Night's Favour

Night's Champion #1

by Richard Parry

Valentine’s an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. His boss is an asshole. He’s an alcoholic. And he’s getting that middle age spread just a bit too early. One night — the one night he can’t remember — changes everything. What happened at the popular downtown bar, The Elephant Blues? Why is Biomne, the largest pharmaceutical company in the world, so interested in him — and the virus he carries? How is he getting stronger, faster, and more fit? And what’s the connection between Valentine and the criminally insane Russian, Volk?

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Thriller, Shapeshifters, Fiction, Action

390 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 3, 2013

About the author

Richard Parry has worked as a senior marketing manager in one of the world’s top tech companies, but it wasn't all cocaine parties. His debut novel Night’s Favor and its sequel Night’s Fall have been shortlisted for the Sir Julius Vogel Award “Best Novel” category.

His ever-growing list of novels spans urban fantasy, cyberpunk, and space opera, featuring flawed heroes, sharp dialogue, and a healthy dose of action. His Night’s Champion trilogy follows an alcoholic-turned-werewolf saving the world, while Future Forfeit explores a neon-drenched cyberpunk future where hacking the system is just the start. Meanwhile, Ezeroc Wars throws readers into the deep end of an interstellar war against a swarm species that doesn’t take no for an answer. Across over 20 novels (and counting), Richard delivers stories packed with heart, explosions, and the occasional bad decision.

Richard lives in Wellington with the love of his life, Rae. They have cats, who chase birds. The birds, who have the power of flight, don’t seem to mind.

Reviews

[Julia Sarene · Rating 4 out of 5]

UF (with some romance)
3,5*. Had quite some gripes as you can see below, but overall I did enjoy the story and happily kept reading.

1/3 through and I like it still. Some things feel a bit "cheap" to me somehow, like a low budget movie compared to Dresden or Hellequin, if you know what I mean...

The big showdown at the emd is about as believable as me and Marielle killing a whole Roman Legion with our bare hands.... And why the hell would someone who never shot a crrossbow especially get a crossbow to bring to a rifle fight? And then be able to shoot it well im no time at all. Wonder if the author ever tried it.. (I sure did)

Also I sure as hell wouldn't grin and stand around joking around while rescuing my daughter from ruthless murderers...

Also I don't like it so much - Annoying! - that between the sentences - grumble about it - at random places within the sentence - did I say that yet? - are thoughts interspersed. And not just - werewolf! - pack thoughts, but with - human! - other characters - she thought - too...

I reall yliked the characters though, and I cared about what haooened to them. It fast fast paced and fun, so even with those gripes I'll go for 3,3 stars!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 star read.

Well, this novel was a horse of a different colour altogether, or should that be wolf? Not one word of the sexiness of the panting breath and hirsuteness of a wolf in this story! Thank god.

I'm thrilled that the author took the alternate view of werewolves, something based more on reality than romance, and the accompanying action that unfolds. I was sitting there energetically "flicking" the pages of my Kindle app, nodding and saying to myself "That makes perfect sense" when lo and behold we hit the conspiracy part of the book! And you know what? That made perfect sense as well!

It's hard to say more without giving away major spoilers, but this novel is perhaps one of the best werewolf novels I've read, simply because, if they did exist, you could totally see the various theories playing out.

Is it shameless of me to try and claim the author as a "brother from another mother"? Richard Parry hails from New Zealand, a close "cousin" of Australia, and another extraordinarily good local writer to follow. Highly recommended thrilling read.

[David Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstandingly well-written, this offers a fresh and 'realistic' perspective on werewolves. The plot requires perhaps a little more than usual suspension of disbelief; I found Elsie Morgan's motives and actions a bit of a stretch, so also the extent of what a private military company might get away with. However, I was completely invested in the characters and the suspense of the story, and I reckon Richard Parry a top-rank action and combat writer. A werewolf action fantasy that breaks the genre mould, it's a great read. My response was to buy the remaining two books in the series.

[J.C. Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank goodness - a werewolf book that isn't YA, isn't 'sexy' and has gritty, awesome werewolves in it.
This is Parry's debut novel, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pretty happy with what I got! A great combination of action, witty banter, great characters, humour, death and destruction, and cop stuff (with a smattering of romance on the side), this story moves along at a rapid pace and leaves you feeling satisfied.

[Melissa Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grab me and wouldn't let go...what an adventure. It has a new twist on a wonderful werewolf story. I really enjoyed the plot it kept me guessing and wondering what was going to happen next. He writes smoothly and has done his research so the storyline is believable and enjoyable to read. A book I didn't want to put down. Mr Parry gives you enough information on each character so you either like them or hate them. I like back ground on the characters but not overkill and Mr Parry knows how to give you the right amount, a sign of a good writter.

This is book 1 of a trilogy and I can't wait to get the next book "Night's Fall" to see what happens next to the heros from book 1. I don't think you go wrong in reading this book it's a great story.

[Patty U. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I have had it on my kindle for awhile. Was searching for something to read and seen this one and the second one, so thought I would give it a try. I am glad I did. It starts out as a regular police procedure book, but the more you get into it you realize it is so much more. The fire fights are awesome, {John Wick} style. Love it. In this book you get an alcoholic, personal trainer, detective, romance, kids, and some supernatural. It has it all and you will not want to stop reading. It held my interest throughout.

[Shelfish Twitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books I will probably pick up again and re-read it. Parry did an amazing job of building a fantastic storyline, with plenty of motive and tension. The characters are very likeable - even the bad ones. You can understand their reasoning behind why they do the things they do - and you can see the main character develop from a low-life into something spectacular.
All in all - this was a fun read with plenty of witty banter, and piles of bodies in the aftermath.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favour

I haven’t read a Werewolf book in ages, and this is one of the best I’ve read. Really great storyline, it’s got everything you could want, love, betrayal, revenge, redemption all wrapped up in a great adventure. I loved Val the main character and his friend John, they are a great double act with plenty of humour. I won’t say to much about the story as it’s always best to find out for yourself. But for a freebie it’s Fab.

[David Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story hooks you from the first pages and keeps your attention through to the last. Hard-hitting action scenes, interspersed with clever snarky dialogue finish off a well-written and thoroughly satisfying read.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I luv this book! It was entertaining and intriguing and kept me wanting more. I would read it again. I thought it was well written and will definitely read another book by the author.

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

night's favour by Richard Parry.
Valentine’s an ordinary guy with ordinary problems. His boss is an asshole. He’s an alcoholic. And he’s getting that middle age spread just a bit too early. One night — the one night he can’t remember — changes everything.
fantastic read with brilliant characters. I could not put this down. such a different read for me. 5*.

[Jane Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

First-time author, Richard Parry, has brought the worlds of cop dramas, virus thrillers and a soupçon of werewolves together in this successful yarn. Full of quick-witted dialogue, laugh-out-loud moments and All The Feels in a fast-paced environment with very human base storylines: to protect, to be loved, to survive.

[Susan Carpenter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! An original take on its genre -- out of respect for the author, I won't reveal what that is. I like paranormal, I like underdog heroes, and I particularly like the number of "gray hats" in this story. Only one totally unsympathetic character (Volk). I also like crime stories; the author did a fine job mixing the genres.

[Peter Bruyns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a great book to read! Especially so because it's a full length book and one can really get to enjoy it. The idea of becoming a werewolf by being bitten is not new, here this author adds a twist. It also appears that vampires come from Romania and werewolves, apparently come from Russia..(oh, those Russians) I actually can't wait to read the Trilogy.

[Haley Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters have some wit

The characters made me laugh several times the had good banter and snarky comments.

I need six more words to stop...

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me this story started a bit slow and too much detail about the mundane. I know it’s a delicate balance between enough info and too much for me some of the descriptions could have been lessened. Valentine/Val is burying his guilt after losing his wife and unborn child in a car accident in alcohol and unhealthy eating. His descent into depression is finally causing problems at work and he’s given a warning of get it together or you are through here. While at a bar with his childhood friend Val’s world gets a bit thrown off kilter.

With continued blackouts Val is not sure what is real or what is a dream/nightmare. All he knows is he’s wanted for questioning by the police, people seem to be trying to kill him and bodies seem to be stacking up and things keep pointing back to him.

Things get a little confusing at times then again it could have been me reading the book late after several long days at work, but sometimes I wasn’t certain whom was speaking. Nevertheless the tension and suspense starts ratcheting up and you are being drawn into their lives. Val meets a young lady that peaks his interest for the first time in a long time Danny/Danielle and he wants her to be a part of his life. He just has one problem someone is trying to kill him as he’s trying to start a connection with her. When things take a turn for the ugly and Danny’s child is taken the protective instinct in Val comes out hard and angry. The cub in his pack is taken and the beast within is ready to remove some heads to bring their cub back safely.

The last 20% of the book or so is pretty much non-stop action and gore. The author has a quirky sense of humor that shines through with his characters when things are about to go sideways really bad. When the bullet storm hits there are some laugh out loud moments, some snort laughing moments and did that person just say what I thought they did moments. Through it all you are running along side wanting to be in on every detail you are hoping your pack survives the fallout but you know that there is no guarantee that everyone will make it out alive.

The book started out as a 3 star then when things started picking up it went to a 4 star and the last 20% of the book it went to a 5 star. So I went middle and settled for 4 stars.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 - 4,0 stars. Perhaps not completely in league with other past 4-star books (YET!!) I've read but I can't deny that this book was extremely entertaining! The action was amazing, I would rate my reading experience as very fun and was just exactly what I was looking for in a tale of this type! And I paid full price, so how's that for authentic?

Parry's writing is smooth albeit not quite as refined (wrong word... serious? horrific? just read it...) as other writers of this genre have been (nods to Crouch, Sakey, Hill, et.al.). This book was certainly not as hard-core as Tim McGregor's 'Bad Wolf Chronicles' which still remain to this day my benchmark for serious werewolf tales. But what was lacking perhaps in the ethereal realm of suspense and horror was made up for in intense action sequences and character development that was amazingly well-handled! Sure, we didn't want to see everyone that was killed perhaps offed but it was so cool!

Sure the banter gets a bit out of hand (we could have John be eaten and I would provide the ketchup, no worries) and everything is set to 'relationship Warp 9' ... but these characters from A to Z are fully-formed sympathetic beings that will have you locked on from the first page! Imagine a cross between Ben Aaronovitch 'Rivers of London', Jonathan Wood's passable 'Arthur Wallace' tales and an earlier draft of 'An American Werewolf of London' before the studios stepped in and tamed it.

Oh and btw: where does all this even take place? That's truly cool in that you don't HAVE to know to enjoy! Still, you'd think someone might have noticed the dozens of dead bodies, no? Oh wait, it was either the US or the UK so I guess the answer is 'maybe'?

What's going to be very interesting moving forward (gosh, what an awful business phrase) is that I THINK what seem like plot holes TODAY are going to no doubt be interesting plot highlights in the coming books, both of which I will definitely be reading. Val's hairy origins are anything but completely clear (he had to have been bitten or raped AND died? Hmmm...) and what was really going on in Russia hasn't been clarified to anyone's satisfaction (but stereotypical Russki man karacter vill make all ze details clearski da?)! And lycanism as a new STD? Sign me up!

So put your good silver away and let's get to it!

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

It’s nice to race along, reading your standard urban fantasy stories, noming them down like the lovely, greasy, meaty burgers - sometimes with all the fixings - that they can be. Then... BAM. (Heh)

You find yourself parked in front of what looks like a burger, but it turns out is a seasoned and aged steak, tender and flavorful, on a brioche bun, served with some truffle fries, micro greens, and other things. An item of rare and unexpected quality, leaving you delighted and willing to share with everyone else the source of such a gem.

This story is just that. The brilliant word economy to describe a situation or person without needless fluff, the visceral action without too much gore / sex / vulgarity (but just the right amounts), the dialogue that illuminates character’s personalities, and the consistent thread of humor that lifts it all up just a tad higher... yeah. Not only do you come to root for the MC, but you’ll stay to watch every side character.

And the editing! Solid, polished editing. Awesome.

Seriously, a very good a polished story. Great work. Outstanding, in all the good ways. What’s more, while this book easily stands on its own, it turns out that its only the first book in the series. So hey: looks like I need to buy some more books.

Honestly: if you are any sort of urban fantasy fan - or if you just want to read a good book - then you need to pick this one up. Highly recommended.

