This book is an enjoyable fantasy read and the first in Donald Calvanese's Carcium Trilogy! It has its fair amount of evil, dragons, gargoyles, mystical swords, kingdoms and rulers. One ruler, Prince Troy, will embark on a mission to save his kingdom. The stakes are much too high for him to falter in his quest, for failure is not an option! His journey will open his eyes for the first time to the world around him, and he will learn the value of friendship and caring for others. ( )

When the king dies, Prince Troy inherits the kingdom. Thinking only of his own comforts his kingdom soon suffers. Refusing to listen to his tutor about the history of the past rulers and their downfall and what is expected of him, the elves tell him that he has failed the test and his kingdom will fall. He has one last chance to redeem himself and prove that he is worthy. He must battle the evil sorceror named Duras Carcer and kill him.

This story has it all, a likable hero, yes even when he was being selfish I liked him, a beautiful maiden, a dragon or 2, gargoyles, you name it this story has it. Prince Troy was never bad, he was just more concerned with himself. The story moves fast and you see Troy grow as he discovers the beauty of his kingdom and what its like to have friends that he cares for and who care for him. Basically he finds his heart and realizes that he would give up his life so that the people could live. The last battle leaves you exhausted with it's many twists and turns.

This is Donald Calvanese' first novel and I say well done. I loved the book and highly recommend it. I won this from LibraryThing. ( )

Carcium is the story of Troy, heir apparent to the Kingdom of Carcium. In the beginning Troy is presented as an insolent, lazy, self-centered monarch. Which of course leads to his downfall. Now his kingdom and all his subjects are at the mercy of Duras Carcer a truly evil being. Will Troy persevere and save not only his kingdom but himself?

The author works a very basic story line, good vs evil, a young man needing to fulfill his destiny. I truly enjoyed reading this book. I found it to be a fast paced adventure story with a hero, his friends, and some oh so creepy and evil bad guys.

I was immediately pulled into the story within the first few pages. Mr. Calvanese wastes no time in getting to the heart of the matter, which is how Troy has failed and his need to redeem himself. It's this quick pace that kept me going reading the book in two days.

I like the characters, yes even the evil guy because he was so the epitome of evilness. The author's portrayal of Duras and Troy was richly detailed. You felt the emotions both were going through.

I would have like the book to be longer with more detail. It ended way too soon. I also would've liked to see the secondary characters of Brutus and Nina to evolving more.

Structurally there were some grammatical errors I found that should have been picked up, for instance instead of grabbing Nina by the 'waist' she was grabbed by the 'waste'. Also Troy talked about how his people would 'parish' when he meant 'perish'.

Overall an exciting quick read with some memorable characters. ( )