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The Spook's Apprentice: Brother Wulf #2
Frère Wulf, Tome 02: Le fléau du Tulpan
The next thrilling and magical adventure set in the multi million copy bestselling world of The Spook's Apprentice.
Wulf has left behind his life in the monastery and is now the Apprentice to Spook Johnson, assisting him in protecting the County from denizens of the dark - which mainly involves Wulf acting as bait.
But Wulf is captured by Hrothgar, a giant with abilities to conjure subservient creatures - or tulpas - from his imagination. And he strongly suspects that Wulf has these abilities too . . .
Wulf begrudgingly begins training with his new master, but meanwhile, something dangerous is afoot in the County. Wulf's old friends, Tom and Alice, have been imprisoned by an all-powerful witch and her brain sucking minions. And together with Tilda, Tom and Alice's daughter, he needs to rescue them from Circe's enchanted lair before it's too late...
Wulf has left behind his life in the monastery and is now the Apprentice to Spook Johnson, assisting him in protecting the County from denizens of the dark - which mainly involves Wulf acting as bait.
But Wulf is captured by Hrothgar, a giant with abilities to conjure subservient creatures - or tulpas - from his imagination. And he strongly suspects that Wulf has these abilities too . . .
Wulf begrudgingly begins training with his new master, but meanwhile, something dangerous is afoot in the County. Wulf's old friends, Tom and Alice, have been imprisoned by an all-powerful witch and her brain sucking minions. And together with Tilda, Tom and Alice's daughter, he needs to rescue them from Circe's enchanted lair before it's too late...
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 7, 2025
26 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Delaney
59 books3,982 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 35 reviews
May 26, 2021
This is an amazing sequel to a great story. This is quite an adventure that truly a JD fans will loved.
In this quite challenging times I seldom finds a book that satisfies me with great story telling, superb and breathtaking action scenes, a picturesque view that you can pictured in your mind, and great protagonists and antagonist that you learn to love and hate plus the characters that you learn to love through the years.
Stay safe and continue reading everyone.😊❤️
In this quite challenging times I seldom finds a book that satisfies me with great story telling, superb and breathtaking action scenes, a picturesque view that you can pictured in your mind, and great protagonists and antagonist that you learn to love and hate plus the characters that you learn to love through the years.
Stay safe and continue reading everyone.😊❤️
May 17, 2021
Super Buch, gutes Ende für die Geschichte von Wulf. Aber mal schauen, vielleicht geht es ja noch weiter?
June 21, 2024
Lot of plot twist
August 19, 2021
Loving this new series set in the Spooks world by Joseph Delaney . Wulf is developing nicely as a character and now just want another one!
May 7, 2021
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
The Spooks Apprentice: Wulf's Bane is the 2nd book in the brother Wulf series. 3rd book to be confirmed. This story continues Wulf’s story in a new way that we haven’t seen much of from his character. Things happen in this story that leaves the reader like wtf just happened and why did this character do this. I like the chemistry with all the characters and I am very interested to see where they go. The plot is very interesting and I'm so happy we get some answers explained that were left from the first book. I love the dialog in this story and you definitely get closer with the main characters. One of the main things I like about this story is how different my predictions were.
Joseph Delaney has blown my mind with a completely new story that is in the same format and yet an all-new at the same time. He continues to wright this draw dropping plot and wraps them up pretty well. I felt that some moments were sort of slow and then Delaney hits the action button and boom we get the awesome scenes. I'm not too sure if I liked this or the 1st Brother Wulf story but I really do like it. This story really does open the doors and speculation for the 3rd title.
I can’t really say too much because this is spoiler free after all but I highly recommend this book. Fans of The Spook books need this to their collection. It’s a must check out in my opinion.
Thank You for reading!
Further note: Wulf book 3 is almost finished according to his blog. But has not got the green light from the publishers/editors. I am very confident he will :)
The Spooks Apprentice: Wulf's Bane is the 2nd book in the brother Wulf series. 3rd book to be confirmed. This story continues Wulf’s story in a new way that we haven’t seen much of from his character. Things happen in this story that leaves the reader like wtf just happened and why did this character do this. I like the chemistry with all the characters and I am very interested to see where they go. The plot is very interesting and I'm so happy we get some answers explained that were left from the first book. I love the dialog in this story and you definitely get closer with the main characters. One of the main things I like about this story is how different my predictions were.
