A Cast of Stones dives right into the life of Errol Stone, a town drunk who has no prospects for his future, and nothing to offer anybody. Over and over again, people are disappointed in Errol and try different tactics to try to help him. But nothing seems to work.
One day, a messenger from the church arrives carrying a message for the old hermit Martin who lives with his servant Louis in a place that discourages visitors. Errol, who knows the area better than anybody, offers to deliver the message to Martin. Once the message is in his hands, however, Errol is unprepared for the events that rush upon him. He arrives safely at Martin's cottage only after an assassin attempts to kill him. Martin and his servant seem to know exactly what is happening though they refuse to tell Errol anything.
And Errol cannot figure it out.
A Cast of Stones is a thrilling story with a complex plot and even more complex characters. Errol turns out to have far more worth than anybody expected. In fact, he may be the most important character in the book! Yes he's a drunk,and yes he can't read, and yes-he has absolutely no idea how to defend himself against anybody(let alone an assassin). But he conquers each of these downfalls with a surprising tenacity. Errol is perhaps one of the most dynamic characters I have ever read about.
A Cast of Stones has surprising twists and turns. If you are going to read it, make sure to make a mental note of each of the names and terms you come across. Every name seems to come back around no matter how minute its impact seems to be on the plot. Patrick Carr's book is amazing. Everything I read felt very realistic. I found myself liking Errol more and more with every page. I felt so sorry for him when it seemed that nobody loved him for himself but wanted him instead for his extraordinary abilities. By the time I was finished with it, this book had taught me a long list of new terms that only apply to Patrick Carr's world. I found myself trying to come up with all the pieces of the puzzle Carr gave. It is a very intellectual book and requires a lot of thought to keep the reader aware of everything that is happening. But I enjoyed that aspect greatly.
My favorite part of the book was watching Errol grow from a boy to a man within the space of five months. I loved seeing him stump those who had stumped him earlier in the story.
There is very little romance but Errol does have three love interests throughout the story. I kept on wondering which one he would stick with.
The only fault I could find with this book is that no relationship with God was there. There was mention of the trinity often, but nothing else. Other than that, I could find no fault with A Cast of Stones.
If you are looking for a clean fantasy book to make your pulse race with suspense and keep you mentally challenged all throughout, this is definitely for you. I'm giving this book 41/2 stars.