On Tour with Prism Book Tours
A Cast of Stonesby Patrick Carr
Paperback, 400 pages
Expected Publication: February 1st 2013 by Bethany House Publishers
Premise:
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.
Available 2/1/13:
About the Author:
Patrick Carr was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee. Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a nuclear plant, did design work for the Air Force, worked for a printing company, and consulted as an engineer. Patrick’s day gig for the last five years has been teaching high school math in Nashville, TN. He currently makes his home in Nashville with his wonderfully patient wife, Mary, and four sons he thinks are amazing: Patrick, Connor, Daniel, and Ethan. Sometime in the future he would like to be a jazz pianist. Patrick thinks writing about himself in the third person is kind of weird.
Awards: ACFW Genesis Competition 2010 Finalist for “A Cast of Stones” in Speculative Fiction.
Find & Follow:
Review
My thoughts: Patrick Carr’s debut novel, A Cast of Stones, is the first book in The Staff and the Sword series. It is an epic medieval tale of a boy who turns into a man and learns about himself while going through an dangerous odyssey.
I'm a difficult reader to please within the fantasy/medieval genre, because I'm not really into it. It is pretty hard for me to wrap my mind around new worlds so full of things I've never heard about or that are completely made up. Before, I only had fully accomplished that with Patrick Rothfuss' book, The Name of the Wind. Now I'm pleased to say that A Cast of Stones is another one of the rarities that manages to captivate me with its world and that Patrick Carr is definitely one to watch.
The first pages of this book were tough. The mean character, Errol, a nineteen-year-old boy stars off pretty low on the awesomeness scale. I mean, he's a drunk and after spending all he had in drinks, he goes around begging for food. But then he was given a mission, he has to deliver a pretty important message to an hermit priest who lives in the middle of nowhere. The journey sounds hard enough but Errol had to fight for his life while trying to make it to the priest house.
Errol is a character you grow fond with. Little by little you learn a lot about him and why he's like that. He definitely evolves through the book, learn things about himself he wouldn't even dream of in his wildest dreams. He's gifted and his gift puts him a lot of danger, but it is like he's been given a reason, a purpose to fight and man up, which he does.
Our protagonist -with the help of his friends- goes from being the drunk of a tiny town who doesn't even know how to read to be one of the most important pieces in the King and Church side of a fight that has been going on for a while now.
Patrick Carr creates a world so believable and character so deep you feel like you are living everything along with them and it is really easy to get caught up in the story. The writing is precise, full and diverse, no repetitive words or redundant paragraphs. It is pretty perfect, at least from my point of view.
I think Carr is a bright mind to keep an eye on and I would most definitely read the next book on this series.
Rating:
I would recommend it for: Everyone. Especially for fans of the fantasy genre. It is definitely a MUST read.
Guess Post
Visuals
The most important visual for the church was for my main
character, Martin Arwitten. The name itself is a play on words. I borrowed the
first name from Martin Luther and took the last name from the village where he
wrote his works, Wittenburg. From there it seemed natural that I use the
following image.
My sister, Ramona, is my alpha reader. She gets everything I
write even before the first set of edits. Why she’s willing to read the very
first draft is beyond me, but she’s been so helpful and encouraging. When she
first started reading “A Cast of Stones” she said that the character Martin
reminded her of the skipper from Gilligan’s Island. Here his picture.
I was really happy with that. She’d never seen the picture I’d
used to describe my character. I took that as a sign that my characterization
was pretty accurate.
Tour-Wide Giveaway:
Grand Prize (USA & Canada): Print copy of entire series of three books (#2 & #3 as they are published) + A Cast of Stones Mug + Lend your name to a character in book #3!!
2nd Prize (USA & Canada): Print copy of A Cast of Stones
International Entries: eCopy of A Cast of Stones
Open only to those who can legally enter. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Burgandy Ice @ Colorimetry and sponsored by Bethany House & the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Herbwomen of secret lore
The World of The Staff & the Sword
The Readers of the cast lots
The Watchmen, elite warriors
The Clergy of power
Catch the entire Tour!!
LAUNCH-DAY BLAST!
1/23 - Backing Books - Herbwomen
1/24 – Christian Novels – Review – World
1/25 – I Am a Reader, Not a Writer – Readers
1/27 – Reads to Reels – Watchmen
1/28 – LDS & Lovin’ It - Clergy
1/29 – Proud Book Nerd - World
1/30 – Open the Page - Herbwomen
1/31 – Wonderings of One Person – Review - Readers
2/1 – RELEASE-DAY BLAST!
2/3 – Simple Wyrdings - Watchmen
2/4 – Bookworm Lisa – Review – Clergy
2/5 – Passion & Life – Readers
2/6 – Kari’s Crowded Bookshelf – Review Herbwomen
2/7 – Coffee, Books & Me - Readers
2/8 – Backing Books – Review – World
2/10 – Letters to the Cosmos - Watchmen
2/11 – Jill Williamson – Review – Clergy
2/12 – ADD Librarian Herbwomen
2/13 – Worthy 2 Read – Review - Watchmen
2/14 – Hey, Tara! - World
2/15 – Pieces of Whimsy – Review - Readers
2/17 – CTF Devourer – Review – Clergy
2/18 – Pause Time - Readers
2/19 – A Backwards Story – Review – World
2/19 - Christy’s Cozy Corner – Herbwomen
2/20 – Min Reads & Reviews – Review Watchmen
2/21 – FINALE BLAST, Winner
announced
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