Book Review: " A Cast of Stones" by Patrick W. Carr

In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.

Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny. - from Amazon.com

This is the first book in a trilogy called The Staff and Sword, and that is part of the reason I picked it out to read. I have always been a fan of the sword and magic fantasy series, but just the series name brought this book to my attention. Now, having finished this first book, I am anxiously starting the second one as soon as I finish rambling here.

Great epic story that tells of a young man that gets drafted into this huge quest to save the kingdom, and bring a new king to it as well. On this journey started with a priest, a Reader, a captain of the Kings's Watch, Errol, an alcoholic teen, beats his personal problems, learns how to wield a staff, and gains knowledge of the Readers, those that can cast lots (like BINGO balls with words). He turns out to be an omne, a reader that can read the lots of others. As the end nears, there is a climatic battle to save the elderly King, and Errol is given an Earldom.

I was a bit daunted at first, as it seemed like a fairly long book. But the reading was easy and fast. Obviously the story centers more around the events/actions of one character, and though there is not much detail about his background, I found myself liking him, and the others he traveled with. Though Errol seems a bit naive and overly-trustworthy of most anyone, and seems to come out of every fight/bad consequence with little damage, I am still drawn to the next book to find out what happens next.