Title: A Draw of Kings (The Staff and the Sword #3)Publication date: February 18, 2014
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Author: Patrick W. Carr
Their journey to Merakh should have made Errol and his companions heroes of the realm. Instead, much is changed on their return. In the wake of the king’s death, Duke Weir is ruling the country–and his intentions are to marry Adora to bring an heir.
With Errol and the others imprisoned and the identity of the rightful heir to the throne still hidden in secrecy, Illustra is on the verge of civil war–and at growing risk from the armies of Merakh and Morgol.
A dangerous mission to free Errol succeeds, but the dangers facing the kingdom are mounting with every passing moment. The barrier has fallen, ferals are swarming toward the land, and their enemies draw near. Will the revelation of Illustra’s next true king come in time or will all be lost?
Review:This book is the epic conclusion to the Staff and the Sword series. Truths before undefined—and even some thought known—are blurred before they are redefined in the finishing novel A Draw of Kings.
Who is Errol?
Who Liam?
You thought you knew?
Think again.
Having read A Cast of Stones as well as The Hero’s Lot I thought I would be prepared for everything A Draw of Kings had to say. After all, what more was there to say? It seemed to me every hidden truth was revealed in the second novel. However, I was wrong.
There is more.
Much, much more.
I doubt, having read the trilogy only once, I caught everything that added to importance of the overall message. But I caught enough to make me think.
That’s what I search for.
Books that make me think.
I find so few that I often scorn those that are lesser than what I am looking for. Hence my reason for my blog site.
There was perhaps only one thing that remained unaddressed that I wished the author would have delved more deeply into within the series. That, is salvation by faith and not through works.
Though not overtly allegorical, The Staff and the Sword series holds rich, deep biblical parallels that deserve to be examined at length. Especially by Christians who know the Word of God. There is some allegory relating to the trilogy as the book mentions Deas, Eleison and Aurae which would be God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. But that is about all I could find allegorically speaking.
Despite my pile of unread books, I know that I’ll reread Patrick Carr’s trilogy in the future. I realize that trilogies are meant to be read together. But this trilogy, in order to catch all of the meaning, needs to be read together.
Patrick Carr has an amazing, intellectual mind to have written a series such as this one. I am not impressed very often by books of one kind or another. I’ve read so many I know the cadence of writing, the way a plot is achieved, how the characters are written.
But The Staff and the Sword series made me second-guess myself again and again. And for that I thank the author. His books are the type I look for. And will continue looking for. Errol Stone is a character with such defined strength, weakness and depth I scarcely remember the last time a character so impressed himself on my mind. He is certainly not one I am soon to forget.
If you are going to read this trilogy, look out for a ride. The pace gets faster and faster with each novel. It takes a lot of thinking to keep up. And it never stops and does not slow down unless to build up the plot in order to go at breakneck speed again. I hope to read more fantasy by this author in the future. This is what Christian fantasy is and should be defined as. Well done, Patrick Carr!
I give A Draw of Kings 5 out of 5 stars.
*I received an ARC copy of this book from the publishers through Netgalley. The opinions and ideas stated are mine and mine alone. My review is an honest opinion of this book. If you enjoyed my review don't forget to subscribe to my blog!
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.