Joseph Delaney has blown my mind with a completely new story that is in the same format and yet an all-new at the same time. He continues to wright this draw dropping plot and wraps them up pretty well. I felt that some moments were sort of slow and then Delaney hits the action button and boom we get the awesome scenes. I'm not too sure if I liked this or the 1st Brother Wulf story but I really do like it. This story really does open the doors and speculation for the 3rd title.
I can’t really say too much because this is spoiler free after all but I highly recommend this book. Fans of The Spook books need this to their collection. It’s a must check out in my opinion.
Thank You for reading!
Further note: Wulf book 3 is almost finished according to his blog. But has not got the green light from the publishers/editors. I am very confident he will :)
August 2, 2021
Everytime I read a new book in the spook universe I will always be surprised and amazed, even though I am sure that nothing can top what I've already read. Really good book and I loved Wulf's development and his new relationships. I was surprised to see that the book did not end with a cliffhanger😂 really appreciate it as the third book hasn't come out yet. But I am very excited to see what new story we will hear about in the next book. I am looking forward to it😍📖
May 13, 2021
Bringing Wulf into this universe is just pure genius. I'm enjoying this series just as much as I've ever done! Terrific addition to the series - I dread the long wait for the next story from Delaney's hand!
July 31, 2022
Quel plaisir de retrouver cet univers que je suis maintenant depuis tant d’années. Après la découverte de ce nouveau personnage de frère Wulf dans le premier tome, une partie du mystère qui l’habitait est dévoilée. C’est très intéressant de voir l’évolution rapide de ce personnage. Il y avait pas mal de promesses dans ses capacités et elles ont été tenues. Je ne peux pas trop en dire en plus pour ne pas vous spoiler
Le combat contre Circé continue. On retrouve donc les personnages originels de cette saga. C’est pour moi une vraie une madeleine de Proust. Évidemment le temps passe et ils évoluent mais c’est top de replonger dans leur monde même s’ils sont beaucoup moins présents.
C’est super bien écrit et traduit ; merci Marie-Hélène Delval ! Le vocabulaire est riche. L’univers fantastique est très complet. C’est un vrai plaisir ! Même s’il s’agit d’un roman jeunesse, on retrouve la volonté de l’auteur de faire une ambiance plus sombre pour satisfaire les lecteurs qui ont grandi avec la série, ce qui est appréciable.
Vous l’aurez compris, c’est un coup de coeur
Le combat contre Circé continue. On retrouve donc les personnages originels de cette saga. C’est pour moi une vraie une madeleine de Proust. Évidemment le temps passe et ils évoluent mais c’est top de replonger dans leur monde même s’ils sont beaucoup moins présents.
C’est super bien écrit et traduit ; merci Marie-Hélène Delval ! Le vocabulaire est riche. L’univers fantastique est très complet. C’est un vrai plaisir ! Même s’il s’agit d’un roman jeunesse, on retrouve la volonté de l’auteur de faire une ambiance plus sombre pour satisfaire les lecteurs qui ont grandi avec la série, ce qui est appréciable.
Vous l’aurez compris, c’est un coup de coeur
July 18, 2023
A strange tale. With a strange title. Delaney once excelled in masterfully linking many arcs within his stories under one theme. Spook’s Secret or Mistake being key examples. Wulf’s Bane is another attempt at this, but like Dark Assassin it falls short of being impactful.
That’s just my problem with the title lol.
I’m intrigued by the new abilities of our protagonist. But they’re whittled through so quickly as if Delaney has somewhere to be. I get these are for young adults but at this stage the people reading these stories are almost certainly young adults of old, now, like me, plain old adults.
Still not sold on the overarching villain. Literally don’t care. And the entire story seems to completely disregard any love we have for the older more familiar characters we know and love like Tom and Alice. And for what? To fast forward a few years so Delaney can copy and paste the Wardstone love arc? Doesn’t sit with me. All feels too familiar and too different at the same time and at the opposite end of it I just felt ‘meh’.
That’s just my problem with the title lol.
