And if you haven't read the first two books (or 9 other related Green Ember books), you can pick up The Tales of Old Natalia, Book 1: The Black Star of Kingston for just 99 cents on Kindle, or get The Green Ember audiobook for free on S. D. Smiths website:
Here's my review of The Black Star of Kingston, recently copied from Audible to Goodreads:
The Black Star of Kingston by S.D. SmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Stories of bravery and stories to make us brave
I thought I had reviewed this last year (2019), but the review isn't here (Audible.com), so I guess it didn't save properly. So here I am again.
I was really excited for this book, but ended up a bit disappointed for various reasons.
First, coming off of Joel Clarkson's narration of The Green Ember, Eric Fritzius just didn't give the audiobook the same life. Compared to Joel Clarkson's narration, this started out sounding like a text-to-speech engine for me. The narration moves too quickly and is mostly robotic with little variation (excluding Jimmi Docker, who stands out in my memory).
The next disappointment was not so much in the story, but in the presentation. In The Green Ember, the tales of Blackstar and Whitson Mariner are referenced as stories that were told over and over for the children. So I guess I was expecting and looking forward to something that was more episodic adventures, or perhaps 5-minute-story type chapters, rather than a long flowing story, that doesn't present itself as much of a bedtime story. Then the last piece to this disappointment, is that this seems to be the one adventure of Blackstar and King Whitson together, where The Green Ember makes it sound like Blackstar and the king were inseparable and had many adventures for many years.
So that's all for my nitpicking.
Other than the narration, and the story not being quite what I expected, it was a great story. Much shorter than The Green Ember, and less child-focused, but that doesn't make it any less child-friendly.
At only about one third the length of The Green Ember, the character development is quick, but strong, and the only place where the overall story suffers from the compression is that it could focus a bit more on the virtues of being brave, as that seems to be the legend behind the tale. The character lessons on bravery are subtle at best.
It focuses on the settling of Natalia and their first encounter with the birds of prey. You meet Blackstar the gardener, who wants to mine for coal, and King Whitson who has not been raised to be a king and must learn to come to grips with the demands of ruling and caring for the rabbits in his community. This introduces the origins of Blackstar's "My place beside you" oath; the creed of all rabbits loyal to King Whitson and his line.
I've listened to the Audible version twice now and just finished reading the Kindle version with our 7-year-old daughter. She loves this series (overall Green Ember series), and I'm very excited to be able to share it with her, because I love the series too. As I've said for other reviews in the series, I think most of these books deserve a solid 4 stars, but many I bump up to 5 because they're such an enjoyable ride, despite their flaws. The Black Star of Kingston sits solidly at a 4 in my eyes, especially the audio version.
[2022 Update]
And yet I still feel bad marking it down a star, because I love S. D. Smith and the series he's created.
I'm really excited to continue the Tales of Old Natalia with Book 3: Prince Lander and the Dragon War.
It comes out next month, so go pick up the series and get caught up!
View all my reviews
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