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->''The Eschatos warrior had killed over a hundred Titan Corps pilots before, and seemed unstoppable. But this one titan pilot faced him against all odds. He managed to defeat the undefeatable Eschatos mecha with feats of brute strength unparalleled since the days when Benkei was still in the Show. All the talking-head analysts on the news were singing this titan pilot's praises. They talked about how impressive this was, how heroic he was, what a fine exemplar he was...They gave this pilot the title 'Ishio', the Stone King of Ibaraki.''

->''It took me a while to realize they were talking about ''me''.''

''Stone King: A Mecha Monogatari Novel'' is a science fiction [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin novel]] written by Tropers/SDouglasJohnson. It is set in a near-future Japan which is at war with the Eschatos, a loose alliance of other nations that continually send armies of mecha to attack Japan.

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force has developed mecha of its own: the titans, twenty-meter-tall bipedal war machines. Built with control systems reverse-engineered from Eschatos designs, that can only be operated by a rare few, who are conscripted into the GSDF Titan Corps while in their early teens and continue to serve until they can no longer synchronize (link their minds to their titan's control systems), or until they die.

''Stone King'' is told in autobiographical style, from the point of view of Saionji Kiyohiko, who was a JGSDF titan pilot until he lost the ability to synchronize. Looking back at his career in the Titan Corps, Saionji tells of his experiences during the invasion, occupation, and later liberation of Kyushu, where he came to be known as Ishio, the [[TitleDrop Stone King]] of Ibaraki.

!!''Stone King: A Mecha Monogatari Novel'' provides examples of the following tropes:
* AMechByAnyOtherName: The titans.
* ActionGirl: Lt. Kirihara Azusa
* BattleButler: Hashimoto.
* TheBigGuy: Saionji.
* {{BFG}}: Any mecha-scale weapon, but the Titan Corps' 120mm long-range cannon and the three-barrel 78mm gatling that Saionji carries are on the ''really'' big side, even for a mecha.
* ChildSoldiers: Youths as young as twelve are conscripted to pilot titans in the war against the Eschatos.
* CompetenceZone: With few exceptions, only those between the ages of about twelve and twenty-five possess the ability to pilot a titan.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Ichinose. Averted, as Saionji prevents him from actually killing himself. Played straight with Anjo.]]
* DudeShesLikeInAComa: [[spoiler:Saionji kisses a comatose Airi at Azusa's request, in the desperate hope that it will wake Airi up. Subverted in that Saionji doesn't have any romantic feelings toward Airi, and in that it doesn't work.]]
* EmotionlessGirl: Azusa has difficulty expressing her emotions, leading most people to think she is this.
* GatlingGood: Subverted. Saionji specializes in the use of a mecha-scale gatling gun, but he is rarely able to use it very effectively.
* GenkiGirl: Hirose.
* HimeCut: Kodora wears her hair like this. Azusa does, too [[spoiler: until a substantial portion of her hair is burned off during Jalal's attack on Kasama Defense Station.]]
* HumbleHero: Saionji, who feels he never really deserved a title like 'the Stone King of Ibaraki'.
* HumongousMecha
* IdolSinger: Azusa was scouted by a talent agency and performed at a few minor events before being conscripted into the Titan Corps.
* JerkassWithAHeartOfGold: Torigoe.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Torigoe and Hashimoto.]]
* MemeticBadass: The "titled" pilots (Saionji among them) are in-universe examples. While all are at least competent titan pilots, none of them are anywhere near as badass as they are believed to be.
* NewMeat: Yeong, Hosokawa, Mizugoshi, and Asahina.
* PosthumousCharacter: Anjo.
* RealRobotGenre
* RedBaron: The titled pilots, as well as the Eschatos pilot known as the Wolf of Calabarzon.
* [[spoiler: RockBeatsLaser: Saionji defeats the Harpy, a near-invincible enemy mecha, by throwing huge chunks of granite at it, disabling its shields]]
* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Morishima.
* ShoutOut: Anjo's virtual reality world inside the titan control systems is based on the Franchise/FinalFantasy series.
* TheSquad: Braver 97, the titan troop Saionji serves with.
* TheStoic: Azusa.
* StraightGay: Oyuki and his boyfriend Amagase.
* TakesOneToKillOne: It is generally accepted that only mecha can fight other mecha. Subverted by instances of infantry soldiers with man-portable missile launchers occassionally taking out enemy mecha.
* TemptingFate: At the New Years temple visit, the pilots get their omikuji fortunes. Airi gets 'great curse' but decides that it really means 'great blessing', as, in her mind, "bad luck is good luck".
* {{Tsundere}}: Hosokawa, specifically towards Yeong.
* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:exactly what happened to Rafeah? Saionji never finds out.]]
* UnsettlingGenderReveal: [[spoiler:Torigoe flips out when he learns his 'dream girl' Hisagome was actually a guy. Although quite upset at first, Torigoe ultimately finds it to be rather funny.]]
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Saionji mentions that he was forced to dress up as a girl as part of his initiation when he first became a titan pilot. [[spoiler:Also, Torigoe's dream 'girl', Hisagome, is actually a guy.]]
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