SOURCE: Wilentz, Amy. “Voodoo But No Real Magic.” Los Angeles Times Book Review (20 April 2003): 4.

In the following review, Wilentz compliments Stone's abilities as a writer but faults Bay of Souls for what she contends is a weak plot and a preoccupation with spirituality.

The title of Robert Stone's new novel, Bay of Souls, is evocative of other times, of thwarted adventurers on the high seas, of midnight attacks, of political intrigue and spies, of palm trees and beaches under the moon and important moral imperatives. Say “Bay of …” to Americans of a certain age, and they'll know how to finish the phrase.

Stone is one of our great living writers, and always an explosive and problematic one. He can set a scene like almost no one else. If he writes a chase, you know it will be speedy and vibrant and filled with things other than the simple...