A New Darkness

Reviewed by: Mariah Machado - Davis Memorial Library, Limington, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: May 11, 2015

Review

Joseph Delaney's new series, Starblade Chronicles, is a continuation of the story of Tom Ward - the main character in The Last Apprentice (his previous series). The first book in the new series - A New Darkness - finds Tom working alone after his master has died, as the local Spook, ridding the area of evil creatures and ghosts. Fifteen year old Jenny appears and begins to harass Tom to take her on as his first apprentice. She claims to be the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (an important fact in the mythology of this book), and when she exhibits talents that would be beneficial to a Spook, Tom agrees to train her. There is a new evil invading the County, soon Tom and Jenny find themselves on a dangerous journey with a witch named Grimalkin.

Fans of the first series of books will probably be very happy with this new venture into the life and times of Tom Ward. Those who have not read the earlier books will be able to follow the story without trouble, there are a lot of references to events and characters from the previous books, but it is all explained enough that this new book can be read as a standalone. This is the first of a planned trilogy and it ends with a horrendous cliffhanger, so be prepared. The book ends with what feels like a chapter break rather than a legitimate ending, and considering that there is still a large chunk of pages left after the climax - filled with a glossary of terms and "Grimalkin's notes" - the fact that it is indeed the end of the story comes as a bit of a shock.

Overall Book Score: good