For half-elven Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and his devil-blooded bodyguard Radovan, things are rarely as they seem. Yet not even the notorious crime-solving duo is prepared for what they find when a search for a missing Pathfinder takes them into the gothic and mist-shrouded mountains of Ustalav. Beset on all sides by noble intrigue, mysterious locals, and the deadly creatures of the night, Varian and Radovan must use both sword and spell to track the strange rumors to their source and uncover a secret of unimaginable proportions, aided in their quest by a pack of sinister werewolves and a mysterious mute priestess. But it'll take more than merely solving the mystery to finish this job. For shadowy figures have taken note of the pair's investigations, and the forces of darkness are set on making sure neither man gets out of Ustalav alive...
From fan-favorite author Dave Gross comes a new fantastical mystery set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
300-page mass market paperback
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-287-6
ePub ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-331-6
Prince of Wolves is also available as a digital edition on the following sites:
This was an excellent start to the Pathfinder Tales line, and I hope to see more books of this quality.
Dave did an excellent job of portraying the magic of the Pathfinder world in a novel setting, better than virtually any RPG-based book I've read save for Deed of Paksenarrion.
The good thing about this book is that it could be given to someone who doesn't play Pathfinder, and they would still enjoy it - seeing all of the locations and cultures brought to life is just icing on the cake for players.
For someone who does play Pathfinder, especially in the world of Golarion, this would be a 5-star book.
I just finished the book and I loved it. For once, I really appreciated the more "mature" storytelling and I can't wait for Count Jeggare and Radovan next adventures!
Thank you Dave for this great book!
A perfect start to the Pathfinder series of books. The characters were witty, the plot was deep, and the mystery unraveled in a fantastically unexpected way. I can't wait to hear the further adventures of Count Jeggare and Radovan.
This first novel of the Pathfinder tales line is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I've never read any of the other stories about Varian or Radovan before, but after reading this book I'm tempted to get the AP's just for David Gross's stories in them.
I just finished this book 3 days ago, having picked it up from Borders a week ago, and it was an act of discipline to make myself complete the novel before shouting from the rooftops (electronically, I guess, although that would probably be writing all in caps and rather annoying) with a review about how great it is.
The really neat thing is that I've known for a while that I could order this book from Paizo, and was planning on it when I could afford it, but going to Borders and seeing this right along with the FR and DL and SW books was exciting because it was an actualization that the whole Pathfinder thing had come full circle, from adventures to campaign setting to role-playing game and now a fiction line!
I am a huge fan of anything by Steven Brust, and also love the Drizzt books by R.A. Salvatore, and a recent review in KQ stated that if you like these things you will like this book, but in my opinion even if you've never read or even don't like these things you will still most likely love Prince of Wolves.
It reads like an epistolary novel, as if you have found a strange journal by serendipity and are now reading something meant for someone else, which draws you into the story and keeps you grappled there at least until the end of a chapter. The change of perspective and pacing were actually something that I have only seen done well in very few novels, and the great thing about the way Prince of Wolves does it is that you want to continue reading, however once you get to the end of a chapter if you have to take a break or stretch or real life intrudes you know you're going to come back to something new and exciting. I usually read a book of this size in about 1-2 days, but I enjoyed taking my time with this one.
It has everything in it that makes the Golarion campaign setting such a great thing, and brings to life many things that before had seemed like only concepts or conceits. Paizo has picked the perfect vessel for the maiden voyage of their fiction line, and I am definitely picking up the next novel and subscribing as soon as I can fit it into my budget.
Let me start by saying the 2 characters in this novel were not my favorites from the many that have appeared in the Pathfinder Adventure Paths.
That may be why, to me, it started out a little slow.
That feeling did not last long and soon I could not put it down.
Well written and entertaining, throughout.
There are enough "loose ends" to warrent another (or 2) tales for the heroes and I hope Mr. Gross shares them with us soon.
I want more from Arnisant! I loved the attention and character development he got in Master of Devils and was sad to see him back in an ancillary role during Queen of Thorns.
BTW, have you seen this contest? An Arnisant entry would be very interesting.
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Deidre Tiriel wrote:
Is there ever going to be a PFS chronicle for Prince of Wolves? It's the only Pathfinder Tales without one, as far as I can tell.
I am rereading Prince of Wolves. Well, I'm rereading the entire Varian Jeggare/ Radovan series, and I'm currently in Prince of Wolves.
I really enjoy the way that Dave Gross writes Radovan. Some of what I like is embodied in this line that I just encountered:
"Despite their frightening appearances, not a one of [the villagers] tried to bury me alive or set me on fire. That made them my favorite villagers in all of Ustalav, so far."
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