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The Lone Wolf
While tracking a tribe of orcs, Remence comes across much more than that…an ogre mage seeks to unite all the orcs of the region against humans and non-orc kind. These orcs are well-disciplined, organized, and much better equipped; it is a true army, unlike anything young Remence has ever seen. And they are heading right for his village! When he fails to convince the village elders of the imminent threat to their lives, Remence takes extraordinary measures to save his people.
Caladin and Quinn are much more than the fancy thieves they appear to be. On their latest endeavor, they, too, learn of the orc host bearing down on the people of the region and throw themselves into the fray. After the gentlemen procurers are hired to uncover information about the recent orc attack, they enlist the help of Remence, learning their fight is against a common foe. Alongside a ragtag group of orc hunters, three half-ogre brothers, and a half-orc, Caladin, Quinn, and Remence turn detective and seek to find the person who is aiding the ogre mage. What they discover is that they may be the only ones standing between the massive orc army and the threat to humankind.
Caladin and Quinn are much more than the fancy thieves they appear to be. On their latest endeavor, they, too, learn of the orc host bearing down on the people of the region and throw themselves into the fray. After the gentlemen procurers are hired to uncover information about the recent orc attack, they enlist the help of Remence, learning their fight is against a common foe. Alongside a ragtag group of orc hunters, three half-ogre brothers, and a half-orc, Caladin, Quinn, and Remence turn detective and seek to find the person who is aiding the ogre mage. What they discover is that they may be the only ones standing between the massive orc army and the threat to humankind.
449 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2020
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27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 25, 2020
*This is one of the #SPFBO titles in my batch this year and I'm a judge*
I have to say that this book felt like fun. From the beginning there's a world with magical creatures like Orcs, Ogres, and more. These creatures largely live outside of society unless they are half-orcs/half-ogres and the 'feral' forms are beasts in the wild who hunt.
We follow three major characters, Remence who is a human teen, Caladin and Quinn who are cousins and "gentleman procurers" (a.k.a thieves for hire). These three don't know one another at first, but they end up working together later on to try and find the root of an Orc problem.
The world is very standard fantasy so nothing much to report there, but I enjoyed seeing the magic pop in every now and then and that the main creatures we see, and focus on, are some of the lesser seen fantasay beasts.
The characters definitely have a development as the story goes, and whilst at first I found Caladin over the top and totally verbose, I ultimately enjoyed his skewed sense of right and wrong and his honour. He is wordy throughout, and at some very poor times, but her engaging to read about and easy to like after you get to know him.
Quinn is more mysterious and took a whole longer to get a feel for, but they come off a little like Hadrian and Royce from Michael J Sullivan's books when they banter together, and that's a good thing.
Remence is a typical boy out of his depth and he needs guidance from the other two characters and his best friend Grom. I liked his arc, although it's predictable.
Overall, I think there needs to be a strong edit on this book to really solidify the good writing that's here. I noticed a fair few grammatical and typographical errors which need amending, and I also think the narrative could be tighter and flow a little more, at the moment the book kind of feels like three adventures in one. However, with that being said I liked the characters and plot and although it's a longer title it had a good pace which kept me reading and engaged with the characters. 3.75*s from me which is 7.5/10 for #SPFBO.
I have to say that this book felt like fun. From the beginning there's a world with magical creatures like Orcs, Ogres, and more. These creatures largely live outside of society unless they are half-orcs/half-ogres and the 'feral' forms are beasts in the wild who hunt.
We follow three major characters, Remence who is a human teen, Caladin and Quinn who are cousins and "gentleman procurers" (a.k.a thieves for hire). These three don't know one another at first, but they end up working together later on to try and find the root of an Orc problem.
The world is very standard fantasy so nothing much to report there, but I enjoyed seeing the magic pop in every now and then and that the main creatures we see, and focus on, are some of the lesser seen fantasay beasts.
The characters definitely have a development as the story goes, and whilst at first I found Caladin over the top and totally verbose, I ultimately enjoyed his skewed sense of right and wrong and his honour. He is wordy throughout, and at some very poor times, but her engaging to read about and easy to like after you get to know him.
Quinn is more mysterious and took a whole longer to get a feel for, but they come off a little like Hadrian and Royce from Michael J Sullivan's books when they banter together, and that's a good thing.
Remence is a typical boy out of his depth and he needs guidance from the other two characters and his best friend Grom. I liked his arc, although it's predictable.
