The Stone Mage and the Sea

core novel 2001 The Change

Record

First published	2001
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	3.86 (304 ratings, collected 2026-10-29)
First-edition ISBN	9780732269944
Internal chronology	1

Synopsis

In a world where the Stone Mages rule the vast deserts of red sand and the Sky Wardens rule the long coastlines, magic is everywhere, but not everyone can control and direct it, and any child found to have the gift is sent to the Haunted City to be trained in the Change. Young Sal and his father arrive in Fundelry, a small and seemingly ordinary town on the coast of the Strand where the locals are suspicious of newcomers and of anyone who stands out. His father wants to stay, but the Sky Wardens will be coming, and Sal must find out what connection the stone mage Lodo had with his mother, and what fate was chosen for him before he was even born.

Where it sits

• Universe: The Change
• Series: Books of the Change core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
• Author: Sean Williams

Awards (verified)

• Aurealis Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 2001: nominated

Notes

• From the series record (Books of the Change): Trilogy, HarperCollins Voyager Australia, 2001 to 2002.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

• Publication order, within the series Books of the Change: position 1 of 3: next The Sky Warden and the Sun (2002)
• Internal chronology, within The Change: position 1 of 10: next The Crooked Letter (2004)

Sources

• SFE: Williams, Sean
• ISFDB: Sean Williams summary bibliography
• Amazon: The Stone Mage and the Sea (HarperCollins Australia)
• Sean Williams official site: Change is in the Air
• FantasticFiction: Sean Williams
• sfadb: Sean Williams chronology

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