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The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #1-2
The Last Apprentice: Seventh Son: Book 1 and Book 2
The Last Seventh Son by Joseph Delaney has descriptive copy which is not yet available from the Publisher.
709 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2013
254 people are currently reading
2554 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Delaney
59 books3,980 followersJoseph Delaney was a full time writer living in Lancashire, in the heart of Boggart territory.
He was the author of Wardstone Chronicles, Starblade Chronicles, Arena 13, Aberrations and a new book came out in April 2020, Brother Wulf. This is a new spooks story featuring Tom and Alice, but introducing a new character, a young monk called Brother Wulf.
He first got the idea for the Spooks series when he moved to the village where he lives now and discovered there was a local boggart - ‘a man like me needs boggarts around’. He made a note in his notebook ‘a story about a man who hunts boggarts’ and years later when he had to come up with an idea at short notice developed this into ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’, the first book in the series.
He continued to draw upon the folklore of Lancashire and has acquired much local knowledge over the years which he tweaks and modifies to create his fictional world. Another source of inspiration has been Lancashire's varied and atmospheric landscape. Many of the locations in the County are based on actual places in Lancashire.
In the early days of his writing career Joseph worked as a teacher at a Sixth Form College: his subjects were English, Film and Media Studies. He used to get up early and write every morning before work. That way he could write a book a year – which promptly got rejected! When the Americans bought the series he decided to give up teaching and write full time.
Prior to teaching he worked as an engineer in his twenties, completing an apprenticeship just like Tom Ward in the spook’s books.
Joseph described his method of writing as a process of discovery. He didn’t plot too far ahead and often didn’t know what is going to happen until he writes it down. In other words he made it up as he went along. He prefed writing dialogue to description, in which he said he is a minimalist and leaves much to the reader’s imagination.
Joseph had three children and nine grandchildren and was a wonderful public speaker available for conference, library and bookshop events.
The Spook's Apprentice, The Spook's Curse and The Spook's Secret have all been shortlisted for the Lancashire children's Book for the Year Award. The Spook's Apprentice is the winner of both the Sefton Book Award and the Hampshire Book Award.
www.josephdelaneyauthor.com
from publisher's website
He was the author of Wardstone Chronicles, Starblade Chronicles, Arena 13, Aberrations and a new book came out in April 2020, Brother Wulf. This is a new spooks story featuring Tom and Alice, but introducing a new character, a young monk called Brother Wulf.
He first got the idea for the Spooks series when he moved to the village where he lives now and discovered there was a local boggart - ‘a man like me needs boggarts around’. He made a note in his notebook ‘a story about a man who hunts boggarts’ and years later when he had to come up with an idea at short notice developed this into ‘The Spook’s Apprentice’, the first book in the series.
He continued to draw upon the folklore of Lancashire and has acquired much local knowledge over the years which he tweaks and modifies to create his fictional world. Another source of inspiration has been Lancashire's varied and atmospheric landscape. Many of the locations in the County are based on actual places in Lancashire.
In the early days of his writing career Joseph worked as a teacher at a Sixth Form College: his subjects were English, Film and Media Studies. He used to get up early and write every morning before work. That way he could write a book a year – which promptly got rejected! When the Americans bought the series he decided to give up teaching and write full time.
Prior to teaching he worked as an engineer in his twenties, completing an apprenticeship just like Tom Ward in the spook’s books.
Joseph described his method of writing as a process of discovery. He didn’t plot too far ahead and often didn’t know what is going to happen until he writes it down. In other words he made it up as he went along. He prefed writing dialogue to description, in which he said he is a minimalist and leaves much to the reader’s imagination.
Joseph had three children and nine grandchildren and was a wonderful public speaker available for conference, library and bookshop events.
The Spook's Apprentice, The Spook's Curse and The Spook's Secret have all been shortlisted for the Lancashire children's Book for the Year Award. The Spook's Apprentice is the winner of both the Sefton Book Award and the Hampshire Book Award.
www.josephdelaneyauthor.com
from publisher's website
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
March 18, 2015
Absolutely wonderful! I couldn't keep my eyes off it. It was good because:
1. It has magic and superstition in it
2. The main character (unlike others) isn't a rotten coward
3. The main character DOESN'T DIE (hear me, "Divergent"?)
4. There are more books in the series *squeals*
5. I never felt sick of this book, unlike others (SINGLE SHARD!!!)
6. There's no real romance! No inappropriate stuff, no kissing, no hugs, no ANYTHING! Just awesomeness.
7. There's no girl heroine! How many times have you read a book about this girl hero who lives in a terrible society and just HAPPENS to be a wonderful fighter and saves her city/country/district/family/WHATEVER I DON'T STINKIN CARE
8. The Spook's just AWESOME, dude!
9. Magic! (Oops, did I say that already?)
10. No damsels in distress! D'you know something WORSE than a ridiculous, weepy heroine? A RIDICULOUS, WEEPY, CLINGY, WHINY princess ON TOP OF A STINKING TOWER!
11. This book is long! It's not like, "Hi, I'm Tom Ward, I'm an apprentice, hey, I just killed the Bane! Bye!" and super short, or "Blah blah blah blah blah I'm the creator of Hobbit history and this is my RIDICULOUSLY LONG INTRODUCTION to a good (but incredibly long and overdetailed) book about short little guys with hairy feet and freaky rings with weird pale albino short guys that sound like they have a cold and/or are about to die (no offense, Tolkien!). It's not too detailed, but not super duper duper duper DUPER DUPER DUPER detailed!
