What do you think?
Rate this book
Wages of Death
Everything has its price…even death.
For Leopold and his friends, a group known as The Shadow, assassination, theft, and espionage are nothing they are just part of the job. Their skills go to the highest bidder no matter the assignment, making The Shadow the most notorious collection of criminals in the realm.
As long as the money is good, they never ask questions. However, as the jobs get personal, Leopold’s walls against his reservations begin to buckle. “Anything for the money” is The Shadow’s motto and their leader’s favorite saying, but how long can money continue to pay off their consciences?
Join the Shadow in an episodic journey of danger and adventure as they struggle between money and morality, asking the Is it worth gaining the world at the cost of your soul?
For Leopold and his friends, a group known as The Shadow, assassination, theft, and espionage are nothing they are just part of the job. Their skills go to the highest bidder no matter the assignment, making The Shadow the most notorious collection of criminals in the realm.
As long as the money is good, they never ask questions. However, as the jobs get personal, Leopold’s walls against his reservations begin to buckle. “Anything for the money” is The Shadow’s motto and their leader’s favorite saying, but how long can money continue to pay off their consciences?
Join the Shadow in an episodic journey of danger and adventure as they struggle between money and morality, asking the Is it worth gaining the world at the cost of your soul?
251 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 18, 2015
About the author
Peter Last
5 books12 followersPeter Last was nearly born in an elevator and has continued to be unconventional ever since. His books include stories about dragons, assassins, and warlocks, often with allegory from his Christian upbringing. Besides writing, Peter’s passion is to provide practical tips to new writers, which is why he coaches aspiring authors and critiques other fantasy & science fiction novels on his website, www.peterlast.com.
Peter got an early start to writing thanks to his lack of social life while being homeschooled. After successfully entering the real world, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, received his commission in the Air Force, and got married, all in 3 weeks. His Wisconsonian accent does not earn him any points in his adopted home state of Alabama. When Peter is not drafting neighborhood drainage surveys, training with the Tennessee Air National Guard, sketching out the character arc of a goblin, or building F-5 tornado-proof duck houses for his wife’s farm animal rescue, he is hopefully sleeping.
Peter is prepping In the "Service of the King," the final book in his "Shadow for Hire" trilogy, for release in spring of 2026. He is also a contributor to "Father: Short Stories," an anthology of gritty, father-centric tales.
Peter got an early start to writing thanks to his lack of social life while being homeschooled. After successfully entering the real world, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, received his commission in the Air Force, and got married, all in 3 weeks. His Wisconsonian accent does not earn him any points in his adopted home state of Alabama. When Peter is not drafting neighborhood drainage surveys, training with the Tennessee Air National Guard, sketching out the character arc of a goblin, or building F-5 tornado-proof duck houses for his wife’s farm animal rescue, he is hopefully sleeping.
Peter is prepping In the "Service of the King," the final book in his "Shadow for Hire" trilogy, for release in spring of 2026. He is also a contributor to "Father: Short Stories," an anthology of gritty, father-centric tales.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 31, 2019
I received this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The book description on this one pulled me in, a notorious mercenary organization that'll take any job for money but are starting to question how far they're willing to go. I assumed the description of "episodic" meant that each book would be its own type of episode or something. Nope, this book doesn't have chapters and is instead broken down into 4 parts or "4 episodes." None of them actually tie into any overarching plot or had anything really to do with each other. One part will end with no explanation or story behind it and the next one starts after a time skip. As this could've just been my misunderstanding of what episodic meant, I didn't let it effect my review of it.
With that in mind I was desperate to find something to enjoy or like about this book......I'm sad to say that I honestly couldn't. The Shadow is a notorious group that is known and feared all across the land. But The Shadow is also three teenagers that are 14-15 years old with an older leader that they call a wizard (doesn't do magic). I just couldn't put stock behind a group of three teenagers and an older guy being the most notorious group in the world. The attempt at romance between two of the members was also extremely awkward and furthered the idea that these kids could never be the most notorious and feared organization.
The promise of them fighting with their conscious over the actions of the group just wasn't impacting as a reader. They finish one job and in the very next job they just decide they don't want to do bad things anymore. There was no buildup or any real back story on their emotions and thought processes behind it. In the end it just felt like this book didn't accomplish anything. There was no plot, no character growth, no intrigue, it was just pretty much 4 short stories of them doing random jobs.
The book description on this one pulled me in, a notorious mercenary organization that'll take any job for money but are starting to question how far they're willing to go. I assumed the description of "episodic" meant that each book would be its own type of episode or something. Nope, this book doesn't have chapters and is instead broken down into 4 parts or "4 episodes." None of them actually tie into any overarching plot or had anything really to do with each other. One part will end with no explanation or story behind it and the next one starts after a time skip. As this could've just been my misunderstanding of what episodic meant, I didn't let it effect my review of it.
