Customer Reviews

Imperial Hostage, Book 1 of The Destruction Series

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Prince Erech is sent to Poseidia as an "Imperial Hostage" at the age of twelve. For the next thirteen years he is to live and learn about the Empire. On his first day, a blind seer foretells that he will be the destruction of Al-Jinn, a High Priest from the Temple of Bel. Al-Jinn attempts to sacrifice him to Bel, but he is rescued by Kul-Kan, High Priest of the Temple of One. Erech is taken to the relative safety of the Temple of One, where he makes life-long friends and learns about the inner-workings of the Empire. Despite the protection of the Temple of One, he is under constant threat from Al-Jinn and his assassins and must learn how to protect and defend himself.

Well written, I highly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from this author. The characters were dynamic and engaging and the book moved at a steady pace. Overall, I am pleased with the writing style, character development and story-line of Imperial Hostage and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy

Tragedies, prophecies, friendships, and lots of heart create the story of an "Imperial Hostage."

Taken from his home and entred as a hostage for the next twelve years, young Erech, Prince of Attike, must face terrible atrocities at the hands of the priests of the Temple of Bel before finding comfort and solace at the Temple of One. Follow his story as he makes numerous friendships and discovers powers within himself to survive many personal attacks aimed to do away with him completely. Will he learn enough fighting strategies to keep himself safe against these known assassins? Can he learn that friendship sometimes isn't enough and neither is love? Will an old crone's prophecy be his definite destiny in life? Come on his journey from boyhood to a young man that is filled with lots of lessons to be learned, some gut-wrenching heartaches, and lots of underlying love and loyalties.

I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in this story. The author brought them to life with very vivid descriptions and great dialogue. I especially enjoyed the character of Myrine, the very talented and strong Amazon princess. She was such a fearless young lady and wasn't afraid to show it. You don't see young female characters like that as much as you need to.

I had never read anything by this author before, but I am really looking forward to seeing what is coming up next in this wonderful series.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA fiction filled with adventure and a mystical twist.

This book was kindly provided to me by Journalstone Publishers for my honest review.

Being a prisoner is being a prisoner no matter how nicely someone treats you. Prince Erech learns this that hard way. Taken as a preteen from his home he is taken as a hostage until he reaches the age of 25. These hostages are kept to teach them about the Empire to be used as ambassadors or at least help to educate their homelands about the ways and history.

When Erech first arrives, a prophecy is made about him. This prophecy leads him to be almost killed in a religious ceremony, naked and in front of the entire temple's congregation. At the last second young Erech is saved from the dagger blade and whisked away to another temple in the Capital. Needless to say, after Erech's less than friendly introduction to the people in the Empire, he distrusts all there, even those who came to his aid.

After a time, Erech makes friends and even falls in love. But, nothing can ever be so easy and carefree. There are those who are jealous of Erech. His skills, his looks, and his disposition is desired by the women something to be wary of in the men. There are many things to learn here in the Empire, and one Erech learns quickly is to never let your guard down. More than one attempt has been made on his life, and unfortunately for him, there will be no shortage of continued tries. Will Erech survive to see his return to his kingdom and his family at the age of 25?

It takes a lot for me to give a book 5 stars, but I believe this book has earned every one of them. I loved the plot, the characters, the twists in the story, and the relatability to everything that Erech is feeling and experiencing.

The women in this story are just as fierce, important, and capable as the men - definitely a bonus for this reviewer. With this being said, none of the characters were cookie cutter figures. Some of them were definitely more powerful and gifted than others, but many showed faults, weaknesses, and times of bad judgment. I love the depth of the characters in this story.

The different scenes and locations in this book were very vivid and full. I could easily imagine myself there without the author having to take forever to explain it to the reader (I do have a problem with those types of scenes as anyone who has read any of my reviews will know!!) Many of the places were quite beautiful and others quite creepy. I loved it.

This book is full of action, fun, love, mystery, and friendship. The only thing else that was missing was the sequel for me to read once I finished this one!! By the way, did I mention I REALLY LOVED THIS STORY??

Phil Cantrill's debut novel mixes the magic of ancient Greece with an imaginative fantasy world. I read this book as part of an online book club, and I'm so glad this one was chosen. It follows the life of Prince Erechtheus (Erech) from young boy to young man. Erech begins the book as a "hostage"--sent from his home province to appease the Empire. He ends up in the clutches of Al-Jinn, high priest of the Temple of Bel. After an old prophetess proclaims that Erech will lead to Al-Jinn's demise, 12-year-old Erech suffers unspeakable abuse. He is rescued at the last minute from ritualistic sacrifice by Kul-Kan, high priest of the Temple of One.

From the relative safety of the Temple of One, Erech finds some life-long friends, though he is still haunted by his experience at the Temple of Bel. These friendships help him overcome and face his anger and fear. His training with Myrine, heir to the Amazon throne, also helps him survive as he faces one after another assassination attempts, fueled by Al-Jinn's obsession to be rid of him.

As the years pass, Erech learns who he can trust and who he cannot. I found his relationships compelling and poignant, especially his romance with Myrine and the strong bond with his friend Herakles. He even has some special animal friends who I hope we see in the next book.

In my opinion, the characters and their relationships were the strong suit here. They were so well developed, that by the end, I felt like they were "old friends", as Herakles would say. Though it's a cast of many characters, Mr. Cantrill really brought them to life and gave them such unique qualities, that I didn't feel overwhelmed at all.

He writes in a third person distant POV, and at first, I found it a little hard to get used to. It didn't take long, though, before the "narrator" style became a smooth reading experience. There was no constant head-hopping or omniscience; it read like a very close commentator as the events played out.

