One of the best things about running a book review site is when you get to read a book early and help promote its release. One of the books I’ve been looking forward to sharing about is A Cast of Stones. Releasing today, this book is one that rocketed higher and higher up my rating scale as I read, quickly becoming a book I would consider vital to a list of fantasy must reads.
Errol Stone’s journey is one of the best coming of age stories fantasy has to offer. Even though he is barely old enough to become a man, Errol’s fame is his ability to stay permanently drunk. Yet when he reveals a latent talent for reading lots to a local priest, a new path is chosen for Errol when a compulsion is laid on him. His only options are to present himself to the head of the Church or die…and there suddenly seem to be plenty of people happy to help him with the later. Separated from the tavern, the physical challenge of becoming sober Errol faces is nothing compared to facing the memories that drove him to drink in the first place. And the world he wakes up to is far more complex and deadly than the one he left behind.
What made Errol’s journey exceptional was Mr. Carr’s willingness to take the time necessary to make the transitions believable. All too often in fantasy stories, the protagonist rapidly rises from anonymity to hero, gaining powers and positions too quickly to be realistic. While it is clear at the end of the book that Errol’s life has been radically changed, it came through hard work and a great deal of experience that has been shown to the reader. And it is also clear that A Cast of Stones is the story of Errol being formed as a character, and that the bigger story has barely begun.
The book also managed to not fall into one of my pet peeves: deliberately trying to be too Christian or too secular in an attempt to please one audience or the other. Rather, Mr. Carr wrote this particular story the best he could and allowed whatever elements were necessary. Errol’s drunkenness certainly isn’t something Christians are comfortable with, but the portrayal of a very powerful but righteous Church isn’t something many secular authors would include. And all elements are there to serve the story rather than a check list. To be fair, I understand why so many books go this route, and I still love them, but it is something I tend to notice and be distracted by while reading. I prefer stories that can stand on their own without an agenda, and A Cast of Stones was certainly one of the best.
A Cast of Stones beautifully weaves so many well loved themes and tropes together in a completely new pattern that there is a profound sense of “at home” even as the reader races through the pages, anxious to see what is coming next. However, be warned! The action comes to an abrupt (though admittedly pleasing) halt and the suspense for the next book begins. I know I’ll have Book 2’s release date marked on my calendar.
My thanks to Bethany House for providing me a review copy of A Cast of Stones via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion of this book.