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DJ Edwardson

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The Last Motley (The Null Stone Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by DJ Edwardson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 66 ratings

Book 1 of 1: The Null Stone Trilogy

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A hunted child. A magical curse. And an unlikely hero.

Every century a motley is born. Though only children, their patchwork skin marks them as dangerous, especially to those who know about the first motley. That one nearly destroyed the world.

But a chance meeting with Roderick the tailor may hold the key to breaking the curse. Roderick has no sword or armor or magic of his own. He's not even rich. But he’s the one the motley chooses to save him. Can he end the curse before the motley’s pursuers destroy him once and for all?

Old legends spring to life. Nightmares walk the land. But heroes may be found in the most unlikely of places.

If you like world-spanning quests, unpredictable magic, and heroes with hearts of gold, you'll love this epic fantasy novel from Grace Award finalist DJ Edwardson.

What readers are saying:

★★★★★ “…for anyone who loves a grandly told, beautiful tale with ribbons of truth weaved though it.”

★★★★★ “...feels like a classic sort of fantasy tale, while at the same time being quite unique and not at all what you’d think!”

★★★★★ “One of the strongest things I got out of it was the focus on family. I LOVED that.”

★★★★★ "The fantasy world of Arinn was fascinating...I felt instantly at home..."

★★★★★ “Edwardson is an amazing storyteller...The setting and the characters all came alive for me."

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B077S93NQC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Giraffix Media (Feb. 6 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 8358 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 356 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,331,095 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #9,007 in Coming of Age Fantasy eBooks
- #12,746 in Children's Science Fiction & Fantasy
- #18,258 in Epic Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 66 ratings

About the author

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DJ Edwardson

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DJ Edwardson is the Grace Award nominated author of several books and shorter works. He traveled a lot when he was younger. Now he’s busy crafting exotic destinations of his own. Although he has written both Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, he likes to say he writes in the “genre of imagination”.

He has a degree in English from Cornell College where his emphasis was on the works of Shakespeare. He’s tried his hand at both acting and directing in the theater, but these days is happiest with a pen in hand. He lives in Tennessee with his wife and three children amidst an ever-growing library of wonderful books.

Find out more about DJ Edwardson's work at www.djedwardson.com.

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Top reviews from Canada

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CMC

Brilliant Book

Reviewed in Canada on March 12, 2018

I really enjoyed this story. Fantasy, magic and more I'm used Roderick's world and the pages. Evil and greed tested their perservering efforts and commitment.
It was a vivid and descriptive book, I especially enjoyed '...a deep and orange sprinkled with canary yellow...' and the term, '...knickers in a wad...' They, among many others, made me smile but I didn't lose engagement from the story itself. The twists and turns kept me reading and the characters kept me intriqued.
My only grievance was the story continuing after the mission was completed. I felt this could have been finished sooner or skipped altogether and wrapped up with the celebrations at home. That said, the story was very good and DJ Edwardson has a wonderful way with words and prose. I am glad I had the opportunity to read it.

Helpful

Marlene

Great mix of fantasy and action

Reviewed in Canada on August 10, 2018

Enjoyed the book. It was an easy read that kept my attention throughout the story. Lots of action with interesting fantasy. Often when I thought I had characters figured out, something happened and I wasn't sure what to think.

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Top reviews from other countries

Jenelle Schmidt

Beautiful, poignant, and epic

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

S
eldom do I come to the end of a book with such a strong desire to flip back to the front and re-read the entire thing, just so that I can hang out with the characters some more, but The Last Motley was one where I was sorely tempted to do just that. However, I have other reading commitments at the moment, so re-reading this delightful adventure will have to wait. But I can relive it a little bit by telling you about it. I shall attempt to avoid spoilers…

Slide over, Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald, there is a new fantasy author on the scene and he deserves a spot at your table. This book is epic, poignant, and beautiful. The characters step off the page and into your heart, the language is crafted with care, filling the book with prose that reads like poetry, and the adventure is gripping and fast-paced, with a few twists and turns along the way.

The story revolves around Roderick, a simple tailor who happens to have a chance encounter with a Motley — a young boy whose skin is covered in a patchwork of colors and has a powerful, but dangerous, magic at his disposal. Roderick is not your typical fantasy hero. He is happily married and has a daughter, and all he really wants to do is stay home and take care of them. He doesn’t have much in the way of survival skills, early in the book he is considering how hard times are and the fact that he can’t just hunt for food like his father did, “He couldn’t shoot an arrow into the river if he was drowning.” However, when Jacob comes into his life and a mysterious group of scholars tells them that the only way to keep Jacob, and the world, safe from Jacob’s magic is to take a long trip to a place where they can safely remove Jacob’s magic from him, Jacob says he will only go if Roderick comes with him. Led by Master Kendall, one of the older scholars, the three unlikely companions begin the long journey across the world of Arinn.

Along the way, they will face nightmares, thieves, roving bands of wildmen, soldiers sent by powerful men to kidnap and harm Jacob, and skirt a sudden war in order to keep Jacob safe and reach their destination in one piece.

