Temple Knight

Power Ascending #1

by Paul J. Bennett

Life took a twist she never expected.

All Charlaine ever wanted was to follow in her father’s footsteps until the moment she was forced to leave her old life behind to save her family. Now, as a Temple Knight, she finds herself alone in a distant realm, unaware of what the future will demand of her.

Her hopes for a new life are dashed the moment her past catches up with her. Labelled a troublemaker, it is only when raiders begin harassing the coast that Charlaine’s true mettle emerges.

Suspecting that all is not as it seems, she hatches a plan that reveals a far greater danger than anyone ever suspected.

With her new family of Temple Knights, Charlaine leads them in a desperate gambit to thwart the ambitions of a mighty foe that has the power to destroy them all.

Journey along with Charlaine deShandria as she chases her destiny in the action-packed, intrigue-filled Temple Knight, the first book of Paul J Bennett’s newest epic fantasy series, Power Ascending.

Grab your copy of Temple Knight today and let the adventure begin!

Other books by Paul J Bennett:

Power Ascending Series:
Tempered Steel
Temple Knight
Warrior Knight

Heir to the Crown Series:
Servant of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: Stories of the Past
Heart of the Crown
Shadow of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: The Call of Magic
Fate of the Crown
Burden of the Crown
Mercerian Tales: The Making of a Man
Defender of the Crown
Fury of the Crown

The Frozen Flame Series:
The Awakening - Into the Fire
Ashes
Embers
Flames

The Chronicles of Cyric Series:
Into the Maelstrom
A Midwinter Murder


What readers are saying about Paul J Bennett’s books:
★★★★★ - “Fabulously written, loved it.”
★★★★★ - “Wow! Best book I’ve read in a LONG time!”
★★★★★ - “If you like fantasy fiction, then this is a must read!”
★★★★★ - “A must read for anyone wanting intelligent thoughtful entertainment.”
★★★★★ - “The tale flows effortlessly along, blending action, adventure and heartwarming scenes.”
★★★★★ - “It’s really difficult to stop reading these books. Looking forward to more books from this author.”

Genres: Fantasy, Ebooks, Adventure, Amazon, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Action

489 pages, ebook

Published August 25, 2020

About the author

Paul J Bennett (b. 1961) emigrated from England to Canada in 1967. His father served in the British Royal Navy, and his mother worked for the BBC in London. As a young man, Paul followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983. He is married to Carol Bennett and has three daughters who are all creative in their own right.

Paul’s interest in writing started in his teen years when he discovered the roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons (D & D). What attracted him to this new hobby was the creativity it required; the need to create realms, worlds and adventures that pulled the gamers into his stories.

In his 30’s, Paul started to dabble in designing his own roleplaying system, using the Peninsular War in Portugal as his backdrop. His regular gaming group were willing victims, er, participants in helping to playtest this new system. A few years later, he added additional settings to his game, including Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, World War II, and the all-important Fantasy Realm where his stories take place.

The beginnings of his first book ‘Servant to the Crown’ originated over five years ago when he began a new fantasy campaign. For the world that the Kingdom of Merceria is in, he ran his adventures like a TV show, with seasons that each had twelve episodes, and an overarching plot. When the campaign ended, he knew all the characters, what they had to accomplish, what needed to happen to move the plot along, and it was this that inspired to sit down to write his first novel.

Paul now has four series based in his fantasy world of Eiddenwerthe and is looking forward to sharing many more books with his readers over the coming years.

Reviews

[L M Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thoroughly enjoy Paul Bennett's books and this one is no exception. Our MC leaves her life of blacksmithing to join the order of Saint Agnes as a temple knight.

A very readable writing style, well thought out characters and gripping battle scenes makes this a delightful read.

Once again the author delivers a delightful read.

[Brannigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! Let’s keep this simple. The characters are great. The world building is top notch fleshed out and immersive. It’s a great origin story for the lead and introduction to three different religious military orders. Plenty of action and all around great read. I recommend it for everyone. The content never gets near explicit in any way so I can’t wait for my daughter to read it. I love great strong female leads. Can’t wait to dive into the next book.

[John Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I 'm running out of books, Paul!

The ability to immediately capture your reader with brand new characters, situations and settings makes it SO easy to fly through reading each book. I have enjoyed each book and the various prequels. I have only one left, and then I'll be forced to wait impatiently for the next in each series. Looking forward to what comes next!

