We start with two men, brothers, who are lodestone hunters, sorry, prospectors now according to the Directorate's change. There is a storm coming in and they race to a large spot they believe to be lodestone, only to find a body ~ a hu-man body, McCann. Our crew is back, after the trials, which now has put relationships in a new light and brought back old worries and feelings in which each needs to work through. They are on their way to the island the humans were banished to so many years ago, to disable the hu-man weapon with the components they received. But, will the hu-mans do as they are thought too? Or will more tribulations come about and they will have to figure out how to handle it. Could one of their own turn on them, or is something else going on?

I feel like there is a science and physics at work here with the lodestone. It is neat to think on the lodestone uses and abilities.

I liked the first two books of this series. Meeting the characters and getting to know them, through their trials and tribulations. And they are all present here. However, this book I was a little slow at reading. I blame my mood at the time, I don't think it was what I was needing. As there was action here, and the characters came across strange new things in this amazing world, I was a little bored. I'm sorry. And one of the characters kind of irritated me. I know, she is created that way, and it's not the only excuse for my feelings of the book. She is just as she should be, and for where she came from.

If you like reading alien worlds where humans invade and they fight back, this very well could be a good read for you. Or even for a young reader who hasn't read a lot of human invasions yet.

This book is very good for young readers as well, as it's geared toward the young readers for no bad language our sexual content. Their is friendships, strong and changing for them to read of. ( )

This is the third book in the Lodestone Series. I have previously read the other two books and I was worried that this book would not live up to my expectations. However The Crucible of the Dawn not only lived up to my expectations but exceeded them.

The description present throughout the book is flawless. The characters leap off the page and come alive in front of your eyes. The Plot kept me hooked throughout till the last page and in my opinion Mark Whiteway is just getting better and better with every book he writes.

I am looking forward to what Mark Whiteway writes next as I will be waiting, eager to get my hands on a copy.

A copy of this book was received for free from the author and all thoughts are my own through reading it.

This review was first published on http://everybookhasasoul.wordpress.com ( )

It’s difficult to review this book without leaving it full of spoilers for the first two, but I’ll give it a try. Our heroes continue in their efforts to stop The Prophet, with help from some unlikely allies. The action was well paced and exciting; the plot moved along at a good clip; and uses of the magnet-like lodestone technology continued to be inventive and consistent. I was unconvinced by Lyall’s sudden obsession with his missing sister, a fact that had barely been mentioned since he was first introduced, but I was able to more or less just go with it. Whiteway’s depiction of relationships is interestingly lopsided: the platonic interactions are complex and realistic, especially those between Keris and Boxx, Keris and Shann, and Shann and Alondo. The romantic relationships, on the other hand, leave a bit to be desired. Oliah’s introduction was too swift and I never felt Alondo’s connection with her; Rael is a whiny little doormat who doesn’t deserve Shann’s affections. (She needs someone with at least as strong a personality as herself.) All the same, I enjoyed this installment of the Lodestone series easily as much as the other two, and with the ending clearly leading into another sequel, I am looking forward to finding out what happens next. ( )

Article first published as Book Review: Lodestone, Bood Three: The Crucible of Dawn on Blogcritics.

In a world of Science Fiction, what seems unbelievable at first glance seems to come to fruition some years later. Many of the gadgets we are familiar with today, first found credence in the mind of a writer.

In Lodestone, Book Three: The Crucible of Dawn by Mark Whiteway, we follow the continued exploits of a group of Kalani who are trying to save their world, and release their people from oppression. The humans have found a cache of Lodestone, a substance from a different universe, located on Kalani, and have enslaved much of the population, forcing them to mine the ore. Using the powerful Keltar to force obedience, life for the Kalani has become a hopeless drudgery. Lodestone is highly sought for its use in weaponry, although the Keltar have used it for generations as a tool to help them quell the Kalani. Assigned to take charge of the mining, the Keltar do not realize the treachery of the humans. While the Keltar feel they are in charge, the humans have found a way to hide their real purpose.

A spirited young female Kalani and a group of ten unlikely heroes set out to cross the Sea of Storms, ready to use the four components of Annata, to save their world. Having secured the components necessary, Shann and Rael, two of the carriers are lost at sea, with their fate unknown. Lost on an island, Shann and Rael find themselves right where they need to be. As time winds down, and with the help of a strange and legendary Chandara, Boxx, can they overcome the internal conflicts and work together to find a way to find to disarm or destroy the human’s strange new weapon?

In their quest to find the answers, they find unique and remarkable truths about themselves. As the time grows short and all is at stake, will the Chandara make a stand? What is their place in the interplanetary dispute? With the strange abilities of Boxx, and his odd way of speaking in riddles, can our group of heroes convince the Chandara to help them in their final quest?

Whiteway has done a remarkable job of staying true to the Science Fiction of old. He has developed a world full of promise and passion, and peopled it with a race of beings, unique in appearance. Along with the Kalani, and the Keltar, the planet is also home to some dangerous beasts, such as the murghal and valthar. Also making their home on this planet are the strangely enigmatic Chandara, once thought extinct. By weaving technology and learning, a superior avionics division, and a hostile world full of strangely barbaric inhabitants, Whiteway has given us an unusual twist to the credibility of his world and characters.

Described in detail his world is easy to envision, and his characters have the ability to come alive and leap off the pages. A fun and exciting read, the story is also full of angst and personal demons. The flow is exceptional, and the story is quite enthralling.
I would recommend this to the science fiction aficionado, but the story would also be appropriate for the YA reader. Full of fun and danger, action and adventure, and characters that either charm or repel the story holds an unforgettable appeal. This would be a great book for your library, and while you are contemplating the purchase, you might check out his previous novels. He just gets better and better.

I received the book free from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material. ( )