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The Spook's Apprentice: Brother Wulf #3
The Last Spook
Another thrilling and magical adventure from master storyteller Joseph Delaney, set in the multi-million copy bestselling world of The Spook's Apprentice
We are entering a new age of darkness. Hell has grown in power and neither priest nor Spook can do anything about it. So go home now while you can . . .
Years have passed since Wulf and Tilda vanished from the County. Alice and Tom have given up hope of ever seeing them again - until a terrible enemy from the past forces them to take drastic action, and reach out through time in a bid for help.
Now Wulf faces the greatest and most powerful demon who has ever walked the the Fiend. He will have to use all his powers - and gather some new ones - to have even a chance of survival . . .
We are entering a new age of darkness. Hell has grown in power and neither priest nor Spook can do anything about it. So go home now while you can . . .
Years have passed since Wulf and Tilda vanished from the County. Alice and Tom have given up hope of ever seeing them again - until a terrible enemy from the past forces them to take drastic action, and reach out through time in a bid for help.
Now Wulf faces the greatest and most powerful demon who has ever walked the the Fiend. He will have to use all his powers - and gather some new ones - to have even a chance of survival . . .
303 pages, Paperback
First published June 30, 2022
9 people are currently reading
358 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Delaney
59 books3,981 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 - 28 of 28 reviews
February 24, 2023
In the end, Wulf is the one, left behind ...
July 26, 2022
Tja, der letzte Spook… Ich bin echt hin und hergerissen bei diesem Buch. Einerseits war es wie immer super gut & spannend geschrieben. Andererseits war es aber echt hart, Alice und Tom als alte Menschen zu sehen. Ausserdem scheint es so, als hätte Tilda keine Kinder gehabt. Das wäre wirklich schade. Mir würde es sehr gut gefallen, wenn man sagen könnte, dass Toms & Alices Nachfahren noch immer im County - heute Lancashire - leben.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2022
Take care spoiler!!
Sigh, is it already over? I basically finished this book in about a day and I just couldnt leave it until I finished it. I really liked the book, I liked the story, I like the way the story is being deliver ed in this one, but the ending left me soooo sad that it was actually pretty hard for me to continue. Its actually crazy that we have been part of the entire life of Tom, from when he was a young kid, until he was about the age of John Gregory and died but at least he was together with Alice and his daughter until the end. I just hope there is something more with these characters because just them dying like that after a century has passed in fast forward after Wulf defeat the fiend its a bit too fast of an ending for them imo. Especially since Wulf and Alice didnt separate in really good terms and also Wulf and Tilda so would be sad if the last meeting between them was a bit of a quarrel. Heard that there should be a 4th one so we will see whats next, I really can't wait for the next one!
Sigh, is it already over? I basically finished this book in about a day and I just couldnt leave it until I finished it. I really liked the book, I liked the story, I like the way the story is being deliver ed in this one, but the ending left me soooo sad that it was actually pretty hard for me to continue. Its actually crazy that we have been part of the entire life of Tom, from when he was a young kid, until he was about the age of John Gregory and died but at least he was together with Alice and his daughter until the end. I just hope there is something more with these characters because just them dying like that after a century has passed in fast forward after Wulf defeat the fiend its a bit too fast of an ending for them imo. Especially since Wulf and Alice didnt separate in really good terms and also Wulf and Tilda so would be sad if the last meeting between them was a bit of a quarrel. Heard that there should be a 4th one so we will see whats next, I really can't wait for the next one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2022
I read all the books and whereas I like the writing style of joseph delaney I think he kind of ruined the Wardstone chronicles world with the brother Wulf. The dead of Tom and Alice etc. , the 35 years that went in a whim, also how easy the fiend was defeated in one book while in the wardstone chronicles it took multiple books. I think that he did the series a bit wrong by trying to push so much so fast.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2023
Terminé et rolala ! Ce tome 3 avait un goût particulier, avec la disparition de l'auteur. Mais j'y ai retrouvé tout ce que j'avais précédemment aimé. Cependant, je ne m'attendais pas à une telle intrigue et de tels retournements de situation ! Bref, j'ai adoré !
July 29, 2022
Good
The book was good all in all. I would have loved this story to include more of Tom and Alice's life together
The book was good all in all. I would have loved this story to include more of Tom and Alice's life together
July 20, 2023
Significantly better than the previous Wulf tales purely because the focus is, at least somewhat, put back on our original team of protagonists from Wardstone and Starblade. But boy oh boy are the stans not gonna be pleased with the outcome!