[Jill Gauger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It follows Charlaine a Temple Knight from the order of St Agnes.
This book is adventurous and well written and the characters are strong with tight friendships.
Paul J Bennett has another winner with this book. I can’t wait for more.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Winner!

Paul J. Bennett is a consummate storyteller! His new series “Power Ascending” opens with “Temple Knight” the beginning of the story of Charlaine deShandria, a Sister Knight of Saint Agnes. Character development is excellent as the book lays the foundation for the rest of the series. Connections are made to the Chronicles of Cyric and, no doubt, future books will connect to the other series by Mr. Bennett. Battle tactics are well thought out with pulse pounding battle scenes. The story grabs you from the first chapter and the last chapter leaves you wanting more. I look forward to the next book in this series as well as those to come in each of the other series!

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite Fantasy, but!....it has promise! Starts off slowly. But then again so do all firsts in a series. I truly like the story line which is why it doesn't get any less than 4 stars from me. However, it didn't "knock my socks off" so to speak. The dialog was slightly rigid and the characters sometimes seemed to have adhd, and by that I mean they had very random thoughts or comments to each other at times. Which was only slightly distracting.

That being said I didn't hate it. When the action picked up I was able to picture the scenes in my head while reading along and I like being able to do that. Very fast paced when fights or battles take place and I like that as well. Mention/small appearances of Dwarves and Elves so I am excited to see them come into play in the next books.

Despite the dialog the characters are mostly relatable, although, you can tell a man is giving the women their voice. No offense, not saying they should be all froo-froo flowers and butterflies, cause I like a bad-a$$ female character for sure, but they were rigid as I mentioned above.

Anyway, I do look forward to more in this series because like I said it shows promise to improve with each new book!

[Elouise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows a new Temple Knight named Charlaine on her journey from newly trained knight to heroine. We follow her adventures as she learns how to be a good Temple Knight and goes from being a new recruit to being a true heroine and a great leader of both men and women. Excellent tale of growth and perseverance and of how our experiences can change us for the better. Charlaine was a smith before becoming a knight and that is how her journey begins. She gets the unused smith working in the temple that she was assigned to and starts making weapons, tools and other things a smith makes. There are raiders causing problems for the people of the area and she quickly becomes involved in trying to stop the attacks. It is a truly epic journey for her with all its ups and downs. This action packed story kept me reading late into the night, moving from one adventure into another all the way through. Paul has written another great story.

[PeterK B · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this book, the term "fantasy" just means that it takes place in a fictional world, resembling medieval England. Yes, there is a bit of magic as well as the odd elf and dwarf, but 90 percent of the book is not unlike the best historical fiction mystery/battle books that do take place in medieval Britain.

I have read nearly all of Bennett's books and enjoyed every single one. This latest one is particularly hard to put down even at midnight. A compelling, well developed character and plenty of action and suspense. (I won't repeat the concept of the book as others have done well in summarizing it.)

This is Book 1 of a new series; a prequel, Tempered Steel, should be available by October. I have pre-ordered it from Kobo.

[Michael Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For starters, I’d certainly recommend reading the very good prequel “Tempered Steel”, which introduced Charlaine and explained how and why an excellent, experienced master smith winds up in a religious order of Temple Knights, assigned to an outpost in the far reaches of the country. She entered the order at a much older age than the typical novice, so she is more mature, accepting rigorous discipline and better able to handle difficult situations than her younger peers. Her first captain was only interested in getting promoted, and had no use for a “troublemaker” questioning anything she did, which stymied any growth or interest in the lower ranks. After that captain was promoted, her replacement realized she needed to take advantage of each knight’s best traits and develop them into the best all-round person, and fighter, they could become. Charlaine quickly took on more responsibility, first rebuilding an abandoned smith shop and working to supply the knights with proper armor, as well as some outside work to help fill the order’s coffers. She constantly looked for better ways to do things, such as, better military training, helping the knights to become more effective in protecting their community and eventually the country, as they were attacked by raiders. She helped devise better defense works and ways to retaliate and fight back, eventually taking part in a decisive sea battle. The knights and their allied forces were vastly outnumbered – could they survive their battles and save their country?

This is a well-written story in a very intriguing story arc, filled with deep inspection of character traits and human interaction, as well as vivid descriptions that pulled me into the story, making me feel I was part of the action. This is an easy read and there is a lot to read, with plenty to hold the reader’s interest. I have already bought the “Warrior Knight”, the second book in the “Power Ascending” series, which is the other story arc, following the life of the Baron’s heir, Ludwig, who had crossed paths with Charlaine, setting these stories in motion. I am eager to start that book and to follow this series to its conclusion.

[Mayhem-RW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlaine deShandria is a knight in training for the order of Saint Agnes and is by far the oldest of the initiates. She joined the order later in life than usual, and her maturity served her well. In Charlaine’s previous life, she had become a blacksmith, a master of armor and blades. This profession gave her strength and stamina, which served her well in training along with previous riding experience, and she rose to shine among the initiates and soon became a temple knight. Then she was sent to the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to be a quiet outpost, but soon there were raids, but the attacks were not really raids as the offenders took nothing but destroyed what they could. Because her father taught her to notice everything, she soon devised a plan, but her superiors would need to approve it first.

This tale of an initiate rising in power to a Temple Knight in the Order of Saint Agnes is short in itself, but what she does as Temple Knight is long. As our heroine, her age complements her skills as a warrior sister. Charlaine’s temperament as an older initiate and graduate to a Temple Knight is also served by her age as she has had more experience than most of her fellow sisters. The world-building gave you the taste of salt in the air and mud on the ground. Character history was full and gave way to each of their talents, allowing their interaction to be informative to the reader and other characters.

This epic tale has plenty of fantasy and action & adventure. I give it five stars out of five stars.

[Ramona Harris]

The Temple Knight the start of a new series written by Paul J Bennett. Charlaine deShandria became a knight of Saint Agnes at the age of 24 older than most of the other trainees. Most initiates were between the ages of 16 and 19 when they entered the service of Saint Agnes. Where they became trainees and begin learning how to become knights. After Charlaine be-came a Temple Knight she traveled to the small outpost some distance from the city of Rizela where she started her career as a Temple Knight. She learned to lead, to understand, and to obey those who were above her. This is a very well written book and an enjoyable book to read as are all of Mr. Bennett's books. I look forward to the next book in the series and to the next book that he writes regard-less of which series it's in...

[A S · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyable to read

This is a well written book in most regards. Although it starts a little slow and boring, the characters are very well developed so that you’re at the edge of your seat when they’re in danger. I really loved the relationship between the MC and Danica. Both are pretty bad ass but quite vulnerable. Light magic world setting, which is nice and it’s consistent. Fire, Lightning and Life mages are quite powerful, but nothing ridiculous. The battle scene chapters are really well done. The naval fight at the end is white knuckle quality. The antagonists are very powerful as a force, but there isn’t a clear villain. More of an unstoppable empire ruled by tyrannical forces. The Saints’s power is much more low key, but also very strong. A great read!

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Temple Knight centres on Charlaine, a woman who wanted nothing more than to be a blacksmith like her father until fate intervened and she became a Temple Knight of Saint Agnes.

I love the way the characters in this author's books are well thought out and believable, as are the battle scenes.

Paul J. Bennett has another winning series here. I have no doubt that Charlaine will go far but I am really curious to know if Danica ever gets command of her own ship. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series. Happy reading. Annemarie

I received an ARC copy of Temple Knight: An Epic Fantasy Novel and have chosen to leave a review.

[John Henninger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlaine’s adventures in “Temple Knight” were colorful, action packed, and an excellent read. They were so good I’m conflicted on who is my favorite character now. Her adventure arc was impressive; she started as an initiate which did what was right as well as what she was told. It kind of prepares you for some rope swinging oar running action.

I liked the actual beginning more than the alternate. The alternate beginning sets Charlaine up as looking for a fight rather than do her duty. The published beginning gives us a glimpse of a warrior who can think on her feet and essentially live “outside the box”.

Bravo Paul, Outstanding book

[MGB · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story could easily be subtitled “Sister Charlaine’s first deployment “. The author does a great job portraying Sister Charlaine and her fellow Temple Knights. Her devotion to Saint Agnes is obvious, total and compelling. Her dedication to the people of her community shines like a guiding light. You only see the slightest hint of anything but her calm and peaceful manner, but when the Empire attacks her people, it is truly war. She blossoms into a skilled leader, one who leads by example from the front.
This is a great action story but more importantly reveals the people behind that action.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look out! There is a new heroine in town, and her name is Charlaine! Bennet begins another series with a well-conceived, well-written story about a woman who becomes a Temple Knight and learns several valuable lessons at her first post - especially about herself. Along with a small group of sister Knights, she gains insight into what her profession is really all about and reveals a maturity and capability that lead to several action-filled adventures. This looks to be another exceptional journey, so get on board!

