• Reading age: 11 to 13

Brax, hero of several Dragon Assassin tales, finally gets to tell his own story . . .

On a diplomatic mission from Drachia, the country of dragons, he and his rider, Carmen, encounter a ghostly vision of The Nameless Goddess, who warns them she is coming to conquer their world.

When the duo arrives at the Akkad empire, they discover that the emperor has been killed by what looks to be a servant of that goddess, and his young nephew ascends to become the emperor. Both Brax and Carmen swear to protect the young man from the Nameless Goddess, which involves fighting creatures in the real and netherworld.But once they discover the true name of the Nameless goddess the hunt is on. Will they be able to destroy her name before she rises to take over their world?

The first volume in ARTHUR SLADE’s Hunchback Assignments series won the prestigious TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and the second volume, The Dark Deeps, was a finalist for the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award and the CLA Young Adult Book Award. Slade is also the author of Dust, a national bestseller and the winner of the 2001 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award and the Saskatchewan Book Award for Children’s Literature. His other books include Tribes, Megiddo’s Shadow, Jolted, Monsterology, Villainology and the Canadian Chills series. He lives in Saskatoon. Visit him online at arthurslade.com.

Arthur Slade's profile page

Praise for Dragon Assassin: “Although there is a lot of action in Dragon Assassin, there is also surprising dimensionality to the characters of Carmen and Braxos. Braxos’ dry wit adds a touch of humor to this action-heavy tale.” — CM: Canadian Review of Materials