BEGINNING OF ARROGANCE {BOOK 1 OF A PALADIN'S JOURNEY.

Today its my pleasure to be sharing my thoughts on BEGINNING OF ARROGANCE, the first book in the A Paladin's Journey series by BRYAN COLE.

Paladins are nothing but trouble. Stories about paladins are everywhere, noble warriors riding magic steeds into battle against terrible foes. Champions of their gods. Heroes to everyone, except those who already have everything. Paladins are notorious for upsetting the balance of power, to the detriment of any who don't worship their deity.

So when Krell is called to service by the capricious god of the seas and skies, ReckNor, those with wealth and power can't help but be concerned. ReckNor hasn't called a paladin in years, and his nature is ever-changing and erratic. The fact that Krell is also an uneducated nobody with a stubborn streak as wide as the sea turns their concerns into fear.

All of which matters less than the threat clawing its way from the waves, ready to turn the ocean red with spilled blood... ... Back Cover Blurb

Krell's sword stuck the pell. ... First Sentence, Chapter One

Now that Krell was closer, and the dragon was still, he could clearly see it. Not much larger than a house cat, the creature had a red, scaly body, with purple-hued wings. Its jaws featured prominent teeth, and two black horns topped its head with a ridge of black spikes running the length of its body along its spine. It had a large bulbous tail, with a protruding spike on the end. ... Memorable Moment, Page 141

Would make an amazing tv/animated series, its just a shame that on ocassion the writing felt as if the author had this mind.

At first I worried that this was going to be a testosterone-charged read however, book one in a series, as the book progressed it proved itself to be a promising quest/epic fantasy type read.

High on imagery, the world building fantastic, the creatures, oh my goodness, some of the creatures, even more so. However, if I had one small gripe it would be that on occasion I felt myself transported into what felt very much like the idea for a video game ... something that will doubtlessly appeal to some readers, for me personally, not so much.

As for the characters, Hmm!

Yes, Krell was well developed; we got to know much of his background, of where he had come from, of what he was about, however, whilst, on the face of it most of the other characters {and there are sooo many of them} appeared to be of the usual fantasy types, I didn't feel as if I'd meaningfully got to know them. Maybe a deliberate ploy? After all it would seem other books are to follow, however, after 410 pages, I would have hoped for a better understanding of the characters {and ideally as individuals rather than as one of the group} and, most of all, I'd have liked to have formed some kind of emotional attachment to at least some of them. 

All in all, an impressive debut novel full of promise of greater things to come, it will be interesting to see where further instalments take us.