Slither’s Tale (The Wardstone Chronicles #11) by Joseph Delaney
- Jodie
- Apr 25, 2020
- 8 min read
Book Review
Title: Slither’s Tale (The Wardstone Chronicles #11)
Author: Joseph Delaney
Genre: YA/Paranormal/Fantasy
Rating: *****
Review: I was quite hesitant to pick up Slither’s Tale and Alice, books 11 and 12 in this series because they don’t have Thomas Judd as the narrator but I was pleasantly surprised to start Slither’s Tale and quite like both of the narrators voices. Slither isn’t human and is a mage that basically owns a group of villages and towns known as a haizda, where he farms blood from the people and animals in order to survive. He has an agreed with a farmer known as Old Rowler to trade blood for protection for his three daughters, the eldest, Nessa is someone who Slither attacked 7 years before when she was 10. Shortly after awakening from his hibernation in the winter Slither calls on the farmer for blood as he normally does, however, shortly after the farmer is attacked by a bull and is gravely injured. He reminds Slither of the conditions of their trades and he is now bound to take the two youngest daughters, Susan and Bryony to their aunts home and in return he gets the farm, the animals and Nessa. This is fortunate for Slither as every 40 years he has to sell a purra, or human slave at the market or be outcast from his kind and this is what he plans to with Nessa. I has also read in some reviews that this is the first book in the series that doesn’t shy away from sex, so I am intrigued by what is to come.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn that Slither is a Kobalos and lives by a code of honour which is why he didn’t kill the sisters after their father died. He begins the week long journey it will take to get Susan and Bryony to their aunt but the weather is against them and soon they have to shelter in a tower belonging to a Kobalos high mage called Nunc. He locks the sisters in separate rooms which marks them as his property and goes to greet his host as is customary and he instantly knows that Nunc wants to trade, Nunc offers Slither his best purra in exchange for the girls especially Bryony who he wants to devour in a ritual and Slither refuses bound by his promise but this only leads to him getting bitten by a poisonous snake. Nunc’s purrai come to retrieve the girls and they take Nessa to the room where Slither’s body is and she realises she can save him by giving him blood which she does not realising that she just saved his life and she basically orders him to save Susan, who Nunc is feeding from. Nessa acting a rage gives Slither to opening he needs to kill the mage and swiftly sets about getting everything they need for their journey but he believes that Bryony is already dead and won’t even look for her when Nessa acts out. Nessa has a strange effect on Slither and he bends to her will descending below to find Bryony, he also notes that he likes how it feels when she touches him but he is confused by the power she seems to have over him.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Slither heads to the basement to find the ritual preparations underway, and they are almost ready to kill Bryony when he arrives. He attempts to get them to hand over the girl but this doesn’t work and he has to resort to violence but one of his opponents is a highly skilled assassin. This doesn’t stop Slither as he swiftly deal with him and rescue the little Bryony and hurries to find the other girls in the courtyard being stalked by the purrai, however, they quickly flee when Slither arrives. Slither can’t take the girls to their destination now as he has broken too many rules in killing the high mage but what worries him is the assassin would have relayed to other assassins his name so the only chance he has for survival other than becoming a fugitive which is a fact he as actively avoided up until now, so he has no choice but the head to the homeland; Valkarky with the girls in tow, but he wasn’t planning on coming here until he’d delivered Susan and Bryony and was ready to sell Nessa as a purra.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, they begin the journey to Valkarky but no one is happy about the trip except Slither as this is the place of his birth and he seems quite pleased to be returning despite the circumstances. Along the way we get quite a few moments between Nessa and Slither that suggests a developing bond between them and we learn for sure that they aren’t in the County as Nessa makes references to Spooks that live across the sea. We also get to see creatures like boggarts who are called by another name and how they react when they are reasoned with rather than threatened which is how Slither deals with them. However, as they get closer to Valkarky they are attacked by enemies who seek to kill Slither before he can demand the right to be heard within the city walls. Slither’s power seems to be increasing as he takes on these foes with little effort and wins, but when they enter Valkarky their worth has to be tested in order to enter. Slither recounts his tale and is given the right to be heard by the ruling council but the assassin brotherhood thwarts him and now the only chance of survival any of them has is a trial by combat which means facing the haggenbrood. It is a creature breed for combat and no one has ever defeated it before. Slither takes Nessa to the arena where the battle will take place as she and her sisters with be tethered to post while the haggenbrood tries to kill them and Slither has to protect them. As he recounts the various rules Nessa comes up with the suggestion that he cuts her free so she can distract the beast so Slither can kill it, while there isn’t a rule against this, it has never happened before but it might be the only chance they have of surviving.