I’m intrigued by the new abilities of our protagonist. But they’re whittled through so quickly as if Delaney has somewhere to be. I get these are for young adults but at this stage the people reading these stories are almost certainly young adults of old, now, like me, plain old adults.
Still not sold on the overarching villain. Literally don’t care. And the entire story seems to completely disregard any love we have for the older more familiar characters we know and love like Tom and Alice. And for what? To fast forward a few years so Delaney can copy and paste the Wardstone love arc? Doesn’t sit with me. All feels too familiar and too different at the same time and at the opposite end of it I just felt ‘meh’.
May 19, 2022
On retrouve enfin notre cher frère Wulf après quasi une année d'absence. Il s'agit ici de la suite direct du premier tome, qui lui-même est la suite des aventures en quelque sorte des aventures de l'Epouvanteur. Ici, la saga se concentre sur frère Wulf, qui s'est renommé simplement Wulf après avoir quitté les ordres du coup.
Donc, l'histoire commence avec Wulf qui suit toujours sa formation avec l'Epouvanteur Johnson, qui a repris le moulin de l'Epouvanteur Arkwright afin de s'occuper des sorcières d'eau. Malheureusement, Johnson n'a pas beaucoup changé depuis le premier tome ; il ne pense qu'à la boisson, mange bien, n'entraîne pas correctement son apprenti, s'auto-félicite pour un rien ... Mais Wulf avait fait son choix à la fin du premier tome.
Bref, l'histoire continue et nous retrouvons plusieurs personnages au fur et à mesure comme Grimalkin, vivant maintenant dans les Enfers, Tom Ward et Alice Dean, leur fille Tilda ainsi qu'un autre personnage que je n'avais pas croisé depuis un petit moment, Thorne, une adolescente assassine, entraînée par Grimalkin ; d'ailleurs, Thorne voulait prendre la place de Grimalkin si je me souviens. Comme cité lors du résumé, Tom Ward envoie l'Epouvanteur Johnson et son apprenti en mission car lui-même est fortement occupé de son côté (la déesse Circé est toujours autant énervée qu'à la fin du premier tome) et ils sont attaqués. Résultat : Johnson a une jambe brisée et Wulf est enlevé par un semi-homme. Du coup, encore un semi-homme, ça m'a fait penser au semi-homme de Mère Malkin que l'on avait croisé dans les premiers tomes de la saga de l'Epouvanteur.
Là où je me disais « Tiens, le semi-homme a sûrement été envoyé par la déesse Circé pour attraper Wulf, immobiliser Johnson pendant un moment, afin d'attirer Tom Ward etc etc ... » et bien je me suis quelque peu trompé. On retrouve une nouvelle espèce de « monstre », même s'il n'en est pas un. Avec ce nouveau personnage, qui est bon, nous en apprenons un peu plus sur le tulpan, une personne ayant certaines habilités ; malheureusement, la personne qui forme Wulf n'en a plus pour longtemps et le temps passe différemment dans cet entre-monde où se trouve Wulf. Quand il ressort de cet entre-monde, ce ne sont pas deux à trois semaines qui sont passées ... mais bien quatorze années durant lesquelles Johnson, Tom, Alice, Grimalkin et autres ont tenté de le chercher, sans succès ... Enfin, certains évènements vont se précipiter et tout cela va déboucher sur un combat assez sympa je dois dire et très bien décrit.
En conclusion, j'ai bien été surpris par ce deuxième tome, malgré qu'il ait fallu attendre quasi une bonne année avant de l'avoir ; la série de l'Epouvanteur, il y avait au début deux tomes parus par année et ici, j'avais chroniqué le premier tome le 11 Mai, pour vous dire. C'est un peu comme la saga Traquemort chez Bragelonne / Milady où j'ai dû attendre quasi un an et demi voire deux ans avant d'avoir la suite et encore la saga n'est pas finie. Pour en revenir à l'Epouvanteur, je me demande bien où ça va mener car autant avec l'arc sur Tom Ward et Alice, on voyait plus ou moins où ça allait mais ici ... C'est un peu différent mais la série se concentre sur Wulf, pas sur Tom ni sur Alice, Wulf. Cela reste néanmoins un très bon tome, très correct et j'aurai bien aimé un dessin ou l'autre afin de voir comment ont évolué physiquement (sur papier en dessins) ces deux personnages. Je me dis qu'avec cette nouvelle série, nous aurons peut-être un autre petit bestiaire afin d'introduire les nouvelles bestiaux, qui sait !
