The Pagan Stone had stood for hundreds of years, long before three boys gathered around it to spill their blood in a bond of brotherhood, unwittingly releasing a force bent on destruction . . . Gage Turner has been running from his past for a long time. The son of an abusive drunk, his childhood in the small town of Hawkins Hollow was tough - his only solace his friendship with Fox O Dell and Caleb Hawkins. But, aged ten, the boys unleashed evil on their town: every seven years murder and mayhem reign, and each cycle is more extreme than the last. Now Gage has returned home to help his friends save Hawkins Hollow, but a lifetime as a loner has made him wary of emotional ties. And who can make plans for the future when their present is so uncertain? For unless they find a way to use the Pagan Stone against the demonic force, everything they know and love will be destroyed . . .
not the pick of the litter
3rd book in the Sign of Seven Trilogy & the worst. It continues where The Hollow left off. Gage & Cybill are the main characters & I didn't like them at all. In the previous books I preferred the other characters but didn't find Gage & Cybill as continuously & completely unsympathetic as I did in this - their own - book. Maybe it was because you obviously get them in larger doses when they're the main characters. Lump the dog was my favourite here & he was basically making a guest appearance! Despite my dislike of Gage & Cybill, I'd have to say that they are strong & well drawn & seem to interact in a fairly believeable way. You might like them a hell of a lot better than I did. I thought this book was patchy & uneven in the way the story & action advanced & I found the climax not so much of one. The book ended with a whimper & when closing a trilogy it really should be with a bang. As it's the last in the series you really have to read it because you've read the other two. And die hard Nora fans will have to read it because they just have to - I did. Although it's not her best it's at least on par with the average formulaic genre novel out there, & better than many. 1st book is Blood Brothers. 2nd book is The Hollow.
Natalie, 12/12/2008