12. It has a good ending! Have you ever read a book where it's all like, "The monster was standing directly in front of me, its hairy chest heaving with the effort of catching such a small fellow as I. I knew that this was the end, and I was so sad to see myself go. The hairy freak got ready to pounce, and as it did, I said my goodbyes to all of the people that had helped me through this incredibly long and difficult journey. The beast flew through the air as effortlessly as an arrow, AND THEN I WOKE UP. The end." How annoying, right! The one time I read a book like that, I threw it at the wall. But this book isn't like that! It's actually GOOD! It takes a pretty good writer to find an awesome ending. Trust me, I know.
13. I never got lost or confused when reading it. I could feel Thomas's emotions and his very soul, but not with a bunch of crazy long words like 'butyraceous' or 'cheeseparing' or even 'pugnaciously contentious'. That's all I'm saying. (BTW, Butyraceous=like butter, cheeseparing=stingy, and pugnaciously contentious is redundant. It means quarrelsomely quarrelsome) How awesome is that?
Ok, I've used up too many characters now and am ranting, so here's what I'm gonna do: give ya some advice. Like four pieces of advice.
1. Read this book! It's awesome for all the reasons I've written up top.
2. Don't throw books at walls! It could hurt the wall, or bounce back and hit you. Just sayin'
3. Be awesome. Write long reviews so I can laugh at them and like them on GoodReads.
AND 4. This is awesome. Just listen: " The Early Bird Gets the Worm, but the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese." And "Never Trust Someone Who Puts in the Milk, then the Cereal." And "When You Need to Borrow Money, Borrow from a Pessimist. He Won't Expect It Back." And "Don't be a girl heroine."
That's all I got. Bye for now,
YOUR FACE
1. It has magic and superstition in it
2. The main character (unlike others) isn't a rotten coward
3. The main character DOESN'T DIE (hear me, "Divergent"?)
4. There are more books in the series *squeals*
5. I never felt sick of this book, unlike others (SINGLE SHARD!!!)
6. There's no real romance! No inappropriate stuff, no kissing, no hugs, no ANYTHING! Just awesomeness.
7. There's no girl heroine! How many times have you read a book about this girl hero who lives in a terrible society and just HAPPENS to be a wonderful fighter and saves her city/country/district/family/WHATEVER I DON'T STINKIN CARE
8. The Spook's just AWESOME, dude!
9. Magic! (Oops, did I say that already?)
10. No damsels in distress! D'you know something WORSE than a ridiculous, weepy heroine? A RIDICULOUS, WEEPY, CLINGY, WHINY princess ON TOP OF A STINKING TOWER!
11. This book is long! It's not like, "Hi, I'm Tom Ward, I'm an apprentice, hey, I just killed the Bane! Bye!" and super short, or "Blah blah blah blah blah I'm the creator of Hobbit history and this is my RIDICULOUSLY LONG INTRODUCTION to a good (but incredibly long and overdetailed) book about short little guys with hairy feet and freaky rings with weird pale albino short guys that sound like they have a cold and/or are about to die (no offense, Tolkien!). It's not too detailed, but not super duper duper duper DUPER DUPER DUPER detailed!
12. It has a good ending! Have you ever read a book where it's all like, "The monster was standing directly in front of me, its hairy chest heaving with the effort of catching such a small fellow as I. I knew that this was the end, and I was so sad to see myself go. The hairy freak got ready to pounce, and as it did, I said my goodbyes to all of the people that had helped me through this incredibly long and difficult journey. The beast flew through the air as effortlessly as an arrow, AND THEN I WOKE UP. The end." How annoying, right! The one time I read a book like that, I threw it at the wall. But this book isn't like that! It's actually GOOD! It takes a pretty good writer to find an awesome ending. Trust me, I know.
13. I never got lost or confused when reading it. I could feel Thomas's emotions and his very soul, but not with a bunch of crazy long words like 'butyraceous' or 'cheeseparing' or even 'pugnaciously contentious'. That's all I'm saying. (BTW, Butyraceous=like butter, cheeseparing=stingy, and pugnaciously contentious is redundant. It means quarrelsomely quarrelsome) How awesome is that?
Ok, I've used up too many characters now and am ranting, so here's what I'm gonna do: give ya some advice. Like four pieces of advice.
1. Read this book! It's awesome for all the reasons I've written up top.
2. Don't throw books at walls! It could hurt the wall, or bounce back and hit you. Just sayin'
3. Be awesome. Write long reviews so I can laugh at them and like them on GoodReads.
AND 4. This is awesome. Just listen: " The Early Bird Gets the Worm, but the Second Mouse Gets the Cheese." And "Never Trust Someone Who Puts in the Milk, then the Cereal." And "When You Need to Borrow Money, Borrow from a Pessimist. He Won't Expect It Back." And "Don't be a girl heroine."
That's all I got. Bye for now,
YOUR FACE
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 8, 2015
Jeff Bridges : that’s the guy I think of when I was figuring out as to why I pulled up this book from a pile at the library. The scraggly beard, flowing mane of hair and the looks of a wanderer suited him to a T. Fierce eyes set behind bushy eyebrows and a look that appraised you in one glance : all stuff that Bridges can easily pull off. It was only after I read this book that I figured out that the character of John Gregory, is a very close approximation of Bridge’s portrayal of this character. The movie was panned by critics and viewers alike but the book is a fairly good one. This volume collects the first two stories in the lives of John and his apprentice Thomas Ward.