[Liz Reinhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very pleasant surprise. I feel like the market has become saturated with vampires, werewolves, alien, and other supernatural themes in an genres. However, well this one does- as the cover suggests- have a werewolf, it pulls you in from chapter one and keeps you engaged and intrigued. While the overall emotion of the book is thrilling, the mix of humor and sadness that the book invokes creates a perfect mix for an epic adventure. I only give this book 4 stars due to the fact that every so often there were parts that I felt were too predictable. The suspense is there, and the anticipation is real, however when all is revealed I was not as impressed as I would have liked at the climax.I will say though that if I could have only taken up half a star I would. The book itself is entertaining and engaging and I am very excited to read the next one. If you were a fan of thrillers and enjoy a good monster book this is a good fit for you.

[Steven R. Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favor was a real roller coaster ride. The story would continue to build on its suspense time after time. As soon as I got my breath it would take off again.
Wow a real treat reading and not the typical werewolf story and Val took care of business and helped the underdog.

If u like action packed kick ass books this is at the top of the list. I will not be disappointed.

I have already purchased the 2nd and 3rd editions and will finish reading both books by next week.

Richard, keep turning out great reads. Plan on getting into your other volumes as soon as I can.

Best wishes from someone who appreciates your work.

Steven R. Mason

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not the type of book I usually read, there are things about it I'd typically use as a reason not to read it.
However I found myself finding it very hard to put down and wanted to just read more.
Its got some interesting characters in it and a few twists, its definitely full of action and keeps you going throughout.
Looking forward to the next in the series, but better catch up on some sleep before that.

Disclosure: I was offered a free copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was very surprised when i got this, picked it up as it was free.
Due to the mainstream young adult paranormal books coming out, i figured give it a try as reviews were good.
Unlike a lot of others Parry brings a real life grit and realism to what could be me or you in an everyday situation. Excellent writing but for me it was the very dry wit behind a lot of the story.
As someone who reads and reviews a lot its a joy to find something a bit different and to get my teeth into haha.
Now that i have given my say im off to read the next book which looks even better.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hum drum

Decent enough, no huuuuge flaws, but formulaic, predictable, and two dimensional. Our hero is a zero who just happens to get powered up.

I liked the action.

I didn’t like any of the characters much. Too bland.
I didn’t like the plot much. Too obvious, which really made it drag. Been done in various forms a hundred times.
I didn’t like that our hero is apparently so smart but let his whole life fall apart prior to our story, and then spends the whole thing essentially having solutions handed to him.

[Michael w Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book one

Val and John are phenomenal together, and other my gets better with a sprinkling of Melissa and Danny. Started off really well and continued with peaks of awesome action and lows of realistic consequences of dying. I would have given this book a pure 5, but Melissa turning into John Wick during the later chapters against trained mercenaries was a little too convenient and unconvincing. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will tune in for numero dos

[Paps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I expected, but a good read none the less. The characters are likable and well grounded, their actions and reactions are well explained, logical and on part with themselves. The pacing is good, not to rushed but doesn't drag its feet to progress, and the plot is really straight forward, no unexpected twist at the end or something like that. The action is enjoyable, as it’s the humor. Got to say a friend like John is what anyone needs, my favorite character so far.

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an adventure to read. I liked the characters and the continuous flow of the story. It left me with a few questions at the end but not like a cliffhanger where you are in the dark. If you like to read fantasy give this a try. I am thinking i will start the next book Night's Favor for my next read.

[Walter Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the start of a trilogy, and I read the second novel (Night’s Fall) first. So, why bother taking a step back when the series is moving forward?
Smart move, actually. Werewolves have been “done” many times. Some are pretty good. But this is better, much better. Heart-stopping action, love, loyalty, and humor. I am really looking forward to Night’s End, and already have it on my Kindle.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is good. Different but very good. I love the plot and the characters. It is a very interesting take on a classic tale. A virus, as I said interesting. The story is full of excitement, danger, intrigue and fear. I really enjoyed reading this one and I am sure you will also. I received a complimentary review copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving a honest review.

[Aviar Savijon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nights Favor

This is not your average werewolf / shifter story. You have cops, werewolves, big pharma and thugs, which means, a high octane adventure that is thrilling and brilliantly written all for the same price. I Loved It!!!

[Deb Randolph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for werewolf fans

This one has all of my favorites...werewolves, great characters, love, and lots of gory action. I am so glad there is a sequel. If you love werewolves with a great storyline, then you will love this book.