The Hour of the Wolves

Welcome to the Europe of the 10th century, slightly ahead of its time. Harald has long since left the North and let the road take its own course. There is no hurry from the mountains of Burgundy, stricken by a strange plague, for the next stop could be Hedebby... a trade city that is as exposed as a meaty treat in a dog kennel.

And the wolves are already closing in...

Reader reviews

"The Hour of the Wolves is really not a bad book at all. There's no need for epic fantasy worlds, just a bit of magic, a curse in a forgotten village and a few rednecks murdered in Denmark."

"I had an incredible time. For me, the best Czech fantasy. I'll read Hungry Pack immediately and hope there will be more books by Mr. Sladek."

"Very well written fantasy, I would say... Apparently we have a new, this time Czech witcher, the Viking Harald. All honour to this author, I will probably add his books to my specially selected fantasy library. Recommended to all dark fantasy lovers."

Author's comment

The Hour of the Wolves was written at a time when Harald had not yet appeared in a stand-alone novel and there was no desire to wait for one. I had a couple of short stories on hand, and the publisher was kind enough to put them together into a collection. The short story "Just Don't Look Back" is a purer form of fantasy with a strong focus on magic and supernatural phenomena - it's a step aside because otherwise Harald's time intentionally includes obscure, rare and extremely monopolised magic. The second story, "The Hour of the Wolves", is a medieval detective story with supernatural elements. I still remember one of the main motivations for writing it - it was a desire to prove that even notorious characters like the werewolf and the vampire could be written without pathos, and made down to earth or at least intriguing.