Night of Wolves: The Paladins Book 1 - Fantasy Adventure Novel for Adults | Epic Battle Scenes, Medieval Warriors & Supernatural Thrills | Perfect for Fans of Dark Fantasy & Action-Packed Reads

"Night of the Wolves" is the first book in 'The Paladins' series by author David Dalglish. This Kindle e-edition a 308 Kb download while the paperback copy is 216 pages in length.*SPOILER*A group of ferocious wolves have a new leader, Redclaw, and he has decided to assert his long suppressed desire to leave 'The Wedge' where he and his clan have be forced to live; forced because the humans have hunted them to near extinction everywhere else. These wolves, however, are not your average animal; they are huge, incredible strong, can stand erect and speak the human language (and thus are often referred to as 'wolf-men'). He decides to begin his quest for freedom by attacking a small isolated town, called Durham, and its inhabitants. However he doesn't take into account the fact that two Paladins, Jerico and Darius, have been assigned to watch over this remote hamlet. The story details several small encounters between the two groups before the big battle at the finale.*END SPOILER*This is a well written story that builds in tensions as the stakes become higher with each encounter. The battles, initially little more than skirmishes rapidly progress into major confrontations. Things begin to take on a personal note as members on both side are killed...hatred, animosity and doubt begin to creep into all participants both human and wolf, adding to the depth of overall story and character development.The story was told in a manner that alternated between the two faction and this technique had some pros and cons. The positive was that it gave the reader an excellent sense of what both sides where thinking and the rational for their actions. The main drawback was that this foreknowledge of what the wolf faction was planning, took away (from a reader viewpoint) some of the potential for surprise stealth attacks against the undermanned defenses of the town. This would have added a truly creepy and foreboding atmosphere to the terrifying predicament the denizens of the Durham found themselves in during these dead-of-night attacks.MInor concerns:1.) Jerico's character (Paladin of the Light) seemed a little bland at first, however he became more interesting and intense as the tale unfolded.2.) No map...although not absolutely essential for the main focus of this book, the ongoing stories that involve the land of Dezrel (and there appears to be more to come) have reached a point where a map is needed to help keep distances, directions and geographical landmarks in perspective.Conclusion:Author David Dalglish has written another fine fantasy-adventure occurring in the land of Dezrel. Some of the characters in this book were also in "The Half-Orcs" series (another very different but intriguing five book effort by the same author).This novel ends with a situation that assures of a follow-up book.Would I read the next installment...absolutely!5 Stars.Ray Nicholson