Donc, l'histoire commence avec Wulf qui suit toujours sa formation avec l'Epouvanteur Johnson, qui a repris le moulin de l'Epouvanteur Arkwright afin de s'occuper des sorcières d'eau. Malheureusement, Johnson n'a pas beaucoup changé depuis le premier tome ; il ne pense qu'à la boisson, mange bien, n'entraîne pas correctement son apprenti, s'auto-félicite pour un rien ... Mais Wulf avait fait son choix à la fin du premier tome.
Bref, l'histoire continue et nous retrouvons plusieurs personnages au fur et à mesure comme Grimalkin, vivant maintenant dans les Enfers, Tom Ward et Alice Dean, leur fille Tilda ainsi qu'un autre personnage que je n'avais pas croisé depuis un petit moment, Thorne, une adolescente assassine, entraînée par Grimalkin ; d'ailleurs, Thorne voulait prendre la place de Grimalkin si je me souviens. Comme cité lors du résumé, Tom Ward envoie l'Epouvanteur Johnson et son apprenti en mission car lui-même est fortement occupé de son côté (la déesse Circé est toujours autant énervée qu'à la fin du premier tome) et ils sont attaqués. Résultat : Johnson a une jambe brisée et Wulf est enlevé par un semi-homme. Du coup, encore un semi-homme, ça m'a fait penser au semi-homme de Mère Malkin que l'on avait croisé dans les premiers tomes de la saga de l'Epouvanteur.
Là où je me disais « Tiens, le semi-homme a sûrement été envoyé par la déesse Circé pour attraper Wulf, immobiliser Johnson pendant un moment, afin d'attirer Tom Ward etc etc ... » et bien je me suis quelque peu trompé. On retrouve une nouvelle espèce de « monstre », même s'il n'en est pas un. Avec ce nouveau personnage, qui est bon, nous en apprenons un peu plus sur le tulpan, une personne ayant certaines habilités ; malheureusement, la personne qui forme Wulf n'en a plus pour longtemps et le temps passe différemment dans cet entre-monde où se trouve Wulf. Quand il ressort de cet entre-monde, ce ne sont pas deux à trois semaines qui sont passées ... mais bien quatorze années durant lesquelles Johnson, Tom, Alice, Grimalkin et autres ont tenté de le chercher, sans succès ... Enfin, certains évènements vont se précipiter et tout cela va déboucher sur un combat assez sympa je dois dire et très bien décrit.
En conclusion, j'ai bien été surpris par ce deuxième tome, malgré qu'il ait fallu attendre quasi une bonne année avant de l'avoir ; la série de l'Epouvanteur, il y avait au début deux tomes parus par année et ici, j'avais chroniqué le premier tome le 11 Mai, pour vous dire. C'est un peu comme la saga Traquemort chez Bragelonne / Milady où j'ai dû attendre quasi un an et demi voire deux ans avant d'avoir la suite et encore la saga n'est pas finie. Pour en revenir à l'Epouvanteur, je me demande bien où ça va mener car autant avec l'arc sur Tom Ward et Alice, on voyait plus ou moins où ça allait mais ici ... C'est un peu différent mais la série se concentre sur Wulf, pas sur Tom ni sur Alice, Wulf. Cela reste néanmoins un très bon tome, très correct et j'aurai bien aimé un dessin ou l'autre afin de voir comment ont évolué physiquement (sur papier en dessins) ces deux personnages. Je me dis qu'avec cette nouvelle série, nous aurons peut-être un autre petit bestiaire afin d'introduire les nouvelles bestiaux, qui sait !
May 1, 2023
Les personnages sont attachants, et c'est toujours un univers que j'apprécie ; aussi l'idée du Tulpan est vraiment chouette ! Cependant je trouve quand même que le scénario est vraiment moins bien mené que la saga initiale sur Tom Ward. Tout s'enchaîne très vite, on a pas le temps de prendre conscience des enjeux, tout semble assez facile aussi pour les personnages. Aussi, beaucoup de similitudes quand même avec la saga de l'epouvanteur, c'est un peu dommage. Bref, j'ai passé un bon moment, mais peu de surprises et renouvellement.
