{{Short description|2008 novel by Isobelle Carmody}} {{Use Australian English|date=May 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} {{distinguish|Stone Key Partners|Keystone (disambiguation){{!}}Keystone}}

{{Infobox book <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> | name = The Stone Key | image = The Stone Key by Isobelle Carmody.jpg<!-- First edition cover preferred --> | caption = ''The Stone Key'' first edition cover. | author = Isobelle Carmody | cover_artist = Les Petersen, Getty Images | country = Australia | language = English | series = Obernewtyn Chronicles | genre = Fantasy, science fiction, young adult | release_date = 4 February 2008 | publisher = Viking Children's Books | pages = 1000 | isbn = 978-0-670-07134-0 | congress = PZ7.C2176 St 2008 | oclc = 225756476 | preceded_by = The Keeping Place | followed_by = The Sending }}

'''''The Stone Key''''' is a 2008 science fiction novel by Isobelle Carmody,<ref>{{cite web|title= ''The Stone Key'' by Isobelle Carmody|publisher= National Library of Australia|url= https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/4194710|access-date= 22 May 2024}}</ref> set in a post apocalyptic world. It is the fifth book in the Obernewtyn Chronicles.

==Background== left|100px| upright|thumb|''Wavesong'' cover ''The Stone Key'' was first published in Australia on 4 February 2008 by Viking Children's Books in trade paperback format.<ref name="ISFDB">{{cite web | url = http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?158223 | title = Bibliography: The Stone Key | website = isfdb.org | publisher = ISFDB | accessdate = 24 April 2010 }}</ref> In the United States it has been separated into two books, entitled ''Wavesong'' and ''The Stone Key'' respectively.<ref name="ISFDB" />

''The Stone Key'' was a short-list nominee for the 2008 Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel but lost to ''Finnikin of the Rock'' by Melina Marchetta.<ref name="LO 2009AA">{{cite web | url = http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Aurealis2009.html#yn | title = The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2009 Aurealis Awards | publisher = Locus Online | accessdate = 24 April 2010 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 3 January 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100103043752/http://locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/Aurealis2009.html#yn }}</ref>

==Synopsis== When Elspeth sets out from Obernewtyn to Sutrium to testify at the trial of a rebel traitor, she quickly learns not everyone has welcomed the changes caused by the rebellion. Pitted against an invasion, Elsepth finds herself on her strangest and most dangerous journey yet. Drawn into the heart of the Herder Faction, she learns of the terrible plot to destroy the west coast. To stop it, Elspeth risks everything, for if she dies, she will never be able to complete her quest to destroy the weaponmachines which wiped out the Beforetime; but if she succeeds, it might just bring her to the final clue needed to find them...<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.penguin.com.au/products/9780143009436/stone-key-obernewtyn-chronicles-volume-5|title = Stone Key: The Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 5 by Isobelle Carmody}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.readings.com.au/product/9780670071340/isobelle-carmody-the-stone-key-the-obernewtyn-chronicles-book-five |title=Archived copy |access-date=2011-08-28 |archive-date=2012-10-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007174152/http://www.readings.com.au/product/9780670071340/isobelle-carmody-the-stone-key-the-obernewtyn-chronicles-book-five |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Reception==

A reviewer for the ''Canberra Times'' noted: "Freedom, Carmody suggests, is messy and in some ways harder to live with than totalitarian rule...Her heroes and heroines are utterly implacable in their refusal to compromise their morals: they are filled with a profound respect for all life, treating animals as their intellectual equals and steadfastly refusing to participate in any activity that will cause harm to another living creature." They concluded: "The Stone Key appeals to the type of teenager who reads literature for consolation, to enter a world where people are better, where their actions matter, where the adolescent search for identity and a place in the world can be tied up with a quest to save humanity...Despite this, they remain utterly human, inspiring empathy and driving a compelling plot."<ref>{{cite web|title="Journey fulfils the wildest fantasies" |publisher= The Canberra Times, 2 December 2008, p14|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1020371710|access-date= 29 May 2024|id= {{ProQuest|1020371710}}}}</ref>

==Awards and nominations== In 2008, ''The Stone Key'' was shortlisted for "Young Adult Novel" in the Aurealis Awards.<ref name="LO 2009AA"/>

==Publication history==

'''Single Book Publications:'''<ref name="ISFDB" /> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Country!! Publisher!! Media type!! Cover Designer!! Pages!! ISBN |- |rowspan="1"| 2008 | AUS | Penguin Books | Paperback | Les Petersen | 1000 | {{ISBNT|9780670071340}} |- |}

'''Split Books:'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?1237253|title=Bibliography: Wavesong|author= |website=isfdb.org|date= |publisher=The Internet Speculative Fiction Database |accessdate=31 August 2011}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year !! Country!! Title!! Publisher!! Media type!! Cover Designer!! Pages!! ISBN |- |rowspan="1"| 2008 | US | rowspan="2"|''Wavesong'' | Random House | Paperback | rowspan="4"|Les Petersen | 467 | {{ISBNT|9780375857713}} |- |rowspan="1"| 2011 | UK | Bloomsbury Publishing | Paperback | 480 | {{ISBNT|9781408806944}} |- |rowspan="1"| 2008 | US | rowspan="2"|''The Stone Key'' | Random House | Paperback | 483 | {{ISBNT|9780375857720}} |- |rowspan="1"| 2011 | UK | Bloomsbury Publishing | Paperback | 576 | {{ISBNT|9781408806951}} |- |}

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{isfdb title|id=158223|title=The Stone Key}}

{{Isobelle Carmody}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone Key}} Category:2008 Australian novels Category:2008 English-language novels Category:Science fantasy novels Category:2008 science fiction novels Category:Australian fantasy novels Category:Australian science fiction novels Category:Australian young adult novels Category:Young adult fantasy novels Category:Children's science fiction novels Category:Obernewtyn Chronicles