[Brad Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Temple Knight is a real page turner of a story. Paul Bennett introduced us to Charlaine. A newly qualified temple Knight of the order of St Agnes. Her first assignments is to a run down outpost where , after being classified as a troublemaker, she uses her experience and skill as a guild metal smith to bring her outpost into the defense of the surrounding area. A new commander, recognizing her abilities promotes her to a leading position. The story sets the stage for future stories in this series. I highly recommend it!

[Marlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great start to another wonderful series by Mr. Bennett. Like the other books I have read the writing is superb. I was spell bound by the story and I could not wait to see how the story ended. This book is filled with great characters, that Mr. Bennett describes in depth. There is a lot of action and the story flows well. I look forward to the next story in this series.
I received an ARC of this book for an objective review.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Mr Bennett and all of his worlds. That said, this is by far my new favorite. Charlaine is everything you want in a knight. She is smart, humble, adaptable and loyal. The story starts out slow, picks up speed and ends on a high note! I loved it so much, I instantly reread. I look forward eagerly for the newest adventures of our female Temple Knights and their daring deeds for the honor of St Agnes.

[Deborah Stovall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Temple Knight by Paul J. Bennett is a very good read.

I loved the main character and all of the supporting characters, the good and the bad. The story flows smoothly and it kept my attention riveted to the pages. The battles are well written and I rocked faster. This according to my sister means it's very good because (lol) I rock faster whenever the battles heat up. I recommend this story to everyone who likes strong female leads and very good story telling.

[Larry J · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding read!

This was an epic saga showcasing the strength of a world where men & women are illustrated in equal strength and importance. Placing the story in the context of knighthood held equally among women and men, each proving their worth among their respective orders simply adds to the power of the story. A story filled with strength, the bonds of brotherhood, sisterhood and most importantly, faith. Very highly recommended for all readers.

[Donna Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monastic knights of both genders battle evil invaders

I really enjoyed this medieval fantasy story and would love to read a sequel. In addition to battles on land and sea, the story includes elves, dwarves, mages, and power struggles versus true dedication. As a grammar nerd, however, the frequent run-on sentences connected by commas were really annoying. Please find a really picky proofreader.

[Mike Brannick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great start to a really good series. Mr. Bennett is a master storyteller. Every book of his I've read has been well crafted, well written, and very hard to put down. I've read some of the other books in this series and from others written about the same world. And once you've entered that world you'll want to return again and again. I highly recommend this and every other book he has written.

[Mlv · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great start to a new series. It's nice to see that this one is focused on women, with their strengths apparent and their femininity intact. All the characters develop nicely. Charlaine starts to emerge as a smart, daring character. This is worthy of all of Bennet's other books. I can't wait for the next book.

[Carol castor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. Although it mainly centres on the central character, Charlaine, the other characters are all strongly portrayed. This has it all, battles, deceit, mages, loss, also heroism, strong friendships formed. All of this is written in a flowing manner leaving you wanting to read more from Paul j Bennett. I was asked to leave an honest review of this book in return for a free copy.

[Maretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

If your looking for a fantasy adventure read it just doesn’t get any better than this! The writing is astonishing it pulls you in until you feel like your actually there. The characters are well thought out and established. You’ll love this book and I’m sure like me impatiently wait for the next in series.

[Quilting Tangent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Middle Ages Action Adventure!
This is an easy to read, action adventure story about wonderful, strong women, set in the middle ages. They become Sister Knights protecting a community of farmers from raiders and so much more. Well rounded characters with distinct personalities. Great descriptive battle scenes. Interesting book, looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Bec · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Temple Knight" story grabs you from the first chapter, and the last chapter leaves you wanting more. The characters are well developed, the battle scenes are very well done, and the storyline keeps you turning the pages.

Paul Bennett has written a "Power Ascending" series starter that will have you wanting the next book ASAP!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great start to what should be another great series, (which could maybe have some crossover opportunities?). Enjoyed reading what I thought was good groundwork to build some strong characters, and I am anxious to see what direction(s) this series goes.

[Harland Monroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great Paul has done it again it has several good characters and a great story to start a new series. I have enjoyed all of Paul's stories that I have read to date. He just keeps you turning pages