The story takes place in the imaginary Lemon Drop Valley, a ��ilicon Valley��a hundred years from now. Inventors have deserted it, leaving magic machines they'd designed to idlers of later
times. The protagonist is a dreamer in a classical sense, defined in White Nights by Dostoevsky. He lives in a corner that offers no gratification to the senses. His first act of descending
into Lemon Drop Valley is prompted by dreams. There, he teams up with the Confectioner Tonino, is smitten with Yushka Stella and loses them both. Next to these no nonsense characters, Spark
appears as an idler. A comparison comes to mind with Fat Charlie of Anansi Boys by Gilman, who even feels apologetic about his existence. Spark, contrariwise, is mindless to his blemishes.
Determined to find the motivating force behind things, he saves a magic machine from evil hands and is about to be crowned when the Royal Vizier devises a plan to send him to planet Zevera on a
fatal assignment. On his way there, Spark allies with his mentor, the Conversationalist, who saves his life and helps him benefit from the Inventors of the abandoned magic machines. Spark the
Stone Man is a fantasy novel aimed at children ages 9 to 12. It compares with The King of Elfland's Daughter by Dunsang; The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien and Anansi Boys. In similar fashion, it
follows no familiar pattern. Unlike The King of Elfland's Daughter, it doesn't take landscape, custom or ritual for granted, but lets the protagonist recreate them in his fancy. Historical or
geographical allusions, found in Tolkien, are superseded by philosophical and literary allusions. What brings Spark the Stone Man closer to Anansi Boys is the author's drive to identify with
his characters and open up their world to readers.