Of the things I loved about this book, Roderick was definitely my favorite. He was just such a refreshing character. A man of humility, integrity, and a strong nature bent on protecting those around him, Roderick is exactly the sort of person I’d want to go on a journey with. He reminds me a little bit of Bilbo Baggins or Sam Gamgee… maybe not the person you’d pick first for an epic journey, but once he’s there, he’s committed, 110%. I also loved how Edwardson wove in Roderick’s faith in Adonai seamlessly throughout the book in a way that was beautiful and compelling, and it never once seemed out of place. I also enjoyed that Roderick was a veritable repository of tailor-related sayings. “Oh, buttons!” is his catch-phrase throughout the book, but he also just sort of thinks in sewing-related terminology, and I LOVED that about him.

Jacob is another favorite. With his too-wise face that has seen too much sorrow already, I just want to scoop him up and give him a hug… pretty much on every page.

Along the way they meet a thief named Nagan, and he stole my heart completely, with his colloquialisms that don’t quite make sense, and his sense of humor, Nagan is in many respects the complete opposite of Roderick. He’s a shady fellow with a penchant for thievery, and a complete disregard for anything resembling integrity. However, falling in with Roderick and company does prove to be good for him, and in the end, his mettle is proved to be solid gold beneath the coarse exterior.

The world of Arinn is fascinating and epic and everything a fantasy world should be. The journey takes the reader across much of the map, and it is obvious that the author spent a great deal of time crafting this world and pouring thought and effort into the different cities and villages and areas, making them feel different and unique from one another while still obviously part of the same world. (As a side-note, the inns all have really fun names)!

I already mentioned the exquisite language of the book, and I just want to show you a small example of what I mean by sharing one of my favorite lines:

“By noon, the sun made a feeble attempt to push its way through the soggy rag which was gagging the sky.”

Isn’t that beautiful?

I loved how important family was in this story, and how the strength of his love for his family is what keeps Roderick going. He doesn’t just think about his wife and daughter with a sort of “oh, I miss them” kind of longing, but he sees their faces, he thinks about what his wife would say about various situations or people, or how his daughter would react to seeing certain things. He carries them in his heart, and it is beautiful.

Another thing I love about this book is the humor. It’s not always a laugh-out-loud sort of humor (though there were moments, like the line I shared earlier about Roderick’s lack of hunting skills, and most of the time when Nagan is talking), but there’s also this subtle, wry, whimsical sense of humor running throughout the story and I can just imagine the author grinning as he wrote the lines, hoping that his readers would find them as amusing as he.

Honestly, I could go on and on and on… but I’ve come too close to handing out spoilers already, and really, I’d rather you go out and buy yourself a copy of this epic, wonderful, GEM of a story than stay here reading my review of it! What are you waiting for? Go get a copy!

Five Dragon Eggs

12 people found this helpful

Jillane Holmgren

Good Book, Not Quite My Taste

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

Objectively this book was pretty good. There were a few confusing parts and some things that I wish were cleaner, but overall it's enjoyable for probably most fantasy readers.
I enjoyed the magic system, how the story made use of certain tropes, and the nuggets of wisdom and truth spread through it.
I think my main issues with the story was that the plot was a bit wandering, and the action, while decent, was often lacking in any real consequences. While there was occasionally the threat of death, it wasn't very believable and Jacob's magic was kind of a catch-all. Rodrick was a great attempt at the nuanced paragon character, but he was very static and lacked agency. Honestly, the story wouldn't have been much different if he wasn't there, he didn't do much but give the readers eyes into the story and comment on the morality of nearly every choice.
However, the character were, for the most part, well fleshed out, the story enjoyable and not overly derivative as many European-inspired fantasies tend to be these days, and for people who want a well written fantasy with a strong moral message and not much to offend anyone, this is a safe bet. I can see why many people love it, it's just not entirely my cup of tea.

24601

A must read! 3 reviews in one 👍👍

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2018

Verified Purchase

Our family members enjoyed The Last Motley. Here is the first review:

The Last Motley Review

Roderick Devinson has lived a quiet life as a simple tailor in Briar's Glen. Everything stops when he meets a motley named Jacob who is fleeing for his life. Roderick bonds with him to help get rid of the curse that Jacob has from his skin. With the help of a savant named Master Kendall, they set off on a perilous journey to find a mysterious gem called the Null Stone, not knowing what danger lays ahead of them.

From the author of Into the Vast and The Spirit of Caladonia: D.J. Edwardson.

Positive Elements

Roderick is shown to be very caring to Jacob despite being a motley and will to protect him from any danger. Jacob was not willing to go on the journey without Roderick and always wanted to stay at his side.

Even more characters are shown to care for Jacob. Nagan, despite not knowing the way and a Gitauno who had a reputation as a thief was willing to help Roderick and Jacob through Middlehelm and tagging along with them throughout the journey and Portia, who denied her grandfather's orders to save them from the other Gitaunos.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

Roderick and Nagan help Jacob from getting killed by Kendall (who was really a thaumatauge) and willing to sacrifice their lives for Jacob.

Spiritial Content

Roderick often prays to Adonai (latin for LORD) everytime they're in danger, when Jacob is having nightmares and even Nagan asks Roderick to pray for them when they were being chased.

One of the Savants talks about magic from The Null Stone to the curse that Jacob has. Master Kendall uses magic through out the journey.

Sexual Content

None.

Violent Content

Roderick is beaten by thugs but is rescued by Jacob. Jacob, Roderick and his family are being chased by the thugs but are saved by one of the savants when he throws black smoke powder.

Roderick, Jacob and Kendall are being caught by other enemies through out the journey. Master Kendall throws some white powder at some men at The Executioner's Corner. The trio are being chased and taken by shadows through out Middlehelm and on the Following River.

When facing against Kendall, Nagan finishes off him with a knife.

Crude and Profane Language

Only exclamations of “Oh buttons!”

Drug and Alcohol Content

At Devinsmoor, Roderick is given some kind of serum to make him tell the the truth. It turns out that the serum wasn't diluted with water so Roderick began to feel drunk.

Other Negative Elements

None.

Roderick and Jacob look after each as if they are really biological no matter what danger they face. Even Nagan and Portia are willing to give up their lives for the motley (even if his skin looks like colerful red, yellow, green and blue diamonds).

Overall, this book is a good read to Tolkien and Lewis fans. Even if you aren't into literature or history, I highly recommend this novel not just for Tolkien and Lewis scholars but to anyone who wants a good book to read. (Matt)

Here is another review:

The Last Motley

Brilliant!

“Motleys creatures that drain the souls of men” or so I’ve read.

This read captured me immediately because the depth at which the author describes the scenery, characters, and their struggles, is absolutely brilliant! From the day I picked it up I could not put it down. I am currently doing a book study on this amazing piece of literature and every time I look back at the story I distract myself from actually studying it. Ha ha 😆

Do not hesitate to read this Tolkien’ish novel

And another review:

This book has a lot of twist and turns in a way that tends to get you at every corner. You'll never know what part comes next but the way D.J. Edwardson has written it makes it a must read. If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis you will certainly love this novel!

2 people found this helpful

mabg

DNF — it’s just too clunky

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2020

Verified Purchase

I just couldn’t finish it. Saintly Roderick the tailor and Bethany his wife with their abiding faith in Adonai seemed too cardboard, and at 30% in, I’ve learned nothing about the other characters. I have nothing at all against faith, in fact the opposite, but I really think fantasy authors should come up with their own belief systems, not insert poorly disguised Christianity into alien worlds. IMO, using ‘Adonai’ as the name for God is lazy and too obviously references Hebrew and Christian texts.

Second issue is the plot. All it’s been so far is a bog-standard “journey to find a cure” story. No creativity in world-building, just standard medieval European culture, with hints of non-human races. And too many words spent on non-events. There’s action in the beginning but once they start on the journey, it gets boring fast. Also typical of these stories: Jacob can tell when they’re in danger and yet they keep telling him, “there, there, don’t worry, it will be fine.” Then again, there wouldn’t be much plot left if they did listen because they wouldn’t be in so much danger . . .

Third issue, the writing is clunky. It’s not terrible, just thoroughly uninspired. Passages like this kicked me right out of the story: “At last he could turn his attention to the sumptuous provisions. It was a feast fit for a king . . . Merrill had brought in trays brimming with such things as Roderick had only heard about from merchants and other wealthy folk . . . The two famished travelers settled into their meal, taking their time, and enjoying every bit of the innkeep’s sumptuous provender.”

The editor should have caught the doubling of ‘sumptuous’, the passive construction in the second sentence is just painful, and all the hackneyed words (provender) and phrases (feast fit for a king) should have been eliminated. It’s just so completely ordinary and expected.

So I am giving up on this story. There are so many better-written books to read that I’m not willing to spend time on this one.

One person found this helpful

David Bergsland

This entertaining tale skips Truth for entertainment

Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

A great cover, a wonderfully entertaining book, but this fantasy ignores spiritual reality for horror. In years past, I would have loved it. I really enjoyed it now also—but the sparseness of Truth tempers my enthusiasm. That’s probably because I’m facing going home in the next decade or so—so Truth and Reality mean a lot to me.

The Last Motley demonstrates very inventive fantasy
The story compelled me throughout. The characters crawl into your soul. The world built by DJ suspends disbelief very quickly. This is delightful entertainment. As you know, I don’t usually like horror. But evil pervades this book without touching Reality. So, the reaction to the horror remains intellectual but not emotional for me. But then, I work in deliverance and spiritual warfare in my daily life.

It’s only vaguely Christian—though believers will feel the comfort of that worldview. Non-believers will escape any troubling truths. Neither the Messiah nor the Creep makes an appearance. The Last Motley fantasy ignores spiritual reality.

Talk with your children
They need to understand the lack of reality. You can easily answer their questions. However, they must understand this is fleshly entertainment. Don’t worry. The good guys prevail. The bad ones seem to be vanquished.

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The Last Motley (The Null Stone Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

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About the author

DJ Edwardson

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