The book is quite fun and exciting, but not convincing for a more adult audience. Although the concept of living organisms based on flint is interesting, the ‘fairy-tale mechanics’ of the main antagonist's powers in the work raise questions even within Doctor Who, and the pseudo-scientific explanation is not very convincing. The only interesting thing is that the ‘antagonist’, although an alien, was created/provoked by humans (for some reason I love this trope). It's also interesting that Rory is given much more time here than in the series episodes, which allows him to open up.

But in general, it was fun to read.

This review is a translation of a part of my Ukrainian-language text, the original can be found here: https://www.mzut-podcast.com/post/heart-of-stone-the-water-thief-terminal-of-despair-review