As you may know from some of my previous ravings, I had very high hopes for A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr. I wasn’t disappointed. Sometimes a book comes along that you didn’t know you were waiting for until you read it, and somehow your world is more complete. A Cast of Stones is one of those books. A fresh fantasy concept, an intriguing cast of characters, and one of the best-written anti-heroes I’ve ever run across make A Cast of Stones a true delight to read. 6 stars!!!
I’m pretty excited to be part of the Prism book tour for A Cast of Stones, so be sure to check out all of the cool bonus content and the giveaway below!
And now an excerpt!
Errol started to shrug, thought better of it. “We were attacked on the way here from Berea. Ever since that messenger from the church showed up, I can’t seem to go two days in a row without someone trying to put an arrow in me. Cruk says they’re people that used to be in something called the watch.”
Radere’s hands jerked in surprise, but she didn’t speak. She knotted his stitches then motioned for him to raise his arms and began wrapping the cloth around him, binding his wound. “What else?” she prompted.
“When we got back to Callowford, there was a nuntius waiting for Pater Martin.” He paused. “Do you know what a nuntius is?”
She gave a curt nod, her lips pressing together in a line. “A church messenger. They know a dozen languages and have a gift for memorization.” She sniffed. “Not overly bright, most of them. The church uses them to carry sensitive messages. Their minds are . . .” She hummed as she searched for the word she wanted. “ . . . split. They have a very high opinion of themselves.”
Errol laughed. “Yes. That sounds like him. Anyway he said the king was still alive, but the church wanted Pater Martin back for some kind of big meeting. I can’t remember the name.”
Radere twisted the cloth, reversed the direction of the bandage. “Judica,” she said, her voice clipped and short.
The herbwoman didn’t seem to care for churchmen, an implacable resentment that she never bothered to explain. He couldn’t blame her. “That wasn’t the strangest thing, though,” he said. He savored his secret in the silence and waited for Radere to ask.
“Spit it out, boy,” she commanded after a moment.
“Luis had me look at this stone ball and . . .” He stopped at the look on Radere’s face. “Are you alright?”
She grabbed him with one hand, her small, bony fingers digging into the meat of his shoulder. “You can’t read boy. I know you can’t.”
All anticipation of sharing his secret fled. He shook his head, spoke in tones that barely escaped his lips. “I, uh, didn’t have to. When I told them I could see writing on the stone, Luis gave me a piece of parchment and had me copy the letters.” He grimaced. “Writing is a lot harder than it looks.”
Radere shook him, her face angry now. “Were there witnesses there, boy? There have to be at least two witnesses.”
A knot of fear bloomed in his stomach, like the feeling he wouldn’t be able to get to an ale barrel in time. He nodded. “Pater Martin and Cruk. Luis said I had the gift of sight.”
Tears sprang to Radere’s eyes. “Oh, my boy, my poor boy. You should never have looked at the stone.” She shook her head. “But you didn’t know. Of course not. There was no way for you to know. The Church owns you now.”
A Cast of Stones
by 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.
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.
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.
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Only on this Tour… the author shares the Creation, his Goals, some Visuals and Excerpts on each of these mini-themes:
Catch the entire Tour!!
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ADDLibrarian 
If you’re excited about this book, odds are high I will be too! I’m entering the giveaway and being excited!
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Yay for being excited! I also raved about it to your husband when he was in my library a couple of days ago. 🙂
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Definitely adding this one to my list! 🙂
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Good! I really loved the anti-hero thing. So often we get the hero’s story, but this story is about someone who’s not “The Chosen One” It’s a nice change. It reminded me a bit of Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy if you’ve read that.
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