February 7, 2024
Good series. I'm not impressed by the villain, but there hasn't been as much time including the character. Frustrating how powerful characters from prior series are suddenly always getting defeated or captured. Loved Tom and Alice, but Wulf and Tilda are a but too similar in dynamics and personality. Also, I wasn't a fan of the time jump. That felt jarring and mainly was just used to get Tilda and Wulf to a close age to develop their relationship. I'm glad we got a bit more of my favorite character, Grimalkin. Looking forward to the rest of the series.
January 10, 2023
Whenever I pick up a book of Joseph Delaney, I know that I'm going to enjoy myself.
The issue I see with the Brother Wulf series is that it doesn't seem very realistic to me how Tom and Alice, whose power in the previous series appeared to have reached their apex, still find ways to get defeated.
The issue I see with the Brother Wulf series is that it doesn't seem very realistic to me how Tom and Alice, whose power in the previous series appeared to have reached their apex, still find ways to get defeated.
June 19, 2022
Fini et il frôle le coup de cœur ! J'ai tout aimé : retrouver Wulf, l'inventivité pour ce tome, toutes ces révélations, ces nouveautés qui peuplaient le récit. Et évidemment, retrouver Tom Ward et Alice, quel bonheur. Bref, j'ai très très hâte de lire le tome 3 ! Je serais évidemment au rendez-vous !
April 14, 2022
I read all the Spook’s Apprentice series as a teenager and recently stumbled upon this next instalment. It has been wonderful to come back to familiar characters and countryside once more! Thank you Joseph Delaney
January 23, 2024
Wulf became quite whiney in this one, and Tilda is very bossy. Didn't particularly like the time jump either. But was intrigued by the new powers and seeing them all develop. Always enjoy seeing Thorne and Grimalkin
February 8, 2024
I enjoy everything I read from this author and this is no different. I like how much Wulf is developing, even if it is a bit too fast. Not loving how the other characters are all just getting absolutely destroyed by the villian in this series.
October 8, 2024
Un plaisir de retrouver Wulf. L'epouvanteur c'est ma madeleine de proust. Retrouver Chipenden en cette saison automnale c'est mon petit plaisir ❤️ J'ai adoré ce tome 2. Le système de magie m'a fait pensé à celui de Pierre bottero dans la saga Ewilan ✨️
May 16, 2021
Circe is a formidable opponent. This book should not be read at night. I like the character changes.
June 4, 2021
Great
Fantastic it just ended to quick..can't wait for the next.please hurry up with the next one.hope it's as good as
Fantastic it just ended to quick..can't wait for the next.please hurry up with the next one.hope it's as good as
January 21, 2022
This book was amazing, I did not expect it to take that turn yet I loved it!
May 15, 2022
Très cool, se lit rapidement, maintenant j'espère voir plus de Tilda dans le prochain livre car on la connait avec plus de défauts que de qualités (hâte de voir en quoi elle n'est pas comme sa mère)
October 23, 2022
Incroyable
February 2, 2023
I had to struggle with this one 😩.
April 29, 2023
Amazing amazing amazing!
Joseph Delaney never disappoints. This one has a new character and new concepts that take this to the next level.
Joseph Delaney never disappoints. This one has a new character and new concepts that take this to the next level.
January 23, 2024
Great read!
Another fun, pleasant book by Joseph Delaney. I always enjoy reading his Spook books. Looking forward to the next one!
Another fun, pleasant book by Joseph Delaney. I always enjoy reading his Spook books. Looking forward to the next one!
March 20, 2024
Great continuation of the story. Looking forward to book 3.
June 28, 2024
Tilda SLAYS
September 8, 2024
Always a good read!
I have enjoyed Joseph Delaney's Spook books for years. Enough of a story and legend to keep one occupied but not enough to "bog" one down!
I have enjoyed Joseph Delaney's Spook books for years. Enough of a story and legend to keep one occupied but not enough to "bog" one down!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews