Futility of Defense
A Paladin’s Journey Book 2
by Bryan Cole

Paladins are nothing but trouble. When Krell, an uneducated nobody with a stubborn streak as wide as the sea, hears the call from ReckNor, the capricious god of the seas and skies, the attention of the rich and powerful turn their gaze toward him. Paladins are notorious for upsetting the balance of power, to the detriment of any who don’t worship their deity.

When Krell stands against the might of the sea devils and emerges victorious, concern and interest turn to fear—fear of their secrets and plans being revealed and exposed, of the ruin that often follows in a paladin’s wake. Now he stands in defense of a pitiful town at the edge of nowhere, even as the sea devil menace grows more dire for each day that passes.

For as deadly as the sea devils are to Krell, his past choices and the consequences of his actions may be deadlier still . . .

5 out of 5 fairies

Action, adventure, intrigue, capricious gods, and unforgettable characters combine for one amazing new installment in this series. I fell in love with Krell in book one – he’s so much more complex than you’d expect at first glance. Cole does an amazing job of bringing the world to life, it’s like stepping through the pages into a whole different plane of existence. The action scenes are very well-written, and really get your heart racing. There’s enough tension and twists in the story that you’ll find it VERY difficult to set down (so make sure you take breaks while reading)! Throughout the story, Krell continues to grow, and although he already had a place in my heart, I found myself liking him even more as he evolves. Overall an excellent epic fantasy, and I can’t wait for more adventures with Krell and company!

Darvin was brushing his horse.

He glanced up as Krell stepped into the stable, then went back to brushing. “Gerrard tells a good story,” he said. “How much of it is true?”

Krell smiled wryly. “Everything I heard, though I didn’t hear the whole thing,” he said. He looked at Darvin’s horse, his eyebrows raising in surprise. It was short, its coat a dull brown color. The shoulder bones protruded, and Krell could see the horse’s ribs clearly. It turned its head, looking at him.

“That’s Krell. He’s a paladin of ReckNor, and someone who is kind to animals, from what I can tell.” The horse snorted, looking back at Darvin. “No, I’m pretty sure he’ll give you an apple if you ask nicely.” Darvin pointed with his foot toward a basket on the floor.

Krell walked over and found it full of apples. He chuckled and grabbed one.

“Hold it in your palm, your fingers flat. Nice big surface for him to grab a bite, but keeps you from being bitten. Hold the apple there till he gets it all. He’s a cranky old bastard when he knocks it from your hand,” said Darvin, a smile on his face as he brushed the horse’s neck.

Krell held out the apple as the horse bit at it. He had to adjust his hand to keep the apple from falling. “What’s his name?”

“Answers to a lot of things. I call him Grange most of the time.” Darvin smiled. “Though I also call him stupid bastard pretty often as well.”

The horse snorted, raising his head as if offended.

“Grange? Strange name for a horse,” said Krell, looking at him. “How old is he?”

“Been my friend since I got him, over eighteen years now.” Darvin opened the stable door and stepped in. “Ever cared for a horse before, Krell?”

Krell shook his head. “Never even been this close to one, at least as far as I know.”

Darvin nodded. “Horses are amazing creatures. Every part works seamlessly with the others to make an animal perfect for running. Grange here, he loves to run, don’t you?” Grange let out a soft whinny. 

He opened a leather satchel that was on the floor of the stall and picked up a small hooked tool with bristles on the other side. He stepped next to Grange and reached down. Grange obediently raised his leg, and Darvin grasped it. He began using the hooked end to pick dirt and debris from the hoof.

Krell grunted. “Wouldn’t that be easier if you just sat on the ground?”

“Easier, maybe, but dangerous. I trust Grange here with my life, but a horse I didn’t know that well? What if he moves suddenly? Always stand, so you can step out of the way.”

“Huh.” Krell watched as Darvin finished cleaning one hoof, scraping with the hook and using the brush to clean dirt away. He set the foreleg gently on the ground and moved to the rear, repeating his actions.

“Is the girl okay?”

“Olgar knows what he’s doing.”

“Want to talk about it?” asked Darvin.

Krell stared at him for a moment. “Talk about what?”

Darvin paused what he was doing and glanced at Krell, raising an eyebrow. “You’re spattered with blood, and look like you did a poor job cleaning it from your hair and face. That girl was scared. It can be a hard thing to inflict violence on people. Hurts you in a way you may not even realize.”

“Oh, this is my blood,” said Krell.

Darvin chuckled as he picked at the hoof. “That’s better, somehow?”

Lily:  Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview Bryan I’ve been enjoying reading Futility of Defense. Was Krell inspired by anyone?

Bryan:  I hadn’t realized it until well after Beginning of Arrogance was published, but Krell is, in a lot of ways, an outlet for me. In my professional career, I have to build consensus, working with people and gradually refining ideas and concepts into action over time. Krell… is not like that. He very much identifies what he wants, then does that. If others are unhappy about it, he’ll just shrug. Beyond that, Krell is intended as a classic paladin archetype, but altered by the fact his god is not interested in nobility or honor, and at best can be described as tempestuous. 

Lily:  That’s awesome, I’ve heard before that authors put a little bit of them into their characters. Did you have any challenges writing this book? And if so, how did you overcome them?

Bryan:  Goodness yes – Fulity of Defense went through several rewrites as the shape of the story altered and changed over time. Where Beginning of Arrogance introduces Krell as he starts to learn what he’s capable of (and throughout book one, realizes why he was called as a paladin), Futility of Defense focuses on consequences, both good and bad. Beginning of Arrogance has a lot going on, and the world is populated by intelligent antagonists. When Krell ruins their plans, they react.

Lily:  It was a captivating read, and I loved seeing how Krell dealt with the fallout of things. How did you choose the title? Is there a special significance to it?

Bryan:  I tend to write the book, then examine it to try and figure out a fitting title that will be descriptive of the events in the book. I tried naming Futility of Defense early on, and those initial title ideas did not work for me. Eventually, as I refined the story, I introduced Krell’s increasing frustration with standing in place and being assaulted, and the title emerged from that. Now, I’m not even trying to name the next book until I’m done the first draft!

Lily:  That makes sense, and I think the title is a perfect fit. Would you watch this if it were turned into a movie? Who would you want playing the MCs?

Bryan:  This is a hard question! I’m definitely not what one would call attentive to the movie industry. For Krell, Timothée Chalamet blew me away in Dune, so he’d be my pick. Olgar I can see being played by someone like Stellan Skarsgård. I’d pick Idris Elba for Captain Gijwolf, and… I’m rapidly running out of ideas 😊

Lily:  I think those are perfect castings. Now we’d like to talk about you as a writer. How do you balance the demands of writing with other responsibilities?

Bryan:  Short answer – terribly. I prioritize my family and my career, which means the time left to me for writing is extremely sparse. Then, when I finally have time to write, I find I’m often not in the right frame of mind for it. However, when I find the time and I’m in the right mindset, I’ll easily write five to ten thousand words in a sitting.

Lily:  II know life can get crazy busy, I’m glad you’re able to squeeze in writing. At what point did you decide to be an author and what was your path to publication?

Bryan:  It started when my career hit a strange lull. I found myself without a manager and without a clearly defined job role, and no responsibilities as my organization started setting up a new role for me – but not for several months. I’m the sort of person that needs to have something to do, so I turned to the advice my friends had been giving me – that the stories I tell should be written down – and much to my surprise I loved writing. Beginning of Arrogance took about three months for the first draft. Futility of Defense was much more difficult for me to write (my professional career had resumed), and it took me about eight months to write. No ETA on book 3 at the moment 😊

Lily:  I’m excited for book three, but I can understand how it would be hard to estimate with how busy you are! How do you celebrate when you finish writing a book?

Bryan:  Honestly, I’m exhausted! Defining finished as the book being published, I found on both occasions that I was just spent, and wanted nothing other than to sit with my eyes closed and relax. Then marketing came calling, and that desire to write the next book in the series, and after a short breather, I went right back to work.

Lily:  It’s definitely a lot of work from start to finish. Let’s finish up with some fun questions and get inside your mind. Would you rather have wings or a fish tail? What color would you want them to be?

Bryan:  Wings, because then I still have legs. The world is built for humans, and trying to move around with a fish tail sounds like a completely awful experience. Additionally, most technology doesn’t work when submerged in water (as I type this on my computer), so… wings, definitely. Though it would make using my car extremely awkward. Pro tip – if you’ve ever taken a flight and you’re arriving back home, look out the window and see if you can identify any roads. Flying sounds great, but it would be an entirely new set of challenges – all built around not getting lost. As for color… a deep blue bordering on black. 

Lily:  Wings would also let you avoid traffic, so that’s definitely a perk. If you were given the rather strange superpower of being able to make any food you touch go bad, what would you do with that power?

Bryan:  I’m of the mind that I would not tell anyone about that power, and try to never use it. Hopefully it requires intentional use on my part, otherwise I would need to be fed! It reminds me very strongly of the parable of King Midas. It sounds awful. On a darker note, I have to imagine if the government learned about my power, I’d be recruited (willing or not) to both be kept under control and used against enemy nations to disrupt food supplies. So I’d be very quiet about it!

Lily:  I fall on the side of being able to control it so you don’t need an iron digestive system to stay alive. What animal would be the cutest if it was the size of a chihuahua?

Bryan:  Dragon. Or in the real world, a cat 😉

Lily:  Little dragons would be so adorable (thinking about Mushu from Disney’s Mulan). What popular TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?

Bryan:  I’m not sure I have a show I’d refuse to watch. It’s more of a time commitment issue for me. I tend to be able to find something to enjoy in everything I take in, whether it’s the wildly inconsistent physics of the Transformers movies, to the occasional moment of humor in a hallmark Christmas romance movie, to everything in between. Having said that, I try to avoid horror, as watching terrible things happen to people and being scared the whole time does not appeal to me!

Lily:  It’s the perfect time of year for Christmas movies too. If you became famous and a city wanted to make a statue of you, what pose would you want to be in?

Bryan:  Sitting at a writing desk with a pen in hand. Unless I’m famous for some other reason! For example, if I’m somehow responsible for fending off a shark from eating the mayor or some nonsense, then it would be an action scene. In this case, me punching a shark.

Lily:  I’d love to see a statue of you punching a shark. How long would you choose to live given the choice of any number of years?

Bryan:  1,200. That should be more than enough time, but only if this is common for everyone, not just me. If it’s just me, that’s a terrifyingly lonely future, despite how great compound interest is.

Lily:  I don’t know if I’d want to live that long, like you I wouldn’t want to do it alone. Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?

Bryan:  While I love dogs, I’m definitely a cat person. My cat Onyx is a perpetual companion, following me around just waiting for me to sit so he can hop onto my lap.

Lily:  That’s so sweet, and I love the name Onyx. How can readers discover more about you and your work?

Bryan:  At the links below