I’ve said it about previous Wulf tales and I’ll say it again: copy and paste. Delaney takes the best of previous tales and meshes them together in yet another messy and sadly unoriginal story that leaves much to be desired.
I’m glad Delaney found a new way to be creative and tell new stories by focusing on the tulpas so heavily in this series, but when it’s at the expense of so much world building and character development from previous chronicles, none of it sits right with me. The legacy of everything that came before within this wider Spook’s series feels tainted by where this particular story, and the Wulf series as a whole, takes us.
Characters are brought back with little to no explanation. Other characters and story beats are forgotten entirely, cast aside as if their implicated importance in this and previous books meant nothing. The motivations of certain character actions or decisions feel unfleshed out and, frankly, inauthentic to them. And time is yet again played with in a shoddy, messy, unsatisfying way with little regard for the mechanics of how or why.
The saving grace is every chapter through the perspective of Alice. Delaney has finally, in my opinion, found her voice and, unlike previous tales from her perspective, you really do feel immersed in the mind and body of her every step you’re with her. It made the first half of this book feel like coming home. It’s just a shame that the overall narrative and the rest of the book don’t do the same.
Overall Delaney’s problem from as far back as Slither’s Tale has been not having a plan. And it’s affected my enjoyment of these books ever since.
I’ve said it about previous Wulf tales and I’ll say it again: copy and paste. Delaney takes the best of previous tales and meshes them together in yet another messy and sadly unoriginal story that leaves much to be desired.
I’m glad Delaney found a new way to be creative and tell new stories by focusing on the tulpas so heavily in this series, but when it’s at the expense of so much world building and character development from previous chronicles, none of it sits right with me. The legacy of everything that came before within this wider Spook’s series feels tainted by where this particular story, and the Wulf series as a whole, takes us.
Characters are brought back with little to no explanation. Other characters and story beats are forgotten entirely, cast aside as if their implicated importance in this and previous books meant nothing. The motivations of certain character actions or decisions feel unfleshed out and, frankly, inauthentic to them. And time is yet again played with in a shoddy, messy, unsatisfying way with little regard for the mechanics of how or why.
The saving grace is every chapter through the perspective of Alice. Delaney has finally, in my opinion, found her voice and, unlike previous tales from her perspective, you really do feel immersed in the mind and body of her every step you’re with her. It made the first half of this book feel like coming home. It’s just a shame that the overall narrative and the rest of the book don’t do the same.
Overall Delaney’s problem from as far back as Slither’s Tale has been not having a plan. And it’s affected my enjoyment of these books ever since.
August 7, 2022
I had a bad feeling the second I opened the book. It was as if a witch cast Dread on me. This kept me at the edge of my seat, so much so that I read it all in one sitting. It was cool to see all the callbacks and references to the previous books, but I feel like this was all done as a setup for the 4th book. Now we get to where my bad feeling was confirmed. The one thing that irritated me with this book is not only the fact that Tom is dead now but the fact that we don't know how. I was expecting that if Tom were to be killed off, he would've done so in battle like Old Gregory. I've given myself a couple of weeks to try and process it and essentially grieve the friends that I've had for the past 15 years. So all in all, I guess as a long-time reader who grew up with Tom and Alice, I felt pretty burned by the ending. I'm crossing my fingers that they somehow can make an appearance or how they died is explained in the next book.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5, but since I can't do half stars on here it's just a 3.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5, but since I can't do half stars on here it's just a 3.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2023
Et voilà, dernier tome et livre de Joseph Delaney. C'était chouette et émouvant. 😢
June 28, 2024
I love all of the spooks books so much!!!!!!
Having everyone be dead at the end was so cruel
Also I found Wulfs insistence at going into the dark to be really out of character and his outburst at Alice. Maybe because he was splitting is soul so much? He learnt nothing in following Hrothgar really that he hadn’t already guessed. Obviously it was a major w to re-destroy the fiend but it’s so sad he went for no reason and lost all his friends. Also it feels weird to me to have a whole series dedicated to destroying the Fiend to just destroy him in the course of a book
Also it irked me a little that he never used the warrior tulpa and we led to believe he was already an epic fighter? I know it was a tulpa inate ability but he suggests he has used it on many occasions and yet we heard nothing about that.
