The Story of the Stone is much darker and less zany than Bridge of Birds, but is still a very good read. I appreciated that the author included a female character as part of the main team, and there was a definite improvement in the handling of women over Bridge of Birds, which was very very eye-rolly. If you start this expecting the same fast-paced silliness as Bridge of Birds, though, you'll be disappointed. It's definitely its own novel, albeit with the same main two characters.