The Dark Assassin audiobook

Over the course of this series and the one before that (with most of the same characters), I have grown fond of Tom Ward, Grimalkin and Alice and this being the last book of their story makes it a little bittersweet. The story was satisfying and engaging and the characters developed even further, so that I felt a bit sad when it finally ended. I did feel the ending was a little rushed, and wish the author had devoted a little more time to the personal lives of the characters, especially if this really is the last book to tell their story. That being said, John Delaney is a talented and vastly creative writer and I will be happy to read whatever he comes up with next.Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

The Starblade Chronicles Book 3*The Dark Assassin*Finally, it is done. My reaction after reading the final line of the book was "Unbelievable", truly, this book surprised me. It's the shortest of the Starblade Chronicles, just 312 pages. I could easily finish it in a day and a half. This book seemed more like a 'Grimalkin' book rather than Thomas Ward book, but nonetheless the contribution of both these characters as a protagonist is undeniable and remarkable. Grimalkin seems benign now, not that she doesn't like blood and Gore but just that she's always willing to lend a helping hand to her alliances, is trustworthy and compassionate towards humans. And she's Dead. There's one thing in the book that surprsied me the most. The characters I thought were alive are Dead. The the characters I thought were Dead, seemingly are revealed to be alive but just within a few chapters are revealed Dead. The characters I didn't think would die, have died terribly...What can I say? This is more complex that GRRM! Anyways, the book is delivered to the readers in a bright fashion with a strong and bold first person narrative. It enchants you and let's you dive deep into the story. Moreever, this book felt much more fun a 'Spook's' universe than other books in the Trilogy. We even got to visit the Dark Dimension as Grimalkin is now Dead, her journey and God-killing adventures in the dark portal are something to look out for. The book is rather impressive with eh culmination of character development and almost everybody achieves a skill that they didin't posses earlier. eg. Tom, Alice, Grimalkin. The book is melancholy at times, we see the deaths of many primary characters such as Jenny, Bill Arkwright (he was Dead, anyway), Grimalkin, Lukrasta, etc. The first half of the book was more intense and took place in the County itself, The Spooky band went on to adventure and deal with the creatures of the darkness, it was a lot of fun to have Arkwright back, the whole skelt and 'imposter' thing was surprising, at least to me it was. I'm glad that the author hasn't put it another army battle, I just can't tolerate another one. But alliances within the dark domain, the God-killing part, Grimalkins terrifying dark Assassin form, Thomas Ward's love for Alice, Jenny's death, Talkus' and Lukrasta's death were some other important highlights throughout the book. Truthfully, the story is steady, the plot enchanting is enchanting and the overall premise of the book is addicting. There are many layers introduced by the author regarding a particular character. It's wonderful to see the evident change in the characters at the end of the book. I don't know why Mr. Delaney has killed off Jenny, killed by the poison of a water with? (Unbelievable!) I just love the way how the book concluded, the final 20-30 pages went beyond my expectations and the reading experience was thriving powerfully. The author is very creative regarding building up the story, it's fun to read and involves you a lot. There are quite a lot of plot twists. The Alice-Lukrasta endgame really shook me, but all's well that ends well. The Kobalos threat doesn't seem so eminent all lf a sudden. Also do check out the Kobalos Glossary along with handwritten notes by Tom, Nicholas and Grimalkin, its worth a look. Tom's final lamia form was unexpected. As I said, the essence of the book is surprising , entertianing and thirlling, way beyond my expectations! I love the cover art. Strongly Recommended. I still can't believe I have finished 20 book in the Spooks universe. I would like to thank Mr. Joseph Delaney for writing such a delightful novels series. The man's truly wonderful!! Nice Reading!

Dark Assassin is just as wonderful as all the other Spooks tales. The excellent writing that draws you in and doesn't free you from its grasp until you have finished its last page. The dark assassin brings to light new possibilities for the young spook and his allies and leaves you wondering what uses these could bring. There is one thing that does pain me about this installment and that is the end. The end of the dark assassin is left with a cliff hanger that has already begun to tear away at my soul casting it into the dark in knowing that it could be 3 years before The Spooks returns. Painful ending or not this installment was just as enjoyable as the previous ones and can't wait for what Joseph Delaney has ins store for us next. I recommend this book to anyone who dares to read after dark!

This book was a great conclusion to this series.  I was excited to read what happened to Tom Ward, Alice and Grimalkin.  The book did not disappoint with lots of twists and turns and great action.  I loved this series and would love to read more.  It is sad to see this great series come to an end.  It was a great ending though!  I think Tom Ward will live to be an old spook and have many apprentices like Jenny.