He barely seems like the saintly boy from the first one it’s just a completely different person. Although s lot of time has passed it hasn’t at all for Wulf and tilda that’s what I don’t get
I wanted more of Alice and Tom growing old together and living with the boggart. It also feels weird to me they would never consider that tilda and Wulfs disappearance was the unstable underworld times as they had already encountered this concept instead they assumed their daughter betrayed them.
Having everyone be dead at the end was so cruel
Also I found Wulfs insistence at going into the dark to be really out of character and his outburst at Alice. Maybe because he was splitting is soul so much? He learnt nothing in following Hrothgar really that he hadn’t already guessed. Obviously it was a major w to re-destroy the fiend but it’s so sad he went for no reason and lost all his friends. Also it feels weird to me to have a whole series dedicated to destroying the Fiend to just destroy him in the course of a book
Also it irked me a little that he never used the warrior tulpa and we led to believe he was already an epic fighter? I know it was a tulpa inate ability but he suggests he has used it on many occasions and yet we heard nothing about that.
He barely seems like the saintly boy from the first one it’s just a completely different person. Although s lot of time has passed it hasn’t at all for Wulf and tilda that’s what I don’t get
I wanted more of Alice and Tom growing old together and living with the boggart. It also feels weird to me they would never consider that tilda and Wulfs disappearance was the unstable underworld times as they had already encountered this concept instead they assumed their daughter betrayed them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2025
The Last Spook is the third part of the The Spook's Apprentice series. I have not read the earlier parts so it took me a while in the beginning to understand what it was about. This part continues the story from the earlier parts so I would recommend reading them in sequence.
The book is divided into two sections. The first one is Alice's tale and it tells about how Alice and Tom believe they have come across something evil but it may be that this is not the case after all. The second section is Wulf's tale which takes the story back nearly 30 years in time. In this one Wulf receives a message from the current day as Wulf has been living in another world where the passing of time is different.
This book is a classic story of battle between good and evil. It is exciting and mysterious yet the story takes some time to develop. I would recommend this book to whomever is interested in supernatural suspense but definitely read the series in order as that helps you to follow all the storylines.
The book is divided into two sections. The first one is Alice's tale and it tells about how Alice and Tom believe they have come across something evil but it may be that this is not the case after all. The second section is Wulf's tale which takes the story back nearly 30 years in time. In this one Wulf receives a message from the current day as Wulf has been living in another world where the passing of time is different.
This book is a classic story of battle between good and evil. It is exciting and mysterious yet the story takes some time to develop. I would recommend this book to whomever is interested in supernatural suspense but definitely read the series in order as that helps you to follow all the storylines.
August 20, 2023
Im going to be honest, I think maybe delaney knew he was going to sadly pass away as the book seems to try and wrap up everything in only 303 pages. Almost nothing new was brought to the table in the brother wulf series but i felt the previous 2 books were alright because if a few good new characters. Delaney reuse the time skips twice in this book and the fiend magically comes back with almost no explanation. Hrothgar dies again? Which was odd and shows little planning and the book ends with wulf being gone for so long and killing the fiend in one battle that EVERYONE is dead. Plot lines like johnson were also abandoned in this book. The series did not need to end on this note and it may have been better for it to end before brother wulf. For some reason jenny also comes back which just shows that delaney was struggling for new material. I don’t mind a bit if reuse but it was excessive. The only reason im giving this review 2 stars is because i liked the rat mage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2025
Alice is a spook, he works with his friend Tom who is older than him. Alice is a teenager boy who hunts and fights things from the underworld to stop them from coming to the overworld. Tom is an adult about to enter old age. Although Tom has to use a cane to walk he doesn't refuse to not help Alice in any way possible. When Fiend shows him self in the ghost ship Alice and Tom both get spooked. But they decided to hunt him instead of backing off.
My overall rating for this book isn't amazing because it wasn't quite my type of book but the Topic was some what interesting
My overall rating for this book isn't amazing because it wasn't quite my type of book but the Topic was some what interesting
October 13, 2023
J'avais hâte de lire la suite des aventures des épouvanteurs ...
Le final me laisse dubitatif ... Le sort réservé aux personnages de l'ancien saga est trop rapidement expédié. Très triste de ne pas pouvoir connaître la suite des aventures de Wulf ... peut-être qu'un auteur prendra un jour la suite de l'histoire ... Qui sait ...