Overall, I think there needs to be a strong edit on this book to really solidify the good writing that's here. I noticed a fair few grammatical and typographical errors which need amending, and I also think the narrative could be tighter and flow a little more, at the moment the book kind of feels like three adventures in one. However, with that being said I liked the characters and plot and although it's a longer title it had a good pace which kept me reading and engaged with the characters. 3.75*s from me which is 7.5/10 for #SPFBO.
July 14, 2020
Very entertaining. Remence learns some very valuable life lessons from two rogues as he sets out to seek revenge for the death of his father and the destruction of his village. Lots of humour, intrigue and combat. I loved the characters of the two villains. Recommended reading.
June 28, 2020
A Terrific novel
This is a new author for me and it also happens to be his first novel. The cousins, Caladin and Quinn. One a flamboyant extrovert, the other is quiet and keeps his thoughts to himself. Both are intelligent and deadly. Remence, Gomkens and the Le brothers, survivors of their village destroyed by an Orc army. They will also eventually meet with one quest in mind. I am impressed with this first novel. The writing is skillful. The world building is light but doesn't hurt the storyline. The characters are well developed and I have to admit they drew me in to this story immediately. I enjoyed the plot and it moved at a very good pace. With dangerous situations, action, friendship, pain and hope, even some humorous bantering, the story kept me immersed and wanting more. I see a bright future for this author.
This is a new author for me and it also happens to be his first novel. The cousins, Caladin and Quinn. One a flamboyant extrovert, the other is quiet and keeps his thoughts to himself. Both are intelligent and deadly. Remence, Gomkens and the Le brothers, survivors of their village destroyed by an Orc army. They will also eventually meet with one quest in mind. I am impressed with this first novel. The writing is skillful. The world building is light but doesn't hurt the storyline. The characters are well developed and I have to admit they drew me in to this story immediately. I enjoyed the plot and it moved at a very good pace. With dangerous situations, action, friendship, pain and hope, even some humorous bantering, the story kept me immersed and wanting more. I see a bright future for this author.
June 15, 2020
*I was provided a copy of this book for review. This does not affect my opinion expressed below*
Though this book sounded fantastic to me as someone who truly enjoys fantasy, I was hesitant going in because the last few months I’ve struggled with books being able to grip me enough to keep reading. I’ve started and stopped many reads in all of my favorite genres so I was nervous to give it a go. Thankfully, those nerves were not founded. I was gripped almost from the start and WOW what a book.
John D Pepe knows how to get into the hearts of his characters and spin a tale ripe with both action, wit and the perfect level of build. I was turning pages as quickly as the Kindle app would allow it. Truly fascinating read. The world he has created for us is well built, and one that I’m honestly going to have to dive into again. It’s got that level of readability that will have you rereading it over and over. I love that about it. I don’t want to give too much away but all I can say is WOW that blurb doesn’t do this novel justice. If you’re in the market to find the next great fantasy novelist, John D Pepe’s The Lone Wolf will surely convince you who that is. Highly recommend.
Though this book sounded fantastic to me as someone who truly enjoys fantasy, I was hesitant going in because the last few months I’ve struggled with books being able to grip me enough to keep reading. I’ve started and stopped many reads in all of my favorite genres so I was nervous to give it a go. Thankfully, those nerves were not founded. I was gripped almost from the start and WOW what a book.
John D Pepe knows how to get into the hearts of his characters and spin a tale ripe with both action, wit and the perfect level of build. I was turning pages as quickly as the Kindle app would allow it. Truly fascinating read. The world he has created for us is well built, and one that I’m honestly going to have to dive into again. It’s got that level of readability that will have you rereading it over and over. I love that about it. I don’t want to give too much away but all I can say is WOW that blurb doesn’t do this novel justice. If you’re in the market to find the next great fantasy novelist, John D Pepe’s The Lone Wolf will surely convince you who that is. Highly recommend.
November 23, 2020
Love it. Fun adventure in the Medieval world. It reminded me of The Princess Bride meets The Hobbit.
June 27, 2020
A friend of mine suggested this book. When I told him I started reading the book he immediately responded with "so who's your favorite character?" This one little question held great significance for me. You see for me the most important part of any book, equal to the story itself, is having great characters. And yes this book has great characters. Characters that you care about characters that you root for characters that you want to succeed. Not to mention characters you'd like to see in a sequel. Hint hint Mr Pepe. As to the story yes as hinted to previously it is a great story. It is a page-turner. It is a story that starts with action and ends with action it is a really good book. It is the first book I've read in a little while where I did not want to put it down. Thank you Mike for recommending this book. And thank you Mr John Pepe for writing it.