If I had anything to nit-pick, it would be that by the end of the constant assassination attempts, they had a Coyote and Roadrunner feel to them. In the back of your mind, you start to feel sorry for the coyote (Al-Jinn), because he can't catch a bird (Erech) no matter how hard he tries. This was certainly NOT a major issue, however, and since this is only part one, I'm sure we haven't seen the end of Al-Jinn. The ending itself ensures that, but I'll leave it to you to discover why!

Imperial Hostage is the first in a series called The Destruction Series. The book and its plot are appropriate for young adults and beyond. Grab your own copy today!

"Imperial Hostage" is the first book in a trilogy, and outlines the time during which Erech, a young prince from Attiké, lives in the lands of the Empire as a hostage. He is brought there as a boy and grows to a man of 25 before he is allowed to go home. He makes friends and enemies, and successfully survives the intrigues of an evil priest who is determined to kill him to remove the threat foretold by an ancient seer.

This book is labeled as Young Adult, but (while they are not explicitly shown) there are hints of Erech being the victim of rape while in the Temple of Bel, where he was originally assigned to live upon his arrival in the Empire's capital city. This may be a bit of a tough pill to swallow for younger readers, so discretion is advised.

The book is well-written, highly readable and filled with complex and interesting characters. The world-building is amazing - it is our world, set way back in ancient times, but the Empire is a highly advanced culture that has such marvels as air-boats, floating crystals that glow to provide lights, commodes, and hot-and-cold running water. While many historical places and people are mentioned, this book is in no way considered to be historically accurate.

This book was the August book in my book club and I enjoyed immensely the chance to read it. Thanks for Journalstone Publishing for providing a copy, and to Phil Cantrill for writing this wonderful book and being a part of the group so we could pick his brain about details. Highly recommended to fans of coming-of-age, action stories.

Imperial Hostage Book 1 of the Destruction Trilogy by Phil Cantrill is the story of a young boy, Prince Erechtheus, who was sent to the ruling kingdom, Poseidia, as a "hostage" until his 25th birthday. In this society, the ruler of Poseidia requires the outlying provinces to send someone to the ruling kingdom as a hostage. They are kept there and educated in hopes that they will return home as ambassadors for the kingdom. They are educated by one of the Temples which there are three of, the Temple of Bel, the Temple of the One, and the Temple of the Sun. Erech originally was taken to the Temple of Bel. Shortly after his arrival a seer tells the Priest of Bel that Erech will be his downfall. This scares the Priest of Bel into attempting to kill Erech. His attempt fails because Erech is rescued by the Priest of the Temple of One. Erech is taken to the Temple of One but he is still a hostage. He spends his 13 years as hostage at the Temple of One learning all he can and trying to keep the Priest of Bel from having him assassinated.
I know this is a very short description of the story and a lot more happens than what I have written but I couldn't seem to find the right words to describe the story appropriately. All I can say is you should read it because it is a good story.
When I first started reading it I didn't think I was going to like it because I thought it was going to be more like a history book story even though it was stated in the Prologue that it was not but I discovered that it was far from boring history.

Erech is taken hostage to Poseidia as a representative of his father's kingdom at the age of 12. He must remain there for 13 years. Shockingly, he is almost sacrificed to a god on the first day he is there in a quite traumatizing manner. Saved by a rival temple, Erech is educated begins to exhibit hero qualities. Lots of adventure, spies, and fantasy, of course are all aspects of what could be a promising young adult series. I liked several aspects of this book: the action was great, the enemies were distinct, and there are some good characters. This book kind of reminds me of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. The prologue and some of the aspects of the book are quite similar, but in a good way. I just wish the time or world had been a bit more developed at the beginning so I could become more tied to the story. Also at chapter 14 there was a 5 year time jump that really threw me off. On a side note, there were graphic bits if people are concerned about that. It didn't bother me, but it might some folks. I think this a promising start to a series, which could become great with just a bit more polish.

Imperial Hostage, Book 1 in a trilogy, was good. It had a young adult feel because some adult topics were alluded to but never really discussed or stated out right.

The story itself is one of a young boy, Erechtheus, growing up and maturing in a foreign land, known as the Empire, as a hostage. In the empire, a group of priests try over and over again to kill him. These attempts on Erechtheus' life are underlying story of the book. Besides trying to stay alive we see Erechtheus learn about love, loss, and friendship.

Even though I enjoyed the book, I wasn't really sure where it was leading to as part of a trilogy. While I was reading the book, I didn't really think that this was part of a trilogy. In the last chapter the cliff hanger for the second book was revealed. I will probably read the sequel but I can wait till it comes out.

All in all, this is a good airplane read.

*I won a free copy this e-book in a LibraryThing Member Giveaway*

PHIL CANTRILL'S "IMPERIAL HOSTAGE" (REVIEW)

This book is not just a coming of age story, it's a story about life in a time long forgotten. Written for the YA genre the lessons contained in this book are great for the younger generation. Ai-Ram loses her family to an unforeseen disaster and is taken to the Empire, Erech a young prince is taken hostage, his fate the same, when they meet they form a friendship that is paramount to their survival. Along with the other young acolytes of the Empire undergo training to prepare them for a future that is unsure.

From coming close to being sacrificed to the God Bel, to going through many trials Erech emerges a 25 year old man with a destiny that could decide the fate of both his homeland and the Empire. This book was wonderful. I would definitely recommend it to all YA readers as well as adult readers alike. I love the fact that Phil took this tale back into the Roman times and added elements of fantasy.

A definite must-read.

-Kitty Bullard / Great Minds Think Aloud Book Club

I have to admit that this book was a bit hard to get into because if the way it is initially presen ted. It is billed as young adult, but after readig, the idea of rape comes into play. It is a little bit much as young adult reading, but deals with a situation that is alarmlngly on the rise is young adult reading. it is worth sticking with.