Le final me laisse dubitatif ... Le sort réservé aux personnages de l'ancien saga est trop rapidement expédié. Très triste de ne pas pouvoir connaître la suite des aventures de Wulf ... peut-être qu'un auteur prendra un jour la suite de l'histoire ... Qui sait ...
November 8, 2022
Goodbye Tom & Alice
Good grief was I not ready to sad goodbye to these two.
Joseph has done something amazing here and makes you feel for each character, tugging on those heart strings. I took some emotional blows, but naturally can’t wait for the next one.
Good grief was I not ready to sad goodbye to these two.
Joseph has done something amazing here and makes you feel for each character, tugging on those heart strings. I took some emotional blows, but naturally can’t wait for the next one.
January 26, 2024
Didn't like this one as much, lots of time jumps which spoilt it for me. The ending was also too vague. It was a shame as i had really enjoyed this mini series. But worth reading if you want to follow it all the way through.
May 1, 2022
great
August 9, 2022
Unputdownable
Another great read from Mr Delaney. Enjoyed every page. Couldn't put it down. Pity it's the last one. Thanks Joseph.
Another great read from Mr Delaney. Enjoyed every page. Couldn't put it down. Pity it's the last one. Thanks Joseph.
September 27, 2022
It was a trap.
Can't believe there's still book 4. Don't know how to reAct to grimalkin's girl.
The boat scene was creepy.
Can't believe there's still book 4. Don't know how to reAct to grimalkin's girl.
The boat scene was creepy.
February 8, 2023
Loved this one.... the ending made me sad !
May 25, 2023
i don't want to say goodbye to the county just yet
May 10, 2024
Good story...but sad as well. Stories never end, books do.
February 22, 2023
This is one of the few books from Joseph Delaney that made me bawl my eyes out. Not only the realisiation that the Brother Wulf seires will be the very last one and then this whole journey ends, but also seing how Tom, Alice and Tilda were in their graves. I look forward to the next, and last book. I will forever love anything related to "The spooks apprentice" seires and it is truly astonishing to see how far this seires went, knowing that it started when Tom was only 12.
March 17, 2023
The first half of the book is a narrative told by Alice. It's an adventure shared by her and Tom alone reflecting how her power has waned with age, and her spook's as well. It made me nostalgic for the day she touched Tom’s arm and marked him as her own. In fact, after The Last Spook, I have begun to re-read the original series again. What a difference in voice compared to The Starblade Chronicles !
Some things just don't make sense as we move into a story predominantly about Wulf. There is no way our Alice would not even so much as check up on her daughter, (nor did Tom for that matter,) for thirty full years, no matter how bad the argument they had. And the tiff we are told about seems trivial.
Delaney gets pretty savage sometimes, (Lucrasta…) and exceptionally so with Wulf. First the protagonist just straight up dies, becoming a living memory, a tulpa, then here, well-- no spoilers, but the ending is rather bleak and what happens in The Dark also means that after the last book, Tom never again worked with Grimalkin. (Also Delaney seems to have changed the character Thorne; once (perhaps only in my imagination,) enamored of Grimalkin, she suddenly throws herself at Wulf.
Overall, this was a fantastic return to the world of The Spook's Apprentice. Tom and Alice working together to defeat the Dark ...which is rising once again.
Some things just don't make sense as we move into a story predominantly about Wulf. There is no way our Alice would not even so much as check up on her daughter, (nor did Tom for that matter,) for thirty full years, no matter how bad the argument they had. And the tiff we are told about seems trivial.
Delaney gets pretty savage sometimes, (Lucrasta…) and exceptionally so with Wulf. First the protagonist just straight up dies, becoming a living memory, a tulpa, then here, well-- no spoilers, but the ending is rather bleak and what happens in The Dark also means that after the last book, Tom never again worked with Grimalkin. (Also Delaney seems to have changed the character Thorne; once (perhaps only in my imagination,) enamored of Grimalkin, she suddenly throws herself at Wulf.
Overall, this was a fantastic return to the world of The Spook's Apprentice. Tom and Alice working together to defeat the Dark ...which is rising once again.
