The Paladin Prophecy: Book 1

Will West is careful to live life under the radar. At his parents' insistence, he's made sure to get mediocre grades and to stay in the middle of the pack on his cross-country team. Then Will slips up, accidentally scoring off the charts on a nationwide exam.

Now Will is being courted by an exclusive prep school . . . and is being followed by men driving black sedans. When Will suddenly loses his parents, he must flee to the school. There he begins to explore all that he's capable of--physical and mental feats that should be impossible--and learns that his abilities are connected to a struggle between titanic forces that has lasted for millennia.

Co-creator of the groundbreaking television series Twin Peaks, Mark Frost brings his unique vision to this sophisticated adventure, which combines mystery, heart-pounding action, and the supernatural.


I loved this book so much, it was such a relief to read a refreshing piece of fiction, a YA novel that wasn't focused on romance, aimed for girls etc. It was a brilliant unisex novel very similar to Artemis Fowl, the Gone series and to some extent The Gallagher Academy, as well as Rick Riordan's  the Percy Jackson series.

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that Mark Frost had wrote Fantastic Four and co-wrote Twin Peaks,as I couldn't decide how a screenwriter would translate his skills into writing novels for teenagers. However I shouldn't have worried and should have trusted the fact he is already a New York Times Bestselling author. The first book of the Paladin Prophecy series was epic, plain and simple, once I got started I couldn't stop!

What I really enjoyed was Frost's original ideas, I loved the way Frost inserted some of Will (the main character and hero) West's father rules of life all the way through the book, it lent the story structure and also allowed the reader to feel familiar with Will and how his mind works. (My favourite was #17 START EACH DAY BY SAYING IT'S GOOD TO BE ALIVE. EVEN IF YOU DON'T FEEL IT, SAYING IT - OUT LOAD - MAKES IT MORE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL. #18 IF #17 DOESN'T WORK, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.)

The characters were like-able and weren't placed on such a high plane of perfection that the reader couldn't relate - instead they all had flaws and distinct personalities - Frost was creating characters with enough depth to carry them through the next series. I don't believe any of the characters will become boring as the series progresses instead I believe they will continue to develop under Frost's nurturing careful watch.

*The Paladin Prophecy was also, thank god, a decent length  - over 500 pages of well written addictive story, what else is better?!?!*

The first book in the Paladin Prophecy is granted a saucy 5 out of 5 and is a book for the family, your brother, your dad, everyone. It's published by Corgi a division of Random House Childrens Books UK and can be bought from Amazon.co.uk for £5.99 (paperback) or £4.74 (kindle).

Good Reading!