Castle of Deception (The Bard's Tale, Book 1) cover

Castle of Deception (The Bard's Tale, Book 1)

by Mercedes Lackey

When young Kevin became a bard's apprentice, he thought that his new life would be filled withe excitement and adventure; so when his new Master's first task for him is a perfectly ordinary manuscript copying errand to the castle of Count Volmar his disappointment knew no bounds. Why the Count was not even involved in Court politics! But when the Count's niece is kidnapped by elves and the Count asked for his help in recovering her, Kevin is convinced that the adventure he craves is at last at hand. What he cannot know is that the distressed damsel is not really Count Volmar's niece, that the abductors are not really elves - and that even the rescue is not what it appears to be!

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?