April 30, 2023
Comme le dit l'adage « Toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin ». Avant-dernier tome de la saga Frère Wulf et, en général, de la saga de L'Epouvanteur, nous retrouvons nos personnages favoris. Rempli de surprise, ce tome nous réservera autant de bons que de tristes moments. A contre-coeur, il faudra dire au revoir à certains personnages adorés dans ce tome. En guise de petite phrase d'introduction à l'arrière de la première de couverture, nous en avons une assez sympa : « Pour ta sécurité autant que la mienne, Wulf, refrène ta curiosité. Si tu réussissais à ouvrir cette porte, nous le regretterions tous. Il y a des choses qu'il vaut mieux ignorer, des choses auxquelles il ne faut même pas penser. »
Pour changer, on va commencer par les personnages. Nous retrouvons nos personnages favoris avec Wulf et Tilda, Tom et Alice, le géant Hrothgar, Malkin et Thorne, son ancienne partie. Le dieu Pan fait aussi une petite apparition du dieu Pan.
Maintenant, passons à l'histoire. Elle est divisée en deux parties : les 14 premiers chapitres racontent la vie de Tom et Alice suivi après du récit de Wulf, trente ans plus tôt. La partie sur Tom commence assez calmement, nos deux personnages ayant vieilli, la magie d'Alice diminuant avec l'âge. Après un passage à l'église, Tom et Alice vont enquêter sur un phénomène étrange car un fermier a peur pour ses trois enfants qui ont été enlevé ; deux cas se rajoutent car des fantômes ont été aperçus dans un village et des griffes profondes ont été aperçues sur des portes dans deux villages différents. Néanmoins, Alice et Tom voient une ancienne décédée revenir vers eux, en excellente forme et prête à les aider. J'avoue que ça m'a laissé un peu perplexe car sa mort m'avait rendu assez triste car je m'étais attaché à ce personnage. Après tous ces mystères, un ancien ennemi fait son réapparition : le Malin ! De plus, il semble que Grimalkin soit décédée car aucune réponse de sa part lorsque notre trio est sur le point de mourir. Après, nous avons Wulf et Tilda, trente ans plus tôt. Tilda et Alice se disputent car Tilda veut quitter la maison familiale pour aller avec Wulf qui lui veut retourner chez Hrothgar pour parfaire son éducation. Mais pleins d'incidents et d’événements vont se dérouler et le roman a tout de même une fin triste, assez triste à mes yeux.
Certes, toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin mais c'est parfois difficile car on s'attache aux personnages. Je ne vais pas vous spoiler l'histoire mais pour ceux ou celles qui commenceraient Frère Wulf, je conseillerai de lire en premier la saga de L'Epouvanteur car certains personnages, surtout dans les derniers tomes, ont un rôle important dans Frère Wulf. En tous les cas, avec tous les dieux et déesses de cette saga, quand un(e) dieu (déesse) meurt, parfois le temps s'écoule plus rapidement dans un monde que dans l'autre. C'est dur de ne pas raconter et ne pas spoiler ! Bref, c'est très troublant mais surtout triste cette fin de roman et sachant que c'est l'avant-dernier tome ... Car oui, l'auteur est décédé en 2022 donc à moins qu'il y ait quelqu'un pour reprendre le flambeau pour écrire la suite mais tout en sachant que le tome 4 de Frère Wulf est censé être le tout dernier tome ... Ce roman est un must-have à mes yeux !
Vous ne le savez peut-être pas mais Joseph Delaney avec le premier tome de L'Epouvanteur, c'est lui qui m'a fait adoré la lecture. Je détestais ça avant et quand j'ai découvert ce tome en première secondaire, j'ai eu le déclic, comme si tout un univers s'ouvrait à moi et depuis mes 12 ans, j'achète et je lis chaque tome de L'Epouvanteur et de Frère Wulf depuis 2004. C'est pourquoi cette saga est aussi importante à mes yeux car comme d'autres avec la saga Harry Potter, j'ai grandi avec ces personnages touchants. Enfin bref, en conclusion, comme je le disais, c'est un roman must-have à mes yeux, l'avant-dernier tome d'une saga qui aura marqué son temps !
Pour changer, on va commencer par les personnages. Nous retrouvons nos personnages favoris avec Wulf et Tilda, Tom et Alice, le géant Hrothgar, Malkin et Thorne, son ancienne partie. Le dieu Pan fait aussi une petite apparition du dieu Pan.
