The Stone War

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John Tietjen loves New York City like life itself. But while he's out of town at a conference, confused reports come out of the city. Millions of refugees are streaming out, each bearing contradictory tales of fire, earthquake, explosions, collapse. Making his perilous way back, he gathers a few survivors and establishes a shelter. But the full nature of the catastrophe is still unclear.Amazon.com ReviewJohn Tietjen loves New York City. Even as millions of other urbanites retreat behind security guards and steel gates, fleeing the swelling numbers of gangbangers and homeless, John takes his sons throughout the city, trying to teach them its joys and beauties. But John's ex-wife fears the city; and, seeking to screen their sons from his influence, she persuades John to take a consulting job in the safety of the suburbs. When John is in Massachusetts, garbled broadcasts and swarming refugees reveal that disaster has struck New York. Fire, flood, earthquake, explosions-- the reports are contradictory, but all dreadful. John returns to New York despite the dangers to find his family, to preserve what he can, and to find himself confronting the force behind the nightmarish destruction.Tough, literate, and wise, The Stone War, a first novel by Madeleine E. Robins, is a dark and powerful modern fantasy. --Cynthia WardFrom Publishers WeeklyIn Robins's New York City, the homeless legally homestead vacant patches of land, armed guards check IDs at nearly every corner and Central Park is a no-man's land too dangerous to traverse. Yet John Tietjen still loves his city, and even enjoys walking its dangerous streets at night. While John is in Massachusetts overseeing an architectural project, something disastrous happens in New York. No one is exactly sure whatAthe shocked refugees escaping the cataclysm give conflicting reports: of fire, of earthquakes, of bombings. John makes his way back to his home's shattered remains and, after meeting the highly capable and maternal Barbara McGrath, establishes a haven for survivors. At first John and the others expect outside help to come, but assistance never arrives, leaving the survivors to deal with monsters as well as with the everyday challenges of making it in a ruined city. Given John's alleged fascination with the city's rich blend of cultures, it seems odd that the narrative focuses almost exclusivelyAand to its detrimentAon a cast of middle-class, Caucasian characters. And although this imaginative, well-crafted tale boasts a gripping premise and many appealing elements (warm protagonists, fantastic beings, animated statuary, weird powers, strong descriptions), it never delivers quite enough magic or horror to fully satisfy. Still, there's much promiseAand talentAon display in Robins's first novel. (Aug.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.