Deceiver (Darkblade #5)

Wow, wow and wow again. I know I said that before as well but this book well and truly deserves that and more. I thought it was a fantastic read. One that started quick and carried on right through to an ending I didn’t see coming, not at all. All the way through I thought this is leading up to being the last book in the series, but I was wrong so wrong, to which I was very pleased about. This Hunter cannot end yet and for I good while I hope. Very highly recommended must read.

I certainly get the feelings of the Hunter at the discovery of a child's murder. And even more so when more are found dead, establishing a pattern that can only point at some cult and in turn perhaps a demon.
But my delight is the way the story of the Hunter starts merging with that of Ilanna and the Night Guilt.This is such a formidable combination to improve the success of the pursuit of a demon in Praamis.
Despite Kiara as the voice of reason, keeping the Hunter grounded, the subsequent events are hair raising and an edge of the seat thriller that will keep you occupied with frowns, sighs, laughter and the occasional "Yes!!!" enough times to raise some serious eyebrows at your antics whilst reading this book, Darkblade: Deceiver. Well done!
Enjoy.

The Darkblade : Slayer is yet another engrossing tome of about 750 pages
of dark fantasy.
Driven by a vision of an erstwhile family the Hunter intends to go to Enarium.
Except he ended up in Kara-ket, a legendary city on top of a very huge mountain. Still in Einan. Whilst hunting for the so called Sage, the force behind demons having previously fomented unrest and trouble on a huge scale.
Besides finding a legendary race at Kara-ket, there are also two demons, one being the very sage he was trying to hunt down
The other one? A selfprofessed best warrior ever . A giant at that too. Also of a bestial nature such as you will never have encountered ever before.
Perhaps not such a good idea to have the kid Haimen get exposed to. That is, until intrique does..
Please know, you are about to get reading almost non stop for two solid days or more as action, intrigue and even treachery engages your mind non stop.
Enjoy.

What an excellent read! I can never get enough of this series and our assassin hero, the Hunter of Voramis, the last of the buceleraii, who is now dedicating his life to tracking down the abiarazi and taking them to the chambers of sustenance in the Lost City of Enarium where they were to sustain Kharna in his fight again the Devourer of Worlds. In this book Hunter is trekking a demon who he finds in Praamis, and he joins up with the night guild under the leadership of Ilanna, Master Gold. I love that this happens in this book as it turns out that the Hunter works very well with the people of the night guild. However catching this demon is the first step in what turns out to become a very arduous trip across the country to Enarium. He is travelling with Kiara, and joined by Father Reverentus and his retinue of knights cambionari who could not trust the buceleraii they had been trained all their life to kill before asking questions. So the Hunter had to have eyes in his back as betrayal came easily from these knights, however Hunter had friends too and they were his eyes. This book is a massive tome, which is full of many surprises and twists and unexpected turns to the story which kept me highly invested till the last line and then some. I am looking forward to book 6 especially after the ending we got and I highly recommend this series to those who love epic fantasy with assassins turned heroes as our Hunter is the very best!

There are a handful of characters that have the ability to completely undo me, the Hunter is one of those. The emotions that he evokes in me are unbelievable! Perhaps there might be something wrong with me....he IS a ruthless assassin afterall. But I see beyond his exterior, I see his humanity, I see beyond his deeds, beyond the fact that people drop like flies when he confronts them and see a gentle soul, so tortured, so desperate to eliminate demons, so desperate to find a daughter he never knew existed, so desperate to FEEL, to have a family. Well I've officially adopted him into my book family! And no one messes with my family....

Soulhunger has quieted, no longer are the voices shouting constantly for the Hunter to kill, it's purpose is to purely to collect souls, and to help the Hunter fullfil a promise. But his sword, the sword of Nasnaz is a new threat, worse than Soulhunger, the bloodlust is immense. In this book a softer side of the Hunter is exposed, don't get me wrong, he's still incredibly dangerous and deadly, so I'll whisper this softly lest he hears me, he's learning to trust! Unbelievable, right? He's hidden behind masks, both literal and figurative for so long, his fear is real. Kiara sums it up perfectly "we're afraid that when the masks come off and others see the real us beneath, they'll be disappointed". Yet it cannot be denied, he has opened himself to a select few and the warm feelings he gets, take him by surprise. His relationship with Kiara is complicated to say the least, but it's real, it's so beautiful to see Kiara have such a positive effect on the Hunter, but mostly I love how far Kiara is from the Cecilia we first met her as. A dream character, I simply adore her.

I was thrilled that Ilanna and Ria were prominent in this book, their dynamic is so cool! And that they get to actually meet the Hunter, well, what can I say, I was just propelled to book heaven! And they work together to uncover who and why people are showing up dead, children included and we all know how much the Hunter loathes child murderers... What they discover is way more nefarious than they though, a cult with the most bizarre reasoning. Capturing a demon, they have the unenviable task of transporting said demon halfway across the continent, all while facing down battles, physical battles as well as the battle to keep the demon contained.

Really exciting, really tense, really emotional. And such vivid colourful prose, how's this for vivid, " it's as if a rainbow vomited over a flock of parrots". This series is one of those that refuses to let go, that shows how easily the author can draw one in with the immensely impressive worldbuiding, the steady pace, characters to fully engage with and a plot to die for, whoa, not literally, but you get what I mean. What is crystal clear is that you need to get this book and series!