With that in mind I was desperate to find something to enjoy or like about this book......I'm sad to say that I honestly couldn't. The Shadow is a notorious group that is known and feared all across the land. But The Shadow is also three teenagers that are 14-15 years old with an older leader that they call a wizard (doesn't do magic). I just couldn't put stock behind a group of three teenagers and an older guy being the most notorious group in the world. The attempt at romance between two of the members was also extremely awkward and furthered the idea that these kids could never be the most notorious and feared organization.
The promise of them fighting with their conscious over the actions of the group just wasn't impacting as a reader. They finish one job and in the very next job they just decide they don't want to do bad things anymore. There was no buildup or any real back story on their emotions and thought processes behind it. In the end it just felt like this book didn't accomplish anything. There was no plot, no character growth, no intrigue, it was just pretty much 4 short stories of them doing random jobs.
October 21, 2019
“In this business you couldn’t afford to have feelings yet he did..He would do anything for Leo, and if that meant dying, he would put aside his fears and die. His brother was worth it.” (Pg. 30)
Ugh this has been the hardest week to get into a good book..lots of work prep at night and then I had to dismiss two reads after my requisite required 100 page mark as I figure there are WAAYY to many books to read to force myself so I always get to 100 pages and then either continue or dismiss if I hate it. This was Book Three of my search to be captivated and it’s a signed copy I believe I got from an ALA conference and it is a 2019 copy so we’ll see if we can make this one a hit on our shelves..
So this is an adventure spy novel with a team of four stealthy friends who go by the code name The Shadow and specialize in crimes for hire and it starts off with the quartet breaking into an impenetrable castle to rescue someone..This castle has never been broken into and its an honor for the group to try especially the cockiest and youngest one Leopold who is the main one sneaking in with the others watching his back, providing intel, muscle and knowledge to the plans…One complaint of this book is how tight the words are—there are so many words on a page its almost hard to read and can really be daunting to young readers so I would definitely recommend lengthening the book to spread out the words on each page…anyway the quartet take on jobs that get more and more dangerous with Leopold being the main voice as there is nothing he can’t do and the way he was written veered close to annoyingly perfect but the story moved on with an assassination attempt that three of the group decide against as it would start a war on a community that could not handle it. After growing consciences they are no longer as valuable as assassins and their leader Daniel makes them feel it--assassins can't hesitate and think of others..they end up getting jobs clearing out swamps, and eventually seeking a treasure though Daniel assures them treasure hunters are the lowest of the low--with Leopold's astounding memory they find a location and battle monsters and more with their mantra of doing anything for money coming up again and again..they did whatever to make a coin…the moral struggles of the criminal group dealing with their own emotions and compassionate sides was an interesting twist though I think the way it ended on a kind of cliff hanger was abrupt as you feel there should be more…I can’t lie I am intrigued to see what else they get into and will put this one out there hoping some mature reader takes interest…
December 1, 2020
I was excited for this because it promised a heist book… and all it gave me was a stock market meeting – or something equally as boring (apologies if you love stock market meetings). Now, Afrikaans has this wonderful word: langdradig (if you want to hear the pronunciation) – and it means wordy/tedious/drawn out. And that’s exactly how I felt about the little (9%) I read.
The sentences were drawn-out (unnecessarily) – like I would be reading about the one character and it would go off on this tangent – also unnecessary and made the story more boring. Maybe the plot would’ve been interesting, or maybe I would’ve liked the characters a lot – but the writing just put me off completely. And I’m sad about that, because it looked really cool.
The sentences were drawn-out (unnecessarily) – like I would be reading about the one character and it would go off on this tangent – also unnecessary and made the story more boring. Maybe the plot would’ve been interesting, or maybe I would’ve liked the characters a lot – but the writing just put me off completely. And I’m sad about that, because it looked really cool.
October 4, 2020
Wages of Death brings together a rag tag crew that constantly seems to do the impossible. Peter Last has created a diverse crew of characters that gives everyone someone they can connect with. The story seems simple enough at first but you begin to realize this band of thieves and sell swords is into a world much more complicated and complex than they could ever imagine. The question becomes not whether they possess the skills to do the impossible one more time, but do they have the heart, the strength, and the moral fortitude to break away from everything they have ever known?
March 7, 2022
The first few lines of the book intrigued me - "A dark silhouette stood on the broken down guard tower and..." This sci-fi "Wages of Death: Shadow for Hire," brings us interesting characters - Mida, Raven, Daniel, and Maria.
Some of them belong to The Shadow, a group of mercenaries, who will do anything for money. The story takes you on a rollercoaster of danger and intrigue culminating in a wonderful opportunity thanks to Maria.
Some of them belong to The Shadow, a group of mercenaries, who will do anything for money. The story takes you on a rollercoaster of danger and intrigue culminating in a wonderful opportunity thanks to Maria.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews