Litwolf writes...

At long last, I have Clan-Building Volume Two in my hands! Like most fans, I have been dreaming of this for a full year. To be able to have it in hand and read it is delightful beyond words. So I’ll just start on my review then, shall I?

SPOILERS FOR CLAN-BUILDING VOLUME TWO

PLEASE DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT SPOILERS

Chapter Nine: Rock of Ages

Just a few months before CB2 came out, I got the chance to spend three weeks in England and Ireland and a single day I Scotland. On that day, I got to tour Edinburgh Castle and view the Treasures of the Crown, including the Stone of Destiny. I got a little giddy seeing the Stone in Scotland because I could imagine the battle between gargoyles and robots being fought over it the night before its transportation. Sadly, I wasn’t allowed to take a picture; I could only gawk for a moment before getting shooed down the line with the other tourists. So it’s a pleasure to have seen the Stone of Destiny before reading the conclusion of this arc. (On the same trip, I visited and Eskimo-kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland; however, I had no idea until reading CB2 that one of the theories of the Blarney Stone’s origin was from the Stone of Destiny. Quite exciting I visited the pieces from the same Stone twice :D)

We got to see the conclusion of the big air battle from the last issue. I liked the glance back to Tibet and seeing the two monks from ‘Reunion’. I think its fitting that Coldstone returned to them to show he had overcome his inner turmoil.

As always, it is a pleasure to see what new way the Coyote Robot will bite it next. And I love the free will chit-chat between Coldsteel and Coyote.

I will admit that I was one of the readers who was confused about who had the ‘real’ Stone of Destiny by the end of it: Xanatos, the Illuminati, or Scotland? But, with the help of your Ramble and by rereading it a few times, I came to understand the fact that all the pieces of the Stone (whatever their name and location) are considered to be part of the Stone of Destiny. I am guessing that the Spirit of Destiny (I believe that’s what it’s called on GargWiki) can jump between the fragments as it sees fit. Hence being unable to be possessed by any one mortal.

Favorite part of the whole arc: the greetings exchanged between the Stone of Destiny and the Holy Grail. I think it’s simple and just so totally perfect that these two artifacts of immense power say, “Hey.” Its beautiful. I may cry.

And Shari ends things right where they began. That is some fine storytelling on her part. I like her as a storyteller.

All in all, I thought it was a fantastic conclusion to the Stone Arc. I’ll admit, the non-linear storytelling took some getting used to but I was hooked by the end of it. My only disappointment is that we don’t know why the London Clan doesn’t have any gargoyle beasts, which we are all curious to know because it seems like there is more of a story behind it than simply “They all died out”. Oh well, gotta save some mystery for when the Gargoyle Graphic Novels get picked up, right? Well done, well done!