So this book took me quite a while to read! It definitely didn't grip me as much as I thought it would! Even (view spoiler)[Jenny dying, which I'm pleased happened, didn't shock me as much as expected, I suppose just because it was such a boring way to die, and that it's fantasy, so I just assumed she'd be resurrected. Maybe next book, as no one in this series dies apart from the Spook. Tom came back, Grimalkin basically came back. (hide spoiler)] Delaney can also really calm down with the 'chill that means the dark was nearby'. Like I swear he said this as least 10 times in this one book. If we're up to this point in the series we already know what the chill means. There were no epic battles in this book. You'd think that the defeat of (view spoiler)[Talkus would at least be exciting. Nope. And the fact that Tom forgot about Balkai so easily. Silly Tom. (hide spoiler)] But one thing I do like about Tom is how he's always honest with himself, particularly about Alice, and how (view spoiler)[he knew he doubted her a little, and he thought about that. (hide spoiler)] And he knows he can't do everything by himself, hence why he was (view spoiler)[begging for his mum while being tortured by the Kobalos before realising his new state, and also how he always tried to stay close to the ley line to summon Kratch. (hide spoiler)] I enjoyed the characters in this book, and actually didn't even realise that Jenny didn't have a POV. There has to be more to this world.

Wow what an Ending of Tom's adventure, really didn't se this ending nor this brutal final book. So much happened both high and low and didn't expect things to be what it became how this trilogy developed.Still I think it would been better to keep it as one series to avoid the big disappointment of the last book in spooks apprentice. However I understood why the change with multiple point of wievs etc when starting Starblade book one.

That ending was more like a cliffhanger lol. I'm guessing... new series?Also, I did not expect that to happen to Jenny. I mean I didn't really like her but come on. I was kind of expecting the series to end all dark and gloom. Which is where it was headed then it had that cliffhanger ending 😱

Farewell Tom Ward , hunter of the dark.

Rating 3.75 stars The conclusion of the Starblade Chronicles. This series was not as good as the Spooks apprentice. This series spent a lot more time dealing with war than the dark in my opinion. It still was very interesting to read and I still like the characters. Delaney does a good but not great job in telling the story. It always seems like there is either a lot of build up for a confrontation which is not very satisfying, or there is very little buildup to something that seems hugely important. I never really got into the Kobalos story line, and preferred it when the enemy was the Dark. Tom did end up using more of his special powers in this story. Not just the ones he gets from being the seventh son of a seventh son, but also the powers he got from his mam, the lamina. I felt those powers were neglected a little in the first 2 books of the series. Overall a quick enjoyable read.

When I was a kid the first book that opened me up to the wonders of reading was the Spook's Apprentice. It's been over 10 years since that first book and now I finally say goodbye to the Spook's world. I loved this book. I do feel like some characters could have been developed further and stories could have been progressed but I have no complaints about the overall quality of this book. It's hard to say goodbye but I am grateful I got to experience Tom's journey from the very beginning.

The last book in this series was heartbreaking for me to finish, although the ending was mostly good with Tom and Alice coming back to him but I wanted there to be more adventures ahead of them.

Okay, Delaney.... you redeemed yourself. I'm no longer breaking up with you for killing off my favorite characters.

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I have mixed feelings about this, certainly I never imagined that this will happen to Tom, I mean it IS unexpected twist but i don't know if it was a good one, one thing for sure Old Gregory won't like this at alllllll.things I liked about this novel(view spoiler)[Grimalkin is back, she did NOT deserve how she was killed off in the previous book, she is too cool to die.the ending ,the closure was sweet , for Tom to find Alice back, I was so sad for Tom, I didn't want him to turn into a lonely spook. (hide spoiler)]things I don't approve of in this one:(view spoiler)[Jeeny's death am truly upset about that, she was lovely - though I was annoyed by her at first- and her death was too simple and a little dull...I don't know how, but so far each death was for a purpose, Tom and Grimalkin did return from their death, and I was waiting for Jenny's, or is she playing the vital role o toughening Tom up "shrug" I didn't like it.Tom's last torture scene, it made me wince not for the torture itself , but I hated to see Tom humiliated like that ,and for him to be a Lamia in the end, well...glad he survived but not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thingthe Talkus death was really fast, well planned but rushed in the last scene, it was building up slowly and tumbled all at once, hmmmmm (hide spoiler)]I still cant digest that this is the last thing am going to read for Tomas Ward , it is been years , and even I enjoyed every single book of this world .but maybe another chronicle will begin especially with this last shocking surprise, or even one more conclusive book..anything ,,to many things left unanswered,and Tom still has a lot to learn about and see...