Pathfinder Tales: Prince of Wolves

The book is really rather good. After the first 20 pages it was probably the case that even if the rest of the book was dedicated to furry porn in a mummerset dialect it would still have been above-average for the genre of RPG fantasy fiction, but in fact the book maintains its quality throughout.

The plot involves various intertwined mysteries set against the backdrop of spooky Ustalav, with the main protagonists being Radovan and Varan Jeggare (from the fiction elements of Council Of Thieves, also written by Dave Gross), written in alternating first person chapters. The outcome is only somewhat surprising, in the way that one can generally achieve with a fantastical world full of different monsters, but the writing is good and the characters engaging.

There's relatively little attempt to make the story fit within the rules, which never goes well (and often plagued TSR/WoTC offerings), and the story actually works as a story. It's not great literature, perhaps (and I don't think that it is intended to be), but I'm maintaining my subscription if books remain at this quality. Strongly recommended.

That's how the Pathfinder Tales series has started out. I knew I liked the characters of Count Jeggare and Radovan, and I was looking forward to how Gross might develop them based on comments traded online, but he surpassed my hopes and his earlier stories. Prince of Wolves gripped me: it's well-written and is full of fun riffs on the genre that don't descend into the stale or the silly, as they so easily can. The friends and foes are painted darkly enough that in the case of most of them, one does not stop guessing which is which. Good uses of twists keep the reader on plot but off-balance. If you're shy of Gaming fiction, there is no need for you to be in this case. I read this after reading Hugh Cook and Fritz Leiber, and while reading Neal Stephenson. Gross (and the editors) more than hold up in good company. This deserves to be read by fans of Golarion and folks who can't tell Ustalav from Cheliax.

I have loved the characters of Radovan and Varian Jeggare since first reading about their exploits in the Council of Thieves Adventure Path installments. When I heard that there was a novel in the works featuring these two, I eagerly anticipated it's arrival.

It did not disappoint that anticipation. This is a tight, exciting novel that drops you into the action from the first page, and leads you through an exciting, intricate story. Great action and great character development. For someone like me who really wanted to explore more of these two characters, this was the ideal novel.

And if all that wasn't enough, the book is a great resource for anyone who really wants to get a feel for the world and setting of the Pathfinder game. It immerses you in a way that rulebooks can't always manage.

Great job, Dave! I can't wait for the next one.

Paizo has a history of going from good to great through a lot of trial and error in their product lines. The Adventure Paths have certainly come a long way from Shackled City. Launching their fiction line is certainly a big trial and with almost zero error.

This book is simply fantastic, the characters are fun and unique. I especially enjoyed Jeggare's almost Victorian attitudes on class and nobility and Radovan provided a great counterpoint to it. Frequently with a licensed material like this you get a generic story that throws in a few proper nouns from the source material but Prince of Wolves truly feels like a story belonging in Golarion and only in Golarion.

There were a few disappointments; this book is not the start of an epic adventure. Rather, it is just a short story inside the world of Golarion (albeit a good short story). As someone used to reading fantasy serials like the Star Wars expanded universe, the Wheel of Time series, etc I'm disappointed that this book seems to be a single shot.

I would recommend this to anyone who is on the fence about getting it; it gives a good perspective on the campaign setting that just isn't doable through the descriptions in the books.