Blades in the Night

The Darkslayer #2

by Craig Halloran

Only The Darkslayer’s Death Will Do!After tasting defeat at the hands of the mythic Darkslayer, the underling Lords Catten and Verbard are determined to once and for all eliminate this thorn in their side. But they’ll have to wait their turn.

After a brutal trip through the Outlands, the brash warrior Venir, aka the Darkslayer, returns to the City of Bone. He quickly has his hands full looking out for his young friends Lefty and Georgio, while also trying to score some easy coin with his old ally Melegal the thief. Along the way, Venir faces threats from the Royal houses of Bone, man-urchins, Shadow Sentries, and two dark figures that he’d left for dead once before.



˃˃˃ The Mighty Venir Faces The Ultimate ChallengeVenir leaves Bone behind, only to run into Jarla, Queen of the Brigands, an old flame who wants him dead. Soon after that the real horror begins, as Catten and Verbard emerge and unleash their worst in the hopes of finally killing the Darkslayer.

The Darkslayer Sword and Sorcery series is an epic adventure set in an ingeniously imagined world where bored immortals play with the lives and fates of the unsuspecting beings inhabiting it.



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Genres: Fantasy

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2011

About the author

Craig Halloran grew up a role playing fiend and dungeon master's nightmare. Since, he's turned his boundless creativity into more than 80 acclaimed novels that span a wide variety of fantasy fiction sub-genres, from epic fantasy, sword-and-sorcery to future world apocalypse. Creator of the bestselling Darkslayer and the Chronicles of the Dragon series, he imagines unique worlds and wonders that are breathtaking in concept, and then brings them to life in stories brimming with excitement, suspense, and surprise. A former military policeman who now labors in the realm of the remarkable, Halloran has a large and loyal following of devoted fans who eagerly devour his page-turning, action-packed tales of fantastic adventure.

For more news and anecdotes you can follow him at:
Facebook: The Darkslayer Report by Craig
Twitter: Craig Halloran
www.craighalloran.com (Website and Blog)
www.thedarkslayer.com
www.dragonwarsbooks.com

Or drop him a line anytime as he loves to hear from readers: craig@thedarkslayer.com

***

#1 Bestseller of Epic Fantasy and Sword & Sorcery & KDP All-Star!

Dragon Wars (20 Books) releasing 2020-21

The Darkslayer Series #1 (6 Books)

The Darkslayer Series #2 (10 books)

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series #1 (10 Books)

The Chronicles of Dragon, Series #2 (10 Books)

The Odyssey of Nath Dragon, Prequel series, (5 Books)

The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files (10 books)

The Henchmen Chronicles (5 Books)

The Red Citadel and the Sorcerer's Power (1 Stand Alone Book)

The Gamma Earth Cycle (2 Books, Work in Progress)

Zombie Impact (3 Books)

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Over 4000 reviews
4-Star+ Average Rating

Reviews

[ShannaBanana✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so glad I found this series cause it has sucked me in. Venir and Melegal are always in danger during their many adventures. Mood and Fogle Boon are great companions as well. I’m excited to see what happens to the friends now that they are all separated. I hope they find each other in the next book!

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I attack the darkness." D&D hack n slash with nary a plot to be found.

OG Internet dorks know the old audio clip of three geeks playing D&D and one "attacks" the darkness causing much laughter. The entire sketch takes like 10 minutes and that's about the only thing that "happens" as the characters prattle on about various D&D trivialities ("You can't cast that because you didn't collect your spell components."). That's kind of how I feel aout this second "Darkslayer" book. There's fighting, wenching, and magicking, but very little seems to actually happen.

Venir remains the titular "Darkslayer" -- scourge of the subterranean Underling race. Said Underlings now have taken it upon themselves to try to kill the Darkslayer resulting in more dead Underlings. This raises a zen-like question of if you never encounter your nemesis, are they actually a nemesis?

That aside, Venir's thief friend Melegal runs around with a halfling historian named Lefty and a young b oy with regenerative powers names Georgio. There are plenty of set pieces scenes (and fights) in taverns, ale houses, and inns. We also get a run in with the former owner of Venir's magical helm and weapons and she wants them back as well as a trio of homely sisters that like to fight.

The book is so fast paced (chapters sometimes barely a page long) and jumpy that it's difficult to generate real narrative steam (and the lack of a real plot doesn't help). But it remains mostly mindless and mostly fun.

[Scott Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I feel much the same way about Volume Two as I did about volume one. I enjoy the story. I like the plot, think he's got great characters and enjoy reading about the scrapes they get themselves into. My pain points mostly surround dialogue. The voices just don't sound right in my head. There are a couple parts of the plot that at this point seem to be strange and unnecessary fill, but I'm waiting to see how he brings them together before casting a final decision on them. All said, I'm interested to see what he does with book three.

[Ross Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the Darkslayer series again follows Venir, Melegal and others as they journey across the world of Bish. This book feels very much like a variation on the first one. Pretty much nobody died in that book, it turns out, as all enemies return for another go at taking down the Darkslayer. The royals are after him and the underlings are after him, in much the same way as the previous story. There is a lot less action here, with much fewer gratuitous skirmishes. There is, I think, meant to be more build up of what will become the overall plot of the series. There were a few smaller story aspects that added nothing at all (as far as I can see) - including most of Mood's side stories.

Reasonably entertaining but with very little by way of a plot (rather just characters on the run and reacting to events) it fell a little flat for me.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much an action movie for books. A lot of fast paced, tough, macho action. There are a lot if things going for it like the pacing and ease of the read but something is still missing to make this a 5. Still had fun, would still recommend to a friend and going to start the next one ASAP.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent read/ listen. I think the only thing that bugs me are the chapter breakdowns. I feel they are a tad obsessive.

[Chris Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im not sure what to think, I got through the first one and enjoyed it.The Pace was good and there was time spent on characters and the world of Bish. I thought each book would lead somewhere.I started this one and about haflway through I got frustrated. Why cant fantasy authors kill anyone off for good?! God, R A Salvatore brought Wulfgar back and it ruined everything for that series. I mean Tonio was dead right ? Leave him dead, he is a dumb character who doesnt speak for christs sake! Are we so narrrow that we can't interject some charaters who have meaning? Then chracters are added and have to be, becuase the story is so thin. Venir cannot lose, Melegal contributes zero to the story and may as well not even be there. Mood and Chongo are the most intersting characters in the book IMO. Venir cant take 5 steps without falling into some kind of trouble, where is the adventure or suspense or even purpose? Ill finish it because thats what i do, but doubt ill crawl into the next one anytime soon. All those things bieng said If you like a great hack n slash to kill time go ahead and pick it up, there are many good things as well about the series, I just prefer a little more depth.

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book was very good. Good plot and character development. Quickly read.
This one started out good but quickly turned into a soap opera. Builds the bad guys to strong then needs to inject a new character to help the Darkslayer. Too many added plots that are not needed.

[Kim Osborn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another triumph, great book.

[Patrick Arce]

how can i read this?

[laura prevo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining

Adventure and fantasy, action and twist. This book has everything. A must read. Gotta read the series you be glad you did.

[Richard Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Another great story about the Darkslayer. You learn more about the dwarves and how they live and interact with the other life forms on Bish.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters are interesting and just wacky enough to keep me reading. Thank you for the book.

[Robert Ruppert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guilty pleasure, page turning adventure and everyone seems to want the Darkslayer from enemies, ex-lover who wants him dead and now two young lads rescued by Venir who now depend and worship him.