The first story - The Spook’s Apprentice, is a sort of warming up of the bond that forms between John and his apprentice. With hard experience, young Thomas realizes that the spook is a person who travels the countryside getting rid of the evils that plague the population. His job is not one that makes him popular specifically in the eyes of the Church. But that does not mean that he is a magician who dispels evil with a well-placed spell and a waving of his wand. . The spook relies on a series of proven procedures that help him overcome even the most mischievous of evil spirits with a mix of science, shrewdness and a strong mind. Thomas has the uphill task of learning the trade of being a spook and trying to survive in the process too. He matches wits against witches, sadistic sidekicks and other creepy crawlies and survives by the skin of his teeth. He is pitted against the ancient evil in the form of a witch – Mother Malkin in this tale. The second part - The Spook’s Curse has them trying to rid the world of an ancient entity called the Bane. This story is both good and bad at the same time. The good part is that it is more complicated than its predecessor. The author builds an emotional backdrop to this story which is much more satisfying than its older brother. The bad part is that the ending is a rushed one and a tad too formulaic. The character of Alice, who is Thomas’s friend also gets much more prominence here.
Darker, gritty fantasy stories have corrupted me to such an extent that simple fare appears too bland ! The story of the spook and his apprentice fell into this latter category. While the rich use of stories from the English countryside is well done, the characters are too much of black and white shades that it appears very predictable. The intended audience is also a younger one which means that horror factor is a great deal watered down.
Definitely worth a read and light years better than the movie adaptation.
The first story - The Spook’s Apprentice, is a sort of warming up of the bond that forms between John and his apprentice. With hard experience, young Thomas realizes that the spook is a person who travels the countryside getting rid of the evils that plague the population. His job is not one that makes him popular specifically in the eyes of the Church. But that does not mean that he is a magician who dispels evil with a well-placed spell and a waving of his wand. . The spook relies on a series of proven procedures that help him overcome even the most mischievous of evil spirits with a mix of science, shrewdness and a strong mind. Thomas has the uphill task of learning the trade of being a spook and trying to survive in the process too. He matches wits against witches, sadistic sidekicks and other creepy crawlies and survives by the skin of his teeth. He is pitted against the ancient evil in the form of a witch – Mother Malkin in this tale. The second part - The Spook’s Curse has them trying to rid the world of an ancient entity called the Bane. This story is both good and bad at the same time. The good part is that it is more complicated than its predecessor. The author builds an emotional backdrop to this story which is much more satisfying than its older brother. The bad part is that the ending is a rushed one and a tad too formulaic. The character of Alice, who is Thomas’s friend also gets much more prominence here.
Darker, gritty fantasy stories have corrupted me to such an extent that simple fare appears too bland ! The story of the spook and his apprentice fell into this latter category. While the rich use of stories from the English countryside is well done, the characters are too much of black and white shades that it appears very predictable. The intended audience is also a younger one which means that horror factor is a great deal watered down.
Definitely worth a read and light years better than the movie adaptation.
December 27, 2016
BOOK 1: Revenge of the Witch
I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes reading fantasy and middle-grade book.
BOOK 2: Curse of the Bane
I really enjoyed reading this book much more than the first one because it was a well written and had strong characters that I’m quite sure some reader will enjoy it.
I was disappointed by some part of the book that I little bit dislike, mainly about the portrayal of religion in this book. Even though the author was no specific about what kind of worship they devoted, but it was somewhat obvious. I’m not a religious person, but in my opinion, it made the story dull and slow.
However, I still salute to the author for writing a story that had a huge impact on my life with his writing. I never felt so scared reading a book with witches and boggart or evil forces that would cause me to fall from the chair because THE STORY KEPT ME ON THE EDGE ON MY SEAT.
I highly recommend this book to those who like middle-grade fantasy
When I looked down, all I could see was a pair of red eyes glaring up at me out of the darkness
When the Spook comes to Tom’s house to ask him to be his apprentice, Tom little knows what kind of job or some consequences that he will faces. No one likes to be around the Spook after some of his previous apprentices failed to stay alive. Moreover, Thomas J Ward is the only one left. He is the only last hope and the last apprentice.
I never thought that I would enjoy this book so much. The writing style was great, and the characters were so charming and engaging. Unfortunately, there was a load of things that the author not yet telling the reader about some of the characters, e.g. Tom’s mysterious mum named Lamia (She was a fascinating character in the story), The Spook past life, Tom’s other brothers and Alice. I want to know more about them.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes reading fantasy and middle-grade book.
***
BOOK 2: Curse of the Bane
“One day this house will belong to us, Tom. Don’t you feel it?” she asked
Tom and the Spook have been working together to defeat the darkness. But, when the Spook gets the news about his brother, they set a journey to Priestown to attend the spook brother's funeral alongside with some unfinished business that they need to deal with. Deep down under the Cathedral catacombs, lurks a creature that Spook himself can’t defeat; a force that so evil that put the County is in danger being corrupted by its power; The Bane.
Though, it looks like that the Bane is not their only enemy when the Quisitor has arrived to give a punishment to those who meddle with the evil works by keeping them as a prisoner, and they have no chance to stay alive.
Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor's clutches?
I really enjoyed reading this book much more than the first one because it was a well written and had strong characters that I’m quite sure some reader will enjoy it.
I was disappointed by some part of the book that I little bit dislike, mainly about the portrayal of religion in this book. Even though the author was no specific about what kind of worship they devoted, but it was somewhat obvious. I’m not a religious person, but in my opinion, it made the story dull and slow.
“That’s just superstition, Thomas,” Father Cairns said at last. “Being the seventh son of the seventh son means nothing. It’s just an old wives’ tale. The true explanation for John Gregory’s power is something so terrible that it makes me shudder just to think about it. You see, John Gregory has made a pact with hell. He sold his soul to the Devil.”
However, I still salute to the author for writing a story that had a huge impact on my life with his writing. I never felt so scared reading a book with witches and boggart or evil forces that would cause me to fall from the chair because THE STORY KEPT ME ON THE EDGE ON MY SEAT.
