Dark Mage 1: Paladin's Fall

By: DB King

Narrated by: Dustin Naylor

Ethan is a Sun Paladin, one of the most formidable holy warriors of the Empire of the New Dawn. After distinguishing himself in battle, he is offered a promotion to the rank of captain, but only if he undertakes a Warrior Pilgrimage to hunt down and slay an evil sorceress.

His quest brings him to the wilds of Sturmgard, where he is confronted with ravenous werewolves, dark sorcery, and questions of his heritage and his true destiny.

©2025 DB King (P)2025 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

Nonsensical plot

I've never left a one-star review for a book or buisness - there would have be intentional malfeasance. Here there is (by the author; not the reader who was excellent).
The story starts out a little rough; we are given clues about what teh final plot twist will be. In fact "clues" is underselling - we are hit over the head with 'clues' such thatanyone capable of reading knows for certain the main plot twist from the very start of the book, and know the big reveal coming. The book gets much better and the protagonist likeable during the middle section. But near the end of the book we get the predictable plot twist, but also explanations of the events of the novel, and these are utterly nonsensical. The author knows this and has the protagonist ask about these inconsistencies, but the answers are monumentally inadequate and only bring up many more questions that, if not answered, ruin the book. And they are not answered. Your left with questions about why key players took major drastic actions when they serve no positive purpose, and only risk their own plans. I believe the author wrote teh book without a clear plot, and when near the end it couldn't be tied up neatly (and here's the crime) he should have gone back and re-written some earlier parts to fit the book together, but chose not to..
When I bought hte book it had a 4.9 rating (13 reviews). This can't be legitimate, and a reason for writing a 1-star review (I'd normally just not write a review). The author has tallent, but was to lasy to fix critical problems. I can imagine he could write a very good fatasy novel because this one had elements of it.