The Last Apprentice: Slither (Book 11) Paperback – Illustrated, January 28, 2014

This is the eleventh book in The Last Apprentice series. The twelfth book will be titled, I am Alice, and is scheduled for a September 2013 release. This book was a good read and engaging, but did not feature the normal characters in the series.This book diverts from our normal group of characters, to a different part of the world far from Tom Ward's country. The story is told from Sliter's point of view. Slither is a dark mage that makes a deal with a farmer in his region. When the farmer dies he promises Slither his eldest daughter, Nessa, as a slave if only Slither will see Nessa's two younger sisters to their aunt and uncle. When Slither gets on the bad side of another dark mage all of their lives are in danger. Although things take turn for the better when the strange witch named Grimalkin pops into the story.This book is written in the same dank and dark tone as all of the previous books. Slither is not really a good character at all, but he is an honorable one. Sure he eats human blood to survive, but when he makes a promise to Nessa's dad he is bound to keep it. He is not kind, he is not caring, but he honors his bargains.Parts of the book are also told from Nessa's point of view. Nessa is a surprisingly resilient character; I loved her bravery in the face of things more horrible than she has ever before faced. I loved how she did her best to shelter her younger sisters as well. She is one tough cookie and an excellent heroine to add to the series.Slither's world is a dangerous and interesting one. It's bound by rules that are followed strictly but it is a vicious world. I enjoyed reading and learning about the world outside of the one we normally read about.Grimalkin does enter the book for the last third or so of the story. As normal Grimalkin is my absolute favorite character in this series. Like normal she is neither good nor bad. Here we see some of what she has gone through and continues to go through in an effort to destroy the Fiend's head. She was awesome and the collaborations between her and Nessa were interesting and made me wonder what the future holds for Nessa.While I wasn't totally thrilled to have the resolution to this series delayed by this diversion, I have to admit this book was well done and very entertaining. It is formated like previous books with creepy pictures opening each chapter. The book is creepy and dark and a bit scary, but never terrifying.Overall I really enjoyed this addition to the Last Apprentice series. It was fun to get a look at a different part of the world this series takes place in. Slither was an interesting evil but honorable type of character. Nessa was a surprisingly engaging heroine as well. The parts with Grimlakin were wonderful and it was interesting to see what else she has done on her travels. The book was well paced and incredibly engaging. I really love this series. I can't wait to read I Am Alice and then see how things wrap up in the 13th book of this series! This series is highly recommended to fans of middle grade/young adult horror/fantasy.

This is the first book in the series (11) that I have given 4, instead of 5, Stars. Don't question the drop too much. It is explained at the end. The book is well written. The story is tight. I am reserving the right to come back and change the star-age once I see how the next 2 (the last 2) books in the series finish.Slither is more of a stand-alone novel. It introduces a new character, Slither. And it is only a bit more than halfway through when you see any Last Apprentice connections. Which is fine.Slither is a High Kobalos Mage with a tail, and Shakamure magic skills. (Don't worry. the back of the book has six or ten page dictionary for the words used in this one). He feeds on blood for physical and magical strength. When the father of three daughters dies, Slither is left responsible for their well-being. The deal made back when the oldest was born was that Nessa, the oldest, he could keep. The two younger daughters, Susan and Bryory, he promised to deliver safely to family in another county.When they are attacked trekking across the county, Slither defends the young women by killing other beings and an assassin that--if found out, would have him on the run and looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life. If he doesn't make right the killing committed, they will not stop hunting him down until they catch and end his life.With a Valkarky trial looming, and a Star Stone falling from the sky, Slither is faced with endless challenges. He must find a way to win the trial, and rescue the daughters (deliver them to family), and return taken items to an unlikely ally.Again -- I was not thrilled to meet a new character 3 books from the end. It is possible that Slither will become an essential in the final two books. If not -- then, I am curious to see how Delaney ties the randomness of this story in to the others. Slither is well written, exciting, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was told in two different points of view. And sometimes it took a page or two to realize who was telling that particular chapter. That, I did not care for. I have seen it done much smoother by other authors. (For the POV change, and the random character story, I had to deduct a star from the ratings). I have the 12th book (I AM ALICE) in the 13 book series ready to go. It looks like another stand alone. At LEAST this one is about Alice. We all love Alice, don't we.Phillip TomassoAuthor of Vaccination and Damn the Dead

Slither (Book 11) takes Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice series in a somewhat different but quite interesting direction. It was narrated alternately from the perspective of a dark creature from another country named Slither, a haizda mage who is a Kobalos (a kind of creature we learn a lot more about over the course of the book) and Nessa, one of three sisters who fall into his custody after their father dies. There father has made a desperate agreement with Slither: if he will deliver Susan and Bryony to their aunt and uncle, he may have the eldest, Nessa, to do with as he will. While for a moment, this felt like it might be going in a "Beauty and the Beast" direction, Slither plans to sell Nessa into slavery, as Kobalos are required to sell a slave once every so many decades. To the Kobalos, human females are purrai, with no rights, and good for little except breeding and the lives of slaves. So it is much to Slither's surprise that when he falls into difficulties with Nunc, a high mage, Nessa is willing to fight alongside him, in all of their best interest, showing courage and character he didn't know she could have. The story gets even more interesting when their story intersects with that of Grimalkin, the Malkin witch assassin and one of the most interesting characters in the series. The change of perspective and setting made this an interesting addition to the Last Apprentice series.

I love the Spooks stories, totally love them and so far I have liked all the breakaway books like I am Grimalkin and the Witches tales but this one? I struggled. I think the biggest problem was that I didn't know this character. By the time Grimalkin had her own book we were very familiar with her and she was playing an essential role in the plan (which I won't give away in case you're a bit behind!) but Slither? Where does he fit in? I'm guessing there's a point that I will get later but for now I just didn't get it. I didn't like him, the story was...alright and thankfully Grimalkin did eventually turn up but there was so much to take in and all I kept thinking was what's Tom up to?! You have to read it as it's part of the series but race through it and wait with bated breath for the next one in the series!

Slithers tale, this book took me a while to get into, to be honest I did flick through to see if Tom, Alice, The Spook or Grimalkin were mentioned. it takes quite a while but there are links to both the 'Dark' and Grimalkin, who is becoming my favourite character in this series.Its well written, introducing a new land and characters who are as brutal in their values as you would expect. I do anticipate that we shall be back here in the future as this saga continues? I am not quite sure what this book adds but its a good story demonstrating the authors wide imagination.

I did not think this would be much good as the other seems to be diverting from the main storyline, but far from it what a great read right there with the rest of the spooks tales. but being a collector of these books for some reason i am unable to buy the collectors editions and the final book is out in December 2013 and i will not buy a paper back when i am collecting ther collectots edition just what is going on!!!!!

Did not like this book. Did not see how it fitted in with the rest of the series.

I had hoped this book would involve more of Tom Wards battles. I'm glad Grimalkin was used a a link but where are these places supposed to be?Wardstone chronicles talk about places in England, are these new characters supposed to be in Scotland, Greenland or where?Perhaps a map showing all of the lands covered might help.