October 12, 2020
The Lone Wolf by John Pepe was my latest read. Now, when it comes to fantasy novels your deepest dives were The Lord of the Rings and the Wheel of Time series. So, I have a background in the realm of magical humans, elves, orcs, goblins, dwarves, etc.
Pepe did create some unique characters within the recognizable fantasy realms we have all become familiar with seeing. Remence is the young protagonist who struggles to find his place in this changing world of men. I think his struggles of family, faith, and belonging are really fitting for anytime period and I connected with that as a reader. He also had unexpected turns and twists such as gaining an unlikely mentor in the rogue named Caladin. Pepe also manages to weave two different teams of characters into a rag-tag team of adventurers. That was fun to see how these different personalities would interact with each other. It kind of reminded me of how different Avengers would mass up or butt heads if they were forced to work together.
The story had elements of The Princess Bride with a number of vocal banterings, mostly from Caladin and his extensive vocabulary and the confusion in the minds of Medieval men. When the team is on mission to discover the meaning behind the organized orc invasion, it did make me think of The Two Towers and seeing how the world in that time worked, what kind of forces were at work, and how people communicated to each other. Pepe did create some unique and well-developed characters. Even the Half-Ogre Lee brother band of Ug, Fug, and Bruse were more than just mindless brutes who provided muscle power when needed. Pepe is free flowing with details about his sword play, history, and detailed battle action. I think this is his love for D& D coming to the surface.
But where this story is unique is how he brought a more personal touch to the normally expansive world of fantasy. Pepe talked about morality with the killing of orcs. He also dealt with race and diverse cultures by delving into what the orc life is really like in this world. We get to understand more details about who they are and how they think. However, the element of faith and how one applies it in real life does come out in some of the discussions Remence has with Caladin. I think those elements or characters are what makes this a little bit more than a hack and slash action tale.
Overall this was a great first novel for John Pepe. I think he has set up some solid character and opened up the world of Dacture and beyond.
Pepe did create some unique characters within the recognizable fantasy realms we have all become familiar with seeing. Remence is the young protagonist who struggles to find his place in this changing world of men. I think his struggles of family, faith, and belonging are really fitting for anytime period and I connected with that as a reader. He also had unexpected turns and twists such as gaining an unlikely mentor in the rogue named Caladin. Pepe also manages to weave two different teams of characters into a rag-tag team of adventurers. That was fun to see how these different personalities would interact with each other. It kind of reminded me of how different Avengers would mass up or butt heads if they were forced to work together.
The story had elements of The Princess Bride with a number of vocal banterings, mostly from Caladin and his extensive vocabulary and the confusion in the minds of Medieval men. When the team is on mission to discover the meaning behind the organized orc invasion, it did make me think of The Two Towers and seeing how the world in that time worked, what kind of forces were at work, and how people communicated to each other. Pepe did create some unique and well-developed characters. Even the Half-Ogre Lee brother band of Ug, Fug, and Bruse were more than just mindless brutes who provided muscle power when needed. Pepe is free flowing with details about his sword play, history, and detailed battle action. I think this is his love for D& D coming to the surface.
But where this story is unique is how he brought a more personal touch to the normally expansive world of fantasy. Pepe talked about morality with the killing of orcs. He also dealt with race and diverse cultures by delving into what the orc life is really like in this world. We get to understand more details about who they are and how they think. However, the element of faith and how one applies it in real life does come out in some of the discussions Remence has with Caladin. I think those elements or characters are what makes this a little bit more than a hack and slash action tale.
Overall this was a great first novel for John Pepe. I think he has set up some solid character and opened up the world of Dacture and beyond.
August 12, 2020
This was a really fun fantasy novel. I would recommend it to fans of D&D who are after a standalone story with lots of humour and action.
I thought the characters were really well done and probably the highlight of the book. Cousins Caladin and Quinn, the two 'gentlemen procurers' steal the show somewhat, and I'm not surprised to learn that the author intends to write more with these two. They have a great relationship and there is lots of humour and back and forth between them. There is a decent support cast as well, with a coming of age story involving Remence, the titular 'lone wolf'. However, I did think the author missed a trick with the dearth of decent female characters which could have easily been addressed.
The storyline revolves around attacks by an unusually disciplined army of orcs and there is quite a lot of mystery for the characters to solve. It is well paced and exciting. Caladin and Quinn do some thieving, but in the end every problem is resolved by a massive brawl. I'm not complaining really, since the author does fight scenes very well, but at times I did wonder whether a book about thieves might involve more tricksy solutions!
The worldbuilding was perfectly adequate for the storyline, in that it was a typical D&D style environment. That said, I never got a feeling that there was a truly developed world to be explored, but such things are a matter of personal taste and I think many other readers will appreciate the light touch here.
Finally, the writing was solid. There were enough errors in the text to be a distraction for me e.g. statute instead of statue - but overall it's a fairly clean script. At times, the author tends to over explain things - for example, a line of dialogue, and then some narrative explanation about why the character said that.
Overall, a very impressive debut and I'm looking forward to what the author does next!
I thought the characters were really well done and probably the highlight of the book. Cousins Caladin and Quinn, the two 'gentlemen procurers' steal the show somewhat, and I'm not surprised to learn that the author intends to write more with these two. They have a great relationship and there is lots of humour and back and forth between them. There is a decent support cast as well, with a coming of age story involving Remence, the titular 'lone wolf'. However, I did think the author missed a trick with the dearth of decent female characters which could have easily been addressed.
The storyline revolves around attacks by an unusually disciplined army of orcs and there is quite a lot of mystery for the characters to solve. It is well paced and exciting. Caladin and Quinn do some thieving, but in the end every problem is resolved by a massive brawl. I'm not complaining really, since the author does fight scenes very well, but at times I did wonder whether a book about thieves might involve more tricksy solutions!
The worldbuilding was perfectly adequate for the storyline, in that it was a typical D&D style environment. That said, I never got a feeling that there was a truly developed world to be explored, but such things are a matter of personal taste and I think many other readers will appreciate the light touch here.
Finally, the writing was solid. There were enough errors in the text to be a distraction for me e.g. statute instead of statue - but overall it's a fairly clean script. At times, the author tends to over explain things - for example, a line of dialogue, and then some narrative explanation about why the character said that.
Overall, a very impressive debut and I'm looking forward to what the author does next!
June 27, 2020
This was the first time I had read fantasy and I went in with a good book to widen my genre bases.
At Ironwood Gate, two other characters came into play – Caladin and Quinn. I absolutely adored this characters!! They had such likeable characters and exquisite skill with a sword, as well as magical powers! Caladin makes friends with Asi, a ogre hunter, and ended up becoming his partner in the business, (Quinn worked with them too). During Caladin and Quinn’s time in Ironwood Gate, King Bulbug’s army ‘attempt’ to attack Ironwood, which caused an unlikely individual requesting the cousins help.Caladin and Quinn, with the help of Remence, Gromken and other survivors from his village, investigated and found out why the attack was put in place and had to also undertake some uncover work to get to the truth. Remence gets resolution for his people.
The last few chapters kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put the book down!
You can see more on my blog: www.literacyindulgence.wordpress.com
At Ironwood Gate, two other characters came into play – Caladin and Quinn. I absolutely adored this characters!! They had such likeable characters and exquisite skill with a sword, as well as magical powers! Caladin makes friends with Asi, a ogre hunter, and ended up becoming his partner in the business, (Quinn worked with them too). During Caladin and Quinn’s time in Ironwood Gate, King Bulbug’s army ‘attempt’ to attack Ironwood, which caused an unlikely individual requesting the cousins help.Caladin and Quinn, with the help of Remence, Gromken and other survivors from his village, investigated and found out why the attack was put in place and had to also undertake some uncover work to get to the truth. Remence gets resolution for his people.
The last few chapters kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put the book down!
You can see more on my blog: www.literacyindulgence.wordpress.com
November 12, 2020
The Lone Wolf is a fun, action-packed novel full of adventure and intrigue. The fight scenes in particular were very well-done, and it was obvious the author has extensive knowledge on the subject along with the ability to bring those scenes to life on the page in a convincing manner. I also enjoyed seeing the transformation of Remence and the subtle faith message embedded in the story. However, it was the witty dialogue and charisma of Caladin that I found particularly entertaining. While it fell short on description, I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone who likes a fast-paced adventure.
June 27, 2020
I love fantasy novels especially of the Dungeons and Dragons kind though I often struggle to commit to them. The character development and unique personalities was enjoyable. I gravitated towards the cousins, Caladin and Quinn. Excellent story, highly recommend it.