I highly recommend this book to those who like middle-grade fantasy
August 5, 2017
Although it never really bored me and I could see it had great potential, I couldn't call it good because, as I say in my updates, this book is entirely humorless! I didn't feel any sort of emotion or attachment to any of the characters or events because the atmosphere was always just bleak and gloomy. And I get that it's supposed to be creepy but it didn't help at all to make me feel close to the characters when they were no fun. For awhile I'd even forget that the narration was in the first person, or that the main character's name was Tom, because it felt too voiceless and monotonous.
I feel like Tom, Alice, and the Spook could make a much more interesting trio than as individual characters, but I'm really not motivated enough to get the rest of the books of this series if it's just going to be more of the same. I don't really have the patience to go through several books before something legitimately intense or gripping happens, or for the characters to actually be a little more fun. Also the blurbs made it seem like this series was supposed to be scary, but I didn't even get chills. Maybe I would if I had been younger but I didn't get any feelings of suspense or even mild uncomfortableness. I felt nothing. It's really too bad...
I feel like Tom, Alice, and the Spook could make a much more interesting trio than as individual characters, but I'm really not motivated enough to get the rest of the books of this series if it's just going to be more of the same. I don't really have the patience to go through several books before something legitimately intense or gripping happens, or for the characters to actually be a little more fun. Also the blurbs made it seem like this series was supposed to be scary, but I didn't even get chills. Maybe I would if I had been younger but I didn't get any feelings of suspense or even mild uncomfortableness. I felt nothing. It's really too bad...
March 19, 2017
Women are evil. The end.
That is the entire premise of this book. I suppose that's to be expected of male witch hunter stories at this point because that's all they ever amount to. This is actually two books in one. In the first book, Tom's master tells him repeatedly not to trust women EVER NEVER and especially not if they're wearing "pointy shoes" which via descriptions you can deduce means high heels. Those harlots.
SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT
FOR REAL
SPOILERS
Tom replies that his "mam" is a woman and you think ok maybe this won't be so bad. Nope. Tom meets a girl with pointy shoes, who he trusts immediately which the book blames on his naivete because of course she betrays him! She's a woman! In high heels! (Except she's being forced to by her abusive relatives who literally cut and bleed her and feed her blood to another relative, but never you mind that.) Even though she goes on to save Tom's life. After saving Tom's life, he and the Spook still don't trust her because "she kept bad company". As if she chose to be related to witches. So they go send her to live on the coast.
Book two gets even worse. In book one at least his mam and sister in law weren't portrayed as evil just for being women but then his mam turns out to be a witch. BECAUSE ALL WOMEN CAN'T BE TRUSTED NEVER EVER. It was exceptionally obvious from the first chapter in book one, but whatevs. Also, Alice is back, and about to be burned at the stake by the church which is also bad because they burn witches (and "innocents") and don't just bury them in pits for the rest of their immortal? (it doesn't specify) lives. Alice ends up saving the day repeatedly again and again by basically sacrificing herself over and over because even demons are afraid of women apparently, but she doesn't do it the way the Spook would have, and she's a woman, so that's bad and in the end the Spook and Tom say she can live with them except jk they're really planning on dumping her on a random farmer.
Like honestly imagine an old man and a young boy jumping ten feet in the air every time they see a woman and you'll have read the book.
That is the entire premise of this book. I suppose that's to be expected of male witch hunter stories at this point because that's all they ever amount to. This is actually two books in one. In the first book, Tom's master tells him repeatedly not to trust women EVER NEVER and especially not if they're wearing "pointy shoes" which via descriptions you can deduce means high heels. Those harlots.
SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT
FOR REAL
SPOILERS
Tom replies that his "mam" is a woman and you think ok maybe this won't be so bad. Nope. Tom meets a girl with pointy shoes, who he trusts immediately which the book blames on his naivete because of course she betrays him! She's a woman! In high heels! (Except she's being forced to by her abusive relatives who literally cut and bleed her and feed her blood to another relative, but never you mind that.) Even though she goes on to save Tom's life. After saving Tom's life, he and the Spook still don't trust her because "she kept bad company". As if she chose to be related to witches. So they go send her to live on the coast.
Book two gets even worse. In book one at least his mam and sister in law weren't portrayed as evil just for being women but then his mam turns out to be a witch. BECAUSE ALL WOMEN CAN'T BE TRUSTED NEVER EVER. It was exceptionally obvious from the first chapter in book one, but whatevs. Also, Alice is back, and about to be burned at the stake by the church which is also bad because they burn witches (and "innocents") and don't just bury them in pits for the rest of their immortal? (it doesn't specify) lives. Alice ends up saving the day repeatedly again and again by basically sacrificing herself over and over because even demons are afraid of women apparently, but she doesn't do it the way the Spook would have, and she's a woman, so that's bad and in the end the Spook and Tom say she can live with them except jk they're really planning on dumping her on a random farmer.
Like honestly imagine an old man and a young boy jumping ten feet in the air every time they see a woman and you'll have read the book.
April 28, 2015
As bad as this sounds, I probably wouldn't have bought this if a movie wasn't out that was based on it. That said - Once I started the first book, I was hooked - so hooked in fact that I started reading at 4pm and finished at 7pm!
Thomas is a great character. I love how brave he is, and that he's flawed as well. Most heroes have to be in some form or another.
The writing is strong, and even though I'm 26, I loved the plot. What I loved most was how fast paced everything was. The book had excellent ways of gripping you, without shoving too much information down your throat. I really want to go and see the movie now, but as it's based on the second novel as well, I better hurry up and read the second book inside this one, The Spook's Curse.
Mother Malkin was terrifying, with her red eyes burning anger and hate.... and even though The Spook said ------------ I'm not entirely sure this is the case. (That's my way of hiding spoilers lol) Anne was cool, and I loved that she wasn't a damsel in distress character. It was perfect for the scene as well, which again, I will not reveal....
Right, I better get on with the second one, seeing as, really I shouldn't have reviewed until I'd read the other.....
Thomas is a great character. I love how brave he is, and that he's flawed as well. Most heroes have to be in some form or another.
The writing is strong, and even though I'm 26, I loved the plot. What I loved most was how fast paced everything was. The book had excellent ways of gripping you, without shoving too much information down your throat. I really want to go and see the movie now, but as it's based on the second novel as well, I better hurry up and read the second book inside this one, The Spook's Curse.
Mother Malkin was terrifying, with her red eyes burning anger and hate.... and even though The Spook said ------------ I'm not entirely sure this is the case. (That's my way of hiding spoilers lol) Anne was cool, and I loved that she wasn't a damsel in distress character. It was perfect for the scene as well, which again, I will not reveal....
Right, I better get on with the second one, seeing as, really I shouldn't have reviewed until I'd read the other.....
Read
February 10, 2015I think the theme of this book is evil comes in all forms. I found this most true when several people in the church are deemed corrupted by the Bane. "When he catches someone he considers to be a witch or warlock, he puts on his black cap and becomes the judge of the trial- a trial that's usually over very quickly...No, he's just a cruel man who likes to inflict pain. he enjoys his work and he grows rich from the money makes selling the homes and property of those he condemns"(357). This likeness to the Crucible is uncanny, proving the values Arthur Miller and Joseph Delaney have are similar, and most likely, accurate.
December 26, 2016
El libro es entretenido, rápido e incluso original, pero Tom es el equivalente masculino al peor tipo de Mary Sue y el Espectro es un maestro sumamente negligente. Básicamente todo lo que pasa es porque Tom es medio idiota, crédulo y confianzudo y Gregory un maestro muuuuuuuuuuuy despreocupado.
Como ya comenté, me interesé en el libro porque vi a Ben Barnes en la tapa *frivolidad mode on*, así que no tenía expectativas en sí, y aunque no está mal, vi que son como diez tomos y no sé si me va a dar la paciencia para seguir la historia..
Como ya comenté, me interesé en el libro porque vi a Ben Barnes en la tapa *frivolidad mode on*, así que no tenía expectativas en sí, y aunque no está mal, vi que son como diez tomos y no sé si me va a dar la paciencia para seguir la historia..
November 30, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is an interesting concept with great characters. The story is very fun and entertaining. This is not a book I would have willingly chosen to read. Thank goodness for a book club pick so that I picked it up! Hated the movie!
February 6, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel (consisting of the first two books in The Last Apprentice series)! It was a quick read and super fun and fast paced. I have ordered the next three books in the series and can't wait to continue my adventures with this series. I highly recommend this.
August 12, 2019
Puedo definirlo como entretenido, pero no me ha enganchado. El mundo no está mal y se nota que hay buenas ideas detrás, pero no acaba de mostrarlo bien. El mismo libro te dice que más adelante de explicarán cosas. Al final te deja entrever un universo enorme, pero se centra en una cosa minúscula. Y cuando por fin le estás cogiendo el gustillo, cambia la historia. Así tres o cuatro veces.
May 6, 2020
“I like to keep my books in my library, he said, 'and I like my library to get bigger rather than smaller.”
The writing was a chore to get through. I started this with such high hopes but 100 pages in I realised I would have to persevere for the remaining 500.
Full review to come soon, I'm too tired to think properly at the moment.
The writing was a chore to get through. I started this with such high hopes but 100 pages in I realised I would have to persevere for the remaining 500.
Full review to come soon, I'm too tired to think properly at the moment.
July 8, 2019
It's a good book, however if you decide to read it, please note how it is both book 1 and 2 and not just 1. (The Spook's Apprentice and The Spook's Curse) I can't think of anything to say, I'm too stuck into Assassin's Creed Renaissance by Oliver Bowden.
July 18, 2017
DEFINITELY A BREATHTAKING ADVENTURE, EVEN MUCH MORE TO COME!
June 25, 2022
4,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Naar artic young adultclub. Benieuwd wat zij ervan vinden.
Naar artic young adultclub. Benieuwd wat zij ervan vinden.
June 1, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. I really like the setting because it doesn't really give much background and lets the reader have their own ideas. Even though it is a fairly long book it had me hooked from start to finish. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, it has aspects that would appeal to a lot of different readers.
April 13, 2017
Part 1: The Spook's Apprentice.
An enjoyable story, though I wish I'd known from the start that it was aimed at kids. It's very young, making it a little immature for my tastes, but still well-written enough to be a good read. An interesting idea, but it's basically a kiddie version of Supernatural, so the PG stuff is a little boring. For the target demographic, however, this should be a fantastic read. It has a realistic hero, and an older authority figure who is wise but also very easy-going. The evil aspect is not so typical, so the process of dealing with these things is still interesting. I like that his family are still considered, and that our main character does actually think of them as any normal person would. For the younger crowd, I imagine this would be fairly hard to put down.
Part 2: The Spook's Curse
Not a particularly enthralling read at my age, but a well-written novel that is sure to delight the younger crowd. The title is a little misleading, since the curse itself is a very thin thread of the story and could easily be written out. But this novel has a great villain, and an interesting journey to the final destination. I thought there was perhaps a little too much travel back and forth, and while I enjoyed the visits to the family in the first novel, in this one they seemed out of place and unnecessary. Some of the writing is a little cliche, but that's unlikely to bother the ideal demographic. Based on my own enjoyment, this would probably only be a two or three, but I've given a bonus star in acknowledgement of my atypical age.
Overall, a decent introduction to the series, though probably unnecessary to combine the two for a film tie-in edition as a) the events of the second book have no place in the film and b) even the first book is very, VERY loosely adhered to in the film. These books are definitely better than the movie.
An enjoyable story, though I wish I'd known from the start that it was aimed at kids. It's very young, making it a little immature for my tastes, but still well-written enough to be a good read. An interesting idea, but it's basically a kiddie version of Supernatural, so the PG stuff is a little boring. For the target demographic, however, this should be a fantastic read. It has a realistic hero, and an older authority figure who is wise but also very easy-going. The evil aspect is not so typical, so the process of dealing with these things is still interesting. I like that his family are still considered, and that our main character does actually think of them as any normal person would. For the younger crowd, I imagine this would be fairly hard to put down.
Part 2: The Spook's Curse
Not a particularly enthralling read at my age, but a well-written novel that is sure to delight the younger crowd. The title is a little misleading, since the curse itself is a very thin thread of the story and could easily be written out. But this novel has a great villain, and an interesting journey to the final destination. I thought there was perhaps a little too much travel back and forth, and while I enjoyed the visits to the family in the first novel, in this one they seemed out of place and unnecessary. Some of the writing is a little cliche, but that's unlikely to bother the ideal demographic. Based on my own enjoyment, this would probably only be a two or three, but I've given a bonus star in acknowledgement of my atypical age.
Overall, a decent introduction to the series, though probably unnecessary to combine the two for a film tie-in edition as a) the events of the second book have no place in the film and b) even the first book is very, VERY loosely adhered to in the film. These books are definitely better than the movie.
April 15, 2015
Note- I received my copy of Seventh Son as a result of winning a GoodReads giveaway (thanks! And maybe sorry for what follows!) and knew very little about it, except it was of the fantasy genre - a genre I love.
Seventh Son is a film tie-in republication of two books: The Spook's Apprentice; and The Spook's Curse.
On beginning to read Seventh Son, it became immediately apparent that it's very much intended as a young children's book with a suitably young voice conveying the tale. I'm no longer in that demographic, sadly, but I've read and liked lots of fantasy books over the years, including a fair number when I was a child, so I persisted while clutching the idea that many child-targeted fantasy books have been fab (The Hobbit, for example).
Unfortunately, Seventh Son is not one of the fab.
A big problem as I see it: The Spook character is at times horrendously and sweepingly misogynistic.
While it makes sense in terms of the character and his experiences, I found it somewhat frightening how often those views were expressed and how relatively unchallenged they were. Yes, it's true Tom (the apprentice) does try to negate the views expressed by the Spook, but it's not done as vociferously as it perhaps should be in terms of making it clear to a young mind that it's wrong-thinking. I worry that, given the target audience, it could so easily influence a young reader in a negative way.
To be fair, setting aside the above, the book in general is not awful, it's just not good and I'd have a hard time recommending it as something I'd be happy for my nonexistent kids to read.
So, yes, 2 stars - "it's ok" (sorry!)
Seventh Son is a film tie-in republication of two books: The Spook's Apprentice; and The Spook's Curse.
On beginning to read Seventh Son, it became immediately apparent that it's very much intended as a young children's book with a suitably young voice conveying the tale. I'm no longer in that demographic, sadly, but I've read and liked lots of fantasy books over the years, including a fair number when I was a child, so I persisted while clutching the idea that many child-targeted fantasy books have been fab (The Hobbit, for example).
Unfortunately, Seventh Son is not one of the fab.
A big problem as I see it: The Spook character is at times horrendously and sweepingly misogynistic.
While it makes sense in terms of the character and his experiences, I found it somewhat frightening how often those views were expressed and how relatively unchallenged they were. Yes, it's true Tom (the apprentice) does try to negate the views expressed by the Spook, but it's not done as vociferously as it perhaps should be in terms of making it clear to a young mind that it's wrong-thinking. I worry that, given the target audience, it could so easily influence a young reader in a negative way.
To be fair, setting aside the above, the book in general is not awful, it's just not good and I'd have a hard time recommending it as something I'd be happy for my nonexistent kids to read.
So, yes, 2 stars - "it's ok" (sorry!)
May 16, 2016
Joseph Delaney offers a mesmerizing adventure in Seventh Son, books one and two of The Last Apprentice series. In book one, Revenge of the Witch, we meet young Tom Ward, whose father has just apprenticed him to the resident Spook, whose job it is to brave the unimaginable terrors of the night. For you see, Tom has something in common with the Spook; they're both the seventh son of a seventh son, which gives them unique abilities best suited for that kind of work. It's bound to be an adventure for Tom as he faces off against an array of beasts as he takes his first steps towards becoming the next line of defense. In book two, Curse of the Bane, we tag along with our daring duo as they journey to Priestown, where an ancient evil has lurked deep in the underground catacombs. Now, the Bane is gaining in strength, and their odds of success are bleak at best.
The Last Apprentice is a fun imagining on the classic "rise of a hero" tale. Right from the start, I was drawn into the story as Tom begins to face his destiny, learning the ways of the Spook. I really don't have anything more to say, other than that this is a must for anyone looking for an addictive read.
The Last Apprentice is a fun imagining on the classic "rise of a hero" tale. Right from the start, I was drawn into the story as Tom begins to face his destiny, learning the ways of the Spook. I really don't have anything more to say, other than that this is a must for anyone looking for an addictive read.
February 7, 2015
I gave 4 stars for the first book because it was actually pretty good. Then I got about halfway through the second book. I found it was pretty much the same of the first. I wanted to continue reading but my interest was pulled away by other authors I normally read. Maybe return another time when I have more time to read several books.
March 22, 2015
They seem to have aged the characters in the movie (from the trailer that I've seen), created a love story that wasn't there (or at least in the first book). They always seem to be doing that in movies these days to broaden the target audience. I sure hope it doesn't ruin the story!!
March 23, 2015
Me pareció un libro muy entretenido. La historia es original, pero creo que le faltó un poquito de desarrollo a algunos personajes. Vi primero la película y la verdad es que no se parecen en nada. Ahora espero que los otros libros lleguen a Chile también.
February 12, 2015
I love this book but I sometime disagree with some stuff. My favorite is the second one more then the first one i love Tom's charter
July 13, 2015
A great start to a series... Lots of interest and a few twists thrown in to keep your interest up...
April 13, 2018
Growing up on a farm and living a simple life, Tom Ward probably never envisioned himself as becoming the Spook, the wizard who rids the countryside of all things wicked and evil. In the first book in his The Last Apprentice series, Joseph Delaney creates a story where dealing with ghosts and witches is part of the characters’ daily routine. When Tom is taken up by the current Spook, Mr. Gregory, to become his apprentice, he is almost immediately thrust into a life of constant fear of being bullied by boggarts or consumed by witches. Although his master gives him plenty of warnings, Tom fails to consider them, and he suddenly has to deal with one of the most fearsome witches the land has ever seen. After he initially disposes of her, Tom learns that witches often practice possession after their original body is killed. Not knowing when the witch will return to take her revenge, Tom must always be on high alert until some of his family members begin expressing symptoms of possession. Unable to fully trust anyone, fearing they may be possessed by the witch, Tom is forced to utilize all he has learned from his training with the Spook to keep himself, and his family, safe.
Delaney gives a new look at the world of witches and ghosts with his novel. There are no magic spells that Tom can use to fight against the supernatural. Rather, he learns several concoctions from the Spook that can prove fatal to these creatures. The Spook tells Tom that “you can always fall back on salt and iron” to combat a ghastly being (274). Also, there are no special, otherworldly ingredients, making the story connect more to the world of the readers, which they may find more interesting since there are no enormous abnormalities between the fells of Tom’s world and their own.
Although the Spooks in the story did not know any magic, the witches were able to practice two types: blood magic and bone magic. By consuming blood and bones, the witches themselves would “grow stronger,” along with their magic (130). I felt that by allowing witches to have magical powers, Delaney unbalances the strengths of good and evil in the book. Perhaps the encounters between Tom and the witch would have been more exciting if they were both knew spells or curses that they could use against each other.
Overall, Delaney’s novel was thrilling and unpredictable until the last page, and it set the stage well for the following books in the series, which will probably follow Tom’s adventures as he trains to become the next Spook of his land. Readers who enjoy disputes between the ordinary and the extraordinary will definitely enjoy reading about Tom fighting off witches and ghosts.
Delaney gives a new look at the world of witches and ghosts with his novel. There are no magic spells that Tom can use to fight against the supernatural. Rather, he learns several concoctions from the Spook that can prove fatal to these creatures. The Spook tells Tom that “you can always fall back on salt and iron” to combat a ghastly being (274). Also, there are no special, otherworldly ingredients, making the story connect more to the world of the readers, which they may find more interesting since there are no enormous abnormalities between the fells of Tom’s world and their own.
Although the Spooks in the story did not know any magic, the witches were able to practice two types: blood magic and bone magic. By consuming blood and bones, the witches themselves would “grow stronger,” along with their magic (130). I felt that by allowing witches to have magical powers, Delaney unbalances the strengths of good and evil in the book. Perhaps the encounters between Tom and the witch would have been more exciting if they were both knew spells or curses that they could use against each other.
Overall, Delaney’s novel was thrilling and unpredictable until the last page, and it set the stage well for the following books in the series, which will probably follow Tom’s adventures as he trains to become the next Spook of his land. Readers who enjoy disputes between the ordinary and the extraordinary will definitely enjoy reading about Tom fighting off witches and ghosts.
April 11, 2019
"Each breath, each beat of your heart makes you stronger, braver, better." (Mam)
Seventh Son is a bind-up of the first two books in The Last Apprentice/The Wardstone Chronicles series - The Spook's Apprentice and The Spook's Curse. Thomas Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son becomes an apprentice to a Spook and joins the fight against darkness and evil.
⛰ Seventh Son has a dark, gloomy and creepy atmosphere. There's ghasts, ghosts, boggarts and witches.
⛰ Seventh Son has two of my favourite tropes, the seventh child of a seventh child having some supernatural ability and an old, stern and lonely magical person taking on an apprentice.
⛰ The central theme in Seventh Son revolves around light and dark and good and evil. I appreciate that Seven Son shows that no one is entirely all light or all dark and that the choices that we make determine who we are.
⛰ The characters are developed and flawed.
⛰ Alice is one of the most awesome characters in Seventh Son. She's smart, flawed, dangerous and strong and she feels that the ends justify the means. She's an unpredictable and morally grey character.
⛰ I appreciate the relationship development between Thomas and the Spook. They have a teacher-student relationship but they're also friends.
⛰ I also enjoyed reading about Thomas's family and how his relationship with his family members develop.
⛰ Thomas's mother is extremely amazing.
⛰ After reading the Seventh Son, I'm interested in learning more about the Spook's past and Thomas's mother.
⛰ I enjoyed the plot of The Spook's Apprentice more than The Spook's Curse.
⛰ In The Spook's Curse, The Bane is portrayed as extremely powerful and deadly and I expected more from him.
⛰ The Spook's Curse deals with religion and I get a feeling that the negative views towards religion come from the author and not from his characters.
⛰ Seventh Son is quite sexist. However, the sexism is subverted because the female characters are powerful, dangerous and wise.
I didn't expect to enjoy Seventh Son as much as I did. I'm not in a rush to read The Spook's Secret but if it comes my way, I'll definitely give it a try.
November 3, 2019
Revenge of the Witch - 4/5
Effectively combines gothic horror archetypes with modern fantasy. Vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, zombies and many other classic horror monsters are imaginatively recreated within the pages of this surprisingly morbid coming of age tale, I would describe it as a PG-13 version of The Witcher. The main character Thomas and his mentor known as the Spook even remind me of Geralt and Vesemir in their early days, Thomas's relationship with a peculiar witch named Alice is also reminiscent of Geralt's relationship with Yennefer. The story is completely different and original of course, the similarities are actually quite enjoyable without feeling like carbon copies of each other at all. I really enjoyed it.
***
Curse of the Bane - 4/5
Violent evil spirits lurking in dark catacombs, demonic possession, people getting tortured and burned alive for being falsely accused of being witches, religious corruption, using evil to fight against evil, and that's just the beginning. The second installment in this series is another splash of gothic-horror goodness accompanied by entertaining fantasy drama. Thomas still has much room to grow on me, but Alice and Spook are great characters.
The harsh and sometimes cruel wisdom of Spook accompanied by the morally questionable antics of Alice the witch are fun to watch. This book helped to tie the three together in a time of great darkness, they make quite the oddball trio but I can't help but look forward to what spectacular wickedness they throw themselves into next now that they've aligned themselves.
Effectively combines gothic horror archetypes with modern fantasy. Vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts, zombies and many other classic horror monsters are imaginatively recreated within the pages of this surprisingly morbid coming of age tale, I would describe it as a PG-13 version of The Witcher. The main character Thomas and his mentor known as the Spook even remind me of Geralt and Vesemir in their early days, Thomas's relationship with a peculiar witch named Alice is also reminiscent of Geralt's relationship with Yennefer. The story is completely different and original of course, the similarities are actually quite enjoyable without feeling like carbon copies of each other at all. I really enjoyed it.
***
Curse of the Bane - 4/5
Violent evil spirits lurking in dark catacombs, demonic possession, people getting tortured and burned alive for being falsely accused of being witches, religious corruption, using evil to fight against evil, and that's just the beginning. The second installment in this series is another splash of gothic-horror goodness accompanied by entertaining fantasy drama. Thomas still has much room to grow on me, but Alice and Spook are great characters.
The harsh and sometimes cruel wisdom of Spook accompanied by the morally questionable antics of Alice the witch are fun to watch. This book helped to tie the three together in a time of great darkness, they make quite the oddball trio but I can't help but look forward to what spectacular wickedness they throw themselves into next now that they've aligned themselves.
October 5, 2018
The beginning of the book starts with the father and his wife and his seven sons, His oldest son Jack will be running the farm now with his wife Ellie that is having a baby. Then the father finds his other sons a job , but it comes to the seventh son Tom a job, so the fathers goes to the spook. The spook gave him a month trail and after that if he makes it through the month trail Tom would get the choice if he wants to keep training or stop train to be a spook. The spook tells Tom the things that he has to studied witch's boggart's and ghasts and ghosts, the spook gave Tom a book to right down notes. The middle of the book the spook has Tom dig graves and then he had to fill them up again. Then they went into town and Tom meet Alice who gave him a basket of cakes to feed to Mother Malkin who was a witch who was put into the ground with 13 metal bars over that kept Mother Malkin that makes her stronger and she bent the bars and escaped. The end of the book the Mother Malkin had possessed the snouts body and had Ellies baby in his right hand and a sharp knife in his left and jack was knocked out and has pig blood on his face. I think that it was a great book and I would deffinately read the rest of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2018
This is another book where first I watched the movie and than got interested in reading the book. The first book I'm giving it a 5 out of 5 stars, because I loved the movie so much, I couldn't put down the book. It was so captivating and made me feel like I was a part of it.
If you have seen the movie and loved it, you must read this book (the first one), because there is so many adventures left out and make you understand more about each character. In the first book we have quite a few chapters were Spook, Tom and the witches and how SHE is actually brought to life. Also, the movie has parts from both books but mainly second one, because of the final battles.
While reading the second book i found myself unable to stop visualizing the movie at certain parts. However, I loved the amount of details that were in the book maybe me understand some things about the world they were living in.
Honestly i have to keep myself from saying to much because will give key points away, just trust me it is a book that you will read in one sitting and love every second of it.
If you have seen the movie and loved it, you must read this book (the first one), because there is so many adventures left out and make you understand more about each character. In the first book we have quite a few chapters were Spook, Tom and the witches and how SHE is actually brought to life. Also, the movie has parts from both books but mainly second one, because of the final battles.
While reading the second book i found myself unable to stop visualizing the movie at certain parts. However, I loved the amount of details that were in the book maybe me understand some things about the world they were living in.
Honestly i have to keep myself from saying to much because will give key points away, just trust me it is a book that you will read in one sitting and love every second of it.
August 12, 2019
I enjoyed this book, it never left me wanting more action. There was never a dull moment in this book. Around every corner, there was always an action-packed moment. It was filled with mystery and drama and had a lot of confusing chapters, but eventually, everything figured itself out. It was a great book but I thought it lacked something. I really thought it lacked character development. It doesn't really show a lot of the events before the appearance of the villain. I could only find that he was originally a farm boy with a brother.
This book was about the seventh son of a seventh son. That title apparently gives you powers and certain capabilities. It depicts his journeys and training after his town is lost to the main villain. Most of this book is filled with exploration while they are trying to run away from these monsters. I don't know why they were running through the main character had a dragon. It was an overall good book that I enjoyed and I would not mind reading the second book in the saga.
This book was about the seventh son of a seventh son. That title apparently gives you powers and certain capabilities. It depicts his journeys and training after his town is lost to the main villain. Most of this book is filled with exploration while they are trying to run away from these monsters. I don't know why they were running through the main character had a dragon. It was an overall good book that I enjoyed and I would not mind reading the second book in the saga.
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