The Stone Cypher cover art

The Stone Cypher

Mysterious Scotland, Book 3

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Stone Cypher

By: Tormod Cockburn
Narrated by: Stewart Crank
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

They thought Orkney’s standing stones studied the heavens. It never occurred to anyone, the heavens might be studying us.

Magazine editor and part-time archaeologist, Gill McArdle is getting it together. Or at least, he thinks he is, until the death of a friend throws his life into turmoil. He’s on Orkney, researching an elaborate stone carrying an ancient religious motif. But he’s perplexed as the carving long predates any previous incidence of the symbol’s first use. Either someone is tampering with Orcadian archaeology, or Gill is facing a puzzle that can’t be resolved. Complicating his investigations, a secretive teenager passes Gill a notebook, packed full of numbers. At first, unexplained and impenetrable, the analysis starts to point to a mystery among the stars. As Gill battles to unlock the truth he realizes he’s on the cusp of his most startling discovery yet.

©2022 Tormod Cockburn (P)2024 Tormod Cockburn
Metaphysical & Visionary Modern Detectives Mystery Science Fiction
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Bone Trap cover art
Dark Is the Grave cover art
Forgotten Bones cover art
Falling Fast cover art
False Start cover art
The Witches of Scotland: The Complete Series, Books 1-8 cover art
Grimm Up North cover art
The Turning of Our Bones cover art
A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller cover art
A Long Time Dead cover art
Blood and Guts cover art
The Somerset Slayings cover art
The Engine House: A Black Beacons Murder Mystery cover art
Taken to the Hills cover art
Silent Tide cover art
The Girl in the Loch cover art

What listeners say about The Stone Cypher

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant!

I love this series, combining scientific fact with Scottish folklore. I'm so glad that they are now on Audible. Looking forward to the next.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Another great installment

These books are beautiful and the third installment in the series is no different. Blending together science, faith, and mystery, they are deeply thought through and an enthralling listen. Great story, incredible narration, and highly recommended if you want something a bit different!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

No more from this author for me sadly

Oh dear, I really loved the first two novels in this series but the insertion of religion, Christianity, absolutely ruined this story for me. I loved the archaeological and scientific details but the introduction of religion into the mix has me deciding not to continue with this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This book had me hooked from the beginning

What a great start to this book , as always the narrator was amazing and perfect for the stories of Gill McArdles adventures. Hooked from the beginning with its many twists and turns another fabulous journey of problem solving and intriguing details to keep the reader just wanting more. Look forward to reading more in this series, thank you

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So challenging

Have to admit I find this credible and that inspired me. Tormod, you are quite fey, quite amazing!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The Stone Cypher

Found these books by accident and decided to give them a go. I devoured them, one after the other. The story lines are excellent - a perfect blend of fact, fantasy with a dash of otherness. The narrator was an inspired choice, he brought the story and characters to life. I’ve since learned there are another four books in the series and I can’t wait for them to be available on audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good story but.....

Right from the start of this series there has been an undertone of the slightly older man lusting after young women, who the author chooses to describe as having perfect teeth, hair, complexion etc. etc. This booked, however, has ramped it up a notch. Characters wanting a piece of bar maids and the relief at flirty women being middle aged and plump. While using derogatory terms to describe women and reducing them to male objects of desire says more about the author than anything else, we won't be listening to anymore books from this author.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great story but a shame about the evangelising.

I found it annoying that the Christian religion was being pushed so hard, especially for such flimsy reasons.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Intriguing premise, but second half sad demise

Fascinating plot and great characters all set in the amazing Orkadian Neolithic ritual landscape. So far so good. Then along comes yards of prayer, the Christian god, teams of angels and the whole light mysterious mood changes things into some sort of born again Christian gub. So disappointing, so boring. Totally ruined the story and broke the contract with the reader, when the whole genre shifted. I will try one more to see if the writer can steer this series back on track, but right this minute I am not feeling charitable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful