The Hero's Lot Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

About the book:

The Hero's Lot by Patrick W. Carr

The Staff and the Sword: Book 2

Bethany House

When Sarin Valon, the corrupt secondus of the conclave, flees Erinon and the kingdom, Errol Stone believes his troubles have at last ended. But other forces bent on the destruction of the kingdom remain and conspire to accuse Errol and his friends of a conspiracy to usurp the throne.

In a bid to keep the three of them from the axe, Archbenefice Canon sends Martin and Luis to Errol's home village, Callowford, to discover what makes him so important to the kingdom. But Errol is also accused of consorting with spirits. Convicted, his punishment is a journey to the enemy kingdom of Merakh, where he must find Sarin Valon, and kill him. To enforce their sentence, Errol is placed under a compulsion, and he is driven to accomplish his task or die resisting.

My review:

The Hero’s Lot is the second book in Patrick Carr’s The Staff and the Sword series and it was just as great as the first! Carr is a new and refreshing voice in fantasy and I can’t wait to get my hands on the conclusion to this fantastic series.

            The story picks up right where we left off in A Cast of Stones. Errol, now Earl Stone, is trying to find is place in Erinon and the church he doesn’t fully trust. The traitor Sarin Valon has fled to Merakh and left chaos and suspicion in his wake. There is word of ferrals throughout the kingdom and the king is growing ever closer to his heirless end. Plans go amok and Errol is placed under compulsion to track down and kill Valon while Luis, Martin and Cruk and sent back to Callowford to discover Errol’s importance.

            I’m happy to say that The Hero’s Lot did not suffer from middle book syndrome and was a page turner to the end. Errol continues to grow as a character and is supported by a wonderful supporting cast. I was delighted to see a few favorite characters from the first book make their returns as well. The story doesn’t just rely on its action either, there is a healthy bit of mystery included that promises to carry through to the end of the series. My only issue was the romance between Errol and Adora. It seemed to have come out of nowhere and I feel like a little build up would have made it more believable.

            I would recommend this series to any fantast fan and am eagerly awaiting A Draw of Kings.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.* 

Excerpt:

Sweat, hot and salty, flowed into Errol's eyes in the sticky heat of the early fall afternoon. He forced a quick blink to shed the distraction, not daring to risk the split-second it would take to wipe his brow. A welt as long as his hand burned his left ribcage. its twin worked to numb his right shoulder. The staff in his hands blurred and buzzed like an angry insect, nearly invisible, but as yet he had managed only a single strike against his opponent.

And he was tiring.

The man opposite him, stronger and fresher, darted like a snake, the blade of his sword disappeared as his arms corded and he struck. Errol parried at the last moment and flowed into a counterattack. The clack of staff against sword filled his ears like the sound of a drummer's rim beats.

For a moment he dared hope that he would penetrate his opponent's defense, but the attack exhausted itself and he retreated to defend against those cursed whip-like strokes of the swordsman's counter.

Pain blossomed in his side as the sword found its mark. It was no use. Four weeks of food and rest had almost restored him to complete health after Sarin's attack against the kingdom. But 'almost' was insufficient against such an opponent.

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