Deathwings

by Arthur Slade

Deathwings is coming. The worlds will never be the same.

Carmen has sworn to hunt down Kali, the mysterious warrior who travels from world to world. But there is someone planning these attacks and she has heard that Deathwings is coming. Neither she nor Brax know what Deathwings is, but they will have to face this new enemy that staggers the imagination.

Get the final episode in the Dragon Assassin series today.

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2022

About the author

Arthur Slade was raised in the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and began writing at an early age. He is the author of the bestselling The Hunchback Assignments series of books, Dust (which won the Governor General's award), Tribes and Jolted. He lives in Saskatoon, Canada (which really is a real place). Join his creative & somewhat clever newsletter at: what a zany newsletter!

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great climax to this incredible series. This story and the series is great action from beginning to end. Before we get into the review proper here are some musings from a bibliophile. This is the second time this series has been expanded. Twice I thought we were at the conclusion, and now this is the first of 2 more books. It is beginning to feel like Douglas Adams trilogy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, of 6 books. Or like Piers Anthony’s Xanth which started as a trilogy and now has 45 books in print and 3 more announced. As a fan of Slade’s works and specifically of this series, I am thankful, and may this series run for many, many, many more volumes. Anthony has stated he will now write Xanth novels as long as he is alive, and may Slade write Dragon Assassin and Amber Fang novels till he departs.

In this series the first 8 books make a complete story and are excellent reads. Then the next two books make a story and go in a completely different direction. This pair of books began with a mysterious attack that nearly takes out both Carmen and Braxx. And they soon find out there have been multiple attacks, around the whole world. Half the Kings, Queen’s and rulers on Ellos are taken out before anyone really knew what is going on. A mysterious woman on a silver dragon of unknown species attack with a magical golden spear is the attacker. She has the ability to appear and disappear through red smoke. Her attacks can come from anywhere and he spear returns to her as if on command.

In this volume Brax and Carmen follow a very powerful bat and seek to recover Carmen’s brother and find a way to end the attacks. The description of the volume is:

“Deathwings is coming. The worlds will never be the same.

Carmen has sworn to hunt down Kali, the mysterious warrior who travels from world to world. But there is someone planning these attacks and she has heard that Deathwings is coming. Neither she nor Brax know what Deathwings is, but they will have to face this new enemy that staggers the imagination.”

Secrets are discovered about Kali, and who is really pulling the strings. And the master plan. In this part of the story Carmen and Brax will need to completely trust her brother.

This series continues to have a lot of action, and a fair number of twists. I thought the last volume topped them all, but Slade has delivered again with this volume. The writing is clean and crisp. The pace is unrelenting. This story is the last panned in the Dragon Assassin Series, but Slade has indicated he has ideas for others stories set in the same universe. I cannot but hope we find out more about the bats of great power, the newfound cooperation on Ellos. And that we again see Dragons, Mages, and Giants working together. It is an excellent story from the masterful and ever entertaining pen of Arthur Slade. A great read in an excellent series!

[Tiffany Bumgardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though a “fully” trained assassin who possessed magic I find the fmc to be unskilled and lucky. So much of this series and book was one big fantastical feat after another with improbable and unrealistically powerful protagonist who somehow were always defeated usually by sheer dumb luck. With twelve books you’d think the main characters abilities would grow, especially in wake of the adventures and victories they tallied. The only one with true growth was a secondary character which was great though disappointing since one expects the main characters to become more.

You may ask why I kept reading this series, well half the “books” were less than 200 pages, the world was interesting enough but mostly I just wanted to see how many undefeatable enemies that author could write and what inane way he would make the characters defeat them. Sadly I did not become a fan of the author and will doubtfully ever pick up another title by him, but at least I know Carmen’s story is finished as lackluster as it was for an ending.

[Sinesipho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paprika goats. Brax is seriously my favourite character. I'm just disappointed that Carmen doesn't delve deeper into her well to discover her powers because it's very clear she could be powerful if she trained and be able to defend herself and her loved ones. She's relying too much on other people's power. If Corwin and Kali both know how to open gateways, it's a possibility that she also could. And I seriously think she could have saved Thord if she knew how to Shield like the Giants. It's clear magic is in her blood and combined with Brax's eye it's a huge possibility she could be as powerful too. I don't trust the sword she carries though and I most definitely don't trust Corwin no matter how much he claims to have changed or that he helped save everyone. The way he sometimes speaks make me think he's hiding something. I hope book twelve wasn't the end of The series.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, we finally get to the actual conclusion of this amazing and wonderful series. It has everything that you would expect from a world class series. I already mentioned the world building and the character development in the last review. What this book has is the story climax. It takes EVERYTHING that has been built from the beginning of the series - 12 books ago - and somehow brings it all together in a way that is just...so...right.

I'm not going to spoil anything. Just trust me when I say that it is worth the investment of time to be able to experience this wonderful and amazing journey.

This book - and the entire series -is truly a joy and a treasure. I honestly can not think of a higher praise.

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carmen finally discovers why Karli hates her so and also why Karli looks familiar. There is a new evil being unleashed against the Worlds, one that devours everything it touches, be it crops, animals, humans, giants or dragons. The differing populations must put aside their distrust of one another and work as one, if they wish to defeat this evil. There were times in Deathwings where I thought Corwin, Carmen and Brax were done for. I am so pleased that I was wrong and that the author has left the door open for future Carmen and Brax adventures.

[Robert D Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't sure about where the story was going in the previous book, but it ended in a very pleasing fashion. I believe this is the final book in the series, and it ended well. Carmen and Brax were their normal selves, which works even with the snarkiness of a dragon. Although I wasn't sure the villain could be defeated in a way that made sense, Slade was more than able to do so in a way that made sense in the story. It was a quick read, although that could just be me (I do read fast). Enjoyed the book and was glad it was available quickly after reading the 11th book.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deathwings (Dragon Assassin #12) by Arthur Slade is the final book in this epic series. This is the best series of this genre I have ever read and has a terrific ending. You can read this series episodically or all together in the Omnibus.

I was given a copy of this ARC by the author. I am voluntarily posting an honest review.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just went through this whole series from beginning to end. I love the flawlessness from one book to the other. Details and stories matched all the way through. I enjoyed watching the charters grow throughout the story. They have to overcome flaws and sometimes fall short. The last book made me cry more than once. I will definitely add this series to the read again shelf.