August 27, 2021
I liked it mostly but some parts of this were better than others. Remence seemed to be main character at first but never seems to take the central role in this story. I think he is meant to be the Lone Wolf but this is never realized I think throughout the book. Caladin and Quinn were the best characters in this story to me really. Ug and Fug were sort of entertaining as well. When they took care of the orge mage what ever happened to that army of orcs that still were gathered? They still could posed a danger but they were never discussed again. The action and fight scenes were also rather good I think and well written. The characters trying to come to grips with the morality of their actions good have been expressed better and then after going on about the existence of the gods or whatever I did lose interest in reading those pages. But overall I did enjoy reading this book.
July 15, 2023
Lone Wolf is a fun action-packed D&D style adventure story with a fun rag-tag party of misfits that is both entertaining and would most certainly appeal to young adult boys. It definitely has the feel of a group of 16-year old boys playing D&D and having a lot of fun.
There is some great food for thought on evil and how it comes about. Even though orcs are portrayed as the equivalent of zombie Nazis (simply killable) in the beginning of the book, that idea of evil becomes ever more hazy as the book progresses. I really enjoyed the pointers towards humanism and that there is a spectrum of grey, not black and white, when it comes to good and evil. And then there is this wonderful quote:
“The one thing that I know to be true is that all it takes for evil to get a foothold in this world is for men, good men, to stand by and do nothing.”
Unfortunately, I feel this book alienates any other readership because of the glaring lack of females. No, I don’t need any female characters in the group, but it would have been less irritating if the characters in this story hadn’t been set in something like a vacuum. For Remence, the “lone wolf” hero of the story, women are some kind of abstract he feels the need to protect in the first half of the story and then even that just disappears without a trace after. He never spares a thought for anything female after reaching the city. There is no mother, nor are there sisters, aunts. Not even a love interest to spend his time thinking about or wanting to impress. There is just nothing. He loses is father and there’s no one to comfort him and help him through the experience. Well, sorry, there’s his half-orc friend who’s totally clumsy about it. But what happened to all those “women” who needed protecting? Where are they? Not one features in this story.
This is followed by Caladin, the eternal womanizer, to whom women are just a tool for his own personal pleasure. And in his chapters, you’ll find mention of only two women, both absolutely awful that truly detract from the awesomeness of the rest of the story. There was loads of scope to add a few interesting female characters, whether it was an administrator/lady of the purse for Asi’s orc hunters, or a female tavern owner, or some female thieves in the guild. Something! Would have been better than the vacuum offered.
My favorite quote: Do not let your emotions prevent you from doing what you know in your heart is the right thing to do.
All in all, if this book had been crafted with a little more thought, I think I could have absolutely loved it. As it is, I finished it and enjoyed it, but was constantly irritated too.
There is some great food for thought on evil and how it comes about. Even though orcs are portrayed as the equivalent of zombie Nazis (simply killable) in the beginning of the book, that idea of evil becomes ever more hazy as the book progresses. I really enjoyed the pointers towards humanism and that there is a spectrum of grey, not black and white, when it comes to good and evil. And then there is this wonderful quote:
“The one thing that I know to be true is that all it takes for evil to get a foothold in this world is for men, good men, to stand by and do nothing.”
Unfortunately, I feel this book alienates any other readership because of the glaring lack of females. No, I don’t need any female characters in the group, but it would have been less irritating if the characters in this story hadn’t been set in something like a vacuum. For Remence, the “lone wolf” hero of the story, women are some kind of abstract he feels the need to protect in the first half of the story and then even that just disappears without a trace after. He never spares a thought for anything female after reaching the city. There is no mother, nor are there sisters, aunts. Not even a love interest to spend his time thinking about or wanting to impress. There is just nothing. He loses is father and there’s no one to comfort him and help him through the experience. Well, sorry, there’s his half-orc friend who’s totally clumsy about it. But what happened to all those “women” who needed protecting? Where are they? Not one features in this story.
This is followed by Caladin, the eternal womanizer, to whom women are just a tool for his own personal pleasure. And in his chapters, you’ll find mention of only two women, both absolutely awful that truly detract from the awesomeness of the rest of the story. There was loads of scope to add a few interesting female characters, whether it was an administrator/lady of the purse for Asi’s orc hunters, or a female tavern owner, or some female thieves in the guild. Something! Would have been better than the vacuum offered.
My favorite quote: Do not let your emotions prevent you from doing what you know in your heart is the right thing to do.
All in all, if this book had been crafted with a little more thought, I think I could have absolutely loved it. As it is, I finished it and enjoyed it, but was constantly irritated too.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews