Beginning of Arrogance

A wonderful opening for a promising series, Beginning of Arrogance by Bryan Cole introduces readers to the fantasy world of Gods and heroes — and the hero of the story is an unlikely one. While the world has always adored paladins, chosen by the Gods, ReckNor, the wild and tempestuous God of the seas and the skies makes an unusual choice when he calls Krell to be his paladin.

Krell has been found on Watford docks by his alcoholic mentor after being rescued at sea floating on ship debris. The god ReckNor loves his courage and enlists him to his service. But Krell's lack of experience and education makes the rich and powerful uneasy. Readers are taken on a rollicking journey when Krell and his companions are tasked with locating workers who have disappeared from a dwarven mining camp. Follow them as they battle cave wraiths, sea devils, and other powerful enemies. But what surges from beneath the waves is even more terrifying.

Never lacking in humor, Beginning of Arrogance introduces readers to an intriguing cast of characters — the elaborately developed and complex Krell, a huge orc, a female Halfling, a dwarven priest, a warrior monk, and other interesting characters. Bryan Cole creates a rich and elaborate fantasy world. Throughout the book, there is a cleverly written relationship between the rich and the paladins, as well as between humans and the gods. It is a world with its own rules, where the powerful and the wealthy dread the paladins who are instruments of the gods. This novel deserves its place alongside Riordan's works on the shelves. The characterization is top-notch, the writing is superior, and the prose is a delight in itself. Cole plots like a pro and writes like an expert entertainer, creating a propulsive tale that will make any reader race through the pages.