Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44598 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 336 pages

Customer Reviews

Tired installment, brings trilogy limping over the finishing line
Anyone who has read the first two books in this trilogy (Blood Brothers and The Hollow) will know the gist of the story. They will probably also know that compared to some Nora Roberts books it started out as a weak trilogy. I personally never felt the passion, the love and at times like for the characters (Especially the women, they are very two dimensional and clichéd)

This instalment just seems tired to me, like Roberts regretted starting the whole thing but had to see it through. She didn't deliver what she promised and Gage and Cybil, who were penned as the dangerous and feisty pair just fell flat for me. There were a number of plot developments which had me cringing, and whilst Roberts tried to deal with the dilemma that is a natural side affect of her favoured six friends pairing up stories (Is it really love or are we just swept up in the idea that we were destined to be together and copying our friends) she simply doesn't manage it for me. There are far too many conversations where both Cybil and Gage angst about this without really developing and then simple, sudden acceptance.

Roberts is always good for a quick, undemanding read where HEA's are the order of the day, but at the end of this trilogy I just didn't care enough. Instead of gasping for more I was glad it was over. If you've read the others then you kind of have to read this one, but my advice, get it from the library. If you've stumbled on this and have yet to read the others, there are better books out there (Morrigan's cross, Three Sisters and the Key trilogies are all far superior)

My highlight of the series and the perfect end of the Sign of Seven trilogy
Warning - spoiler
"The Pagan Stone", book 3 in the "Sign of Seven" - trilogy by the sensational Nora Roberts is my personal highlight in the series, there could not have been a better way to finish what was started in "Blood Brothers" and continued in "The Hollow". The book is a really intense , sometimes sweet, sometimes sexy and an always thrilling read.
In "The Pagan Stone" the six friends (Cal, Fox, Gage, Quinn, Layla and Cybil) are preparing for the finale fight to destroy the evil that Gage, Cal and Fox set free unintentionally 21 years ago. For both sides, the good and the evil, it's a now or never situation and the six know that if they don't succeed this time there will be no next chance. But there is hope because for the first time the three men are completed by three very special ladys that share their psychic abilities and are their partners in every way.
Gage and Cybil are the ones the book concetrates on (but it's not a book about them, the other four of the team (family) are not only the supporting crew which is great).
Gage a gambler and a loner most of the times and the outspoken, intelligent Cybil clash from the first moment they meet. From not liking each other they develope mutual respect and end up in an intimate relationship.
They both are wondering about where their relationship is going to lead to especially because Cal & Quinn and Fox & Layla fell in love which each other.
The one point Gage and Cybil agree is that they don't want a serious relationship. Especially Gage is terrified at the thought of loving another person besides his two blood brothers and their families. He learned the hard way that there is not always a happy end. When his mother and unborn sister died (he was just a boy) and his father turned to alcohol and started to make his life a living hell he stoped believing in fairy tales and love.
But the complications in their personal life have to stand back when it comes to fighting the demon who is more viscious than ever and especially hates Gage and Cybil. Cybil is brutalized by the demon in a very evil way and she and Gage have to fight hard to continue their way and not give too many thoughts to hate and revenge.
When their relationship turns from "you" and "me" to "we" and the three pairs get some thrilling news tragedy strikes again and one of the team has to be willing to sacrifice himself to finally destroy the demon and save the life of the rest of his family.
"The Pagan Stone" is all I hoped for and more. I couldn't wait to finish it, it's that good. There are funny moments, lovly and some sad ones (yes I had to cry some) and all these combined makes this book just perfect.
So please get yourself a copy and enjoy this fabulous end of the "Sign of Seven" - trilogy.
S.M.

Note: I enjoyed the audiobook version just as much as the book. The narrator is great and gives you the feeling that you are part of the story and standing just a few feet away from the action.

decent, but not brilliant
Nora Roberts' The Pagan Stone is the last part in the Sign of Seven trilogy. After having crafted a mystery centered around 6 people and one ancient evil in the first two books, book three promises the conclusion in which this evil must be vanquished. It seems the key to destroying it lies in the personal connection between both the partners in each couple and the couples together. While the set-up for the pairings is somewhat logical, due to the style of writing it feels slightly contrived, as does the final showdown. Ms Roberts writes an entertaining romp, as always, but chooses - as she has been in the habit of doing for awhile now - a manner of writing which feels forced. This is most obvious in the dialogue, which often consists of sentences cut short, the use of incomplete phrases and otherwise unlikely speech. I imagine the idea is to write in a 'conversational style' which is to appear natural, but personally I don't know a lot of people whose conversational speech takes this form.
I enjoyed reading the trilogy, but certainly not as much as some of Nora Roberts' earlier work, such as the Three Sisters trilogy or the Key trilogy, which are both more carefully crafted and better written and as such have much more resonance.