As we cross the halfway mark in the novel, Slither learns of a female that killed 4 of their most powerful guards and is being held in a cell reserved for the most dangerous and he has to investigate. Upon entering the cell I know it is a witch by the methods used to bind her but I was in no way expecting it to be my dear friend Grimalkin and she has apparently been waiting for Slither. Grimalkin somehow whether it’s magic or just she proposes a convincing argument and she’s willing to give Slither the help he needs in the arena, he agrees to help her but only after retrieving the head of the Fiend from 2 witches, one live and one dead, something Slither has never encountered before making him see how sheltered his society is and how little they know of the outside world. Grimalkin is going to take Nessa’s place in the arena as they are the most similar in size and she will use an illusion to hide her appearance, by combining their combat skills Slither and Grimalkin have the best chance of defeating the haggenbrood. Right now, I don’t even care about that, the only questions running around my mind are why is Grimalkin there? Is she still on the run? Or on a mission? And why the hell do the Kobalos have no women?
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the battle at the arena goes well as Slither and Grimalkin fight almost as one being. With three of the haggenbrood’s bodies dead, only one remains and rather than trying to take on Slither and “Nessa”, it goes after Bryony and Susan in a last ditch effort of winning. Slither manages to kill it but he realises too late that the haggenbrood’s deadly talons have cut Susan and he can’t save her from its poison. The four return to Slither’s quarters where the real Nessa is waiting but she is distraught to learn of her sister’s death and blame Slither but he did all he could to keep them alive since the odds were so against them even with Grimalkin’s help. Grimalkin does fight for Nessa to go with her sister but since she has already made a trade with Slither, she can’t go against him when he demands that it is his right to keep her and sell her should be choose so she relents. However, she does ask why there are no female Kobalos and Slither explains that three thousand years ago an insanity overcame his people and they slaughtered all the women and now all Kobalos are born from their female slaves otherwise they would have died out long ago but it seems that Nessa’s fate is sealed. As they leave Valkarky, Slither is given a warning that an assassin will be sent after him as it is a way for the ruling government to assert their control over the mages who live solitary lives like Slither. He comes face to face with this mage and despite her anger Nessa tries to save him but all hope seems lost until Grimalkin comes charging in to save the day once again.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Grimalkin saves Slither by loaning him on the destiny blades, the one Tom gave to her until the time comes to destroy the Fiend. She accompanies Slither and Nessa to drop off Bryony and their uncle’s home and travels part of the way with them to the slave markets and then suddenly leaves. Slither does notice Grimalkin and Nessa talking in the night but doesn’t think anything of it. He quickly sells Nessa but something doesn’t sit right with him and as he is delayed by a blizzard he decides he is going to go back in the morning and buys Nessa back and take her to her sister. However, when he returns to the market it is a bloodbath and he realises he didn’t sell Nessa but Grimalkin wearing her illusion and that the witch is responsible for the death of his people. As she has freed a lot of the slaves it isn’t hard for him to track them down but once again it is Nessa that talks sense into him and he makes a trade to fight Grimalkin once more. We know that she is going to forge a new blade for Tom with the star that fell early in the novel, as it was the reason she was captured in the first place and this will be called the Star Blade which is the name of the next series. Nessa is free to return to her sister and live out her life in peace but she has the feeling she hasn’t seen the last of Grimalkin or Slither and actually hopes to see them again.
Overall, I really enjoyed Slither’s tale and the narrators were perfectly chosen unlike the narrator in I am Grimalkin, I was misled in the fact that someone mentioned in their review that there was sexual content. While yes it is implied as the purra are used for breeding as well as feeding, nothing is shown. The closest we get to that is a mere hint in Slither’s dream right at the end of the book. I think this has been propelled to being once of my favourite books in the series and I am hoping the narrator for book 12, Alice is just as good. With only 2 books left in this series and 3 in the Starblade Chronicles I am eager to see how this series concludes and links in with the sequel trilogy.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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