Maintenant, passons à l'histoire. Elle est divisée en deux parties : les 14 premiers chapitres racontent la vie de Tom et Alice suivi après du récit de Wulf, trente ans plus tôt. La partie sur Tom commence assez calmement, nos deux personnages ayant vieilli, la magie d'Alice diminuant avec l'âge. Après un passage à l'église, Tom et Alice vont enquêter sur un phénomène étrange car un fermier a peur pour ses trois enfants qui ont été enlevé ; deux cas se rajoutent car des fantômes ont été aperçus dans un village et des griffes profondes ont été aperçues sur des portes dans deux villages différents. Néanmoins, Alice et Tom voient une ancienne décédée revenir vers eux, en excellente forme et prête à les aider. J'avoue que ça m'a laissé un peu perplexe car sa mort m'avait rendu assez triste car je m'étais attaché à ce personnage. Après tous ces mystères, un ancien ennemi fait son réapparition : le Malin ! De plus, il semble que Grimalkin soit décédée car aucune réponse de sa part lorsque notre trio est sur le point de mourir. Après, nous avons Wulf et Tilda, trente ans plus tôt. Tilda et Alice se disputent car Tilda veut quitter la maison familiale pour aller avec Wulf qui lui veut retourner chez Hrothgar pour parfaire son éducation. Mais pleins d'incidents et d’événements vont se dérouler et le roman a tout de même une fin triste, assez triste à mes yeux.
Certes, toutes les bonnes choses ont une fin mais c'est parfois difficile car on s'attache aux personnages. Je ne vais pas vous spoiler l'histoire mais pour ceux ou celles qui commenceraient Frère Wulf, je conseillerai de lire en premier la saga de L'Epouvanteur car certains personnages, surtout dans les derniers tomes, ont un rôle important dans Frère Wulf. En tous les cas, avec tous les dieux et déesses de cette saga, quand un(e) dieu (déesse) meurt, parfois le temps s'écoule plus rapidement dans un monde que dans l'autre. C'est dur de ne pas raconter et ne pas spoiler ! Bref, c'est très troublant mais surtout triste cette fin de roman et sachant que c'est l'avant-dernier tome ... Car oui, l'auteur est décédé en 2022 donc à moins qu'il y ait quelqu'un pour reprendre le flambeau pour écrire la suite mais tout en sachant que le tome 4 de Frère Wulf est censé être le tout dernier tome ... Ce roman est un must-have à mes yeux !
Vous ne le savez peut-être pas mais Joseph Delaney avec le premier tome de L'Epouvanteur, c'est lui qui m'a fait adoré la lecture. Je détestais ça avant et quand j'ai découvert ce tome en première secondaire, j'ai eu le déclic, comme si tout un univers s'ouvrait à moi et depuis mes 12 ans, j'achète et je lis chaque tome de L'Epouvanteur et de Frère Wulf depuis 2004. C'est pourquoi cette saga est aussi importante à mes yeux car comme d'autres avec la saga Harry Potter, j'ai grandi avec ces personnages touchants. Enfin bref, en conclusion, comme je le disais, c'est un roman must-have à mes yeux, l'avant-dernier tome d'une saga qui aura marqué son temps !
September 8, 2023
Je suis toujours autant émerveillé par la manière dont Joseph Delaney parvient à nous embarquer dans un univers qui nous paraît bien réel, un peu trop à mon goût lorsque la nuit tombe.
Je dois admettre que ce troisième volume m’a laissé perplexe tant au moment de le commencer qu’à la toute dernière page. Je m’étais tellement habitué à vivre aux côtés de Tom Ward l’épouvanteur que je ne m’attendais pas le retrouver dans les dernières années de sa vie. Pire encore, l’auteur nous propose une intrigue express où l’impression qu’il s’agit de l’ultime ouvrage de la série est omniprésente.
Heureusement que le 4ème volume est déjà publié en VO, sans quoi cela aurait été une lecture très décevante. Je ne parviens pas à expliquer cette précipitation autrement que par une volonté de mettre, « enfin », une distinction claire et nette entre L’épouvanteur et Frère Wulf. Mais une fois que l’on prend conscience qu’il s’agit d’un ouvrage qui introduit une nouvelle ère, on y prend beaucoup de plaisir tout en étant soulagé que l’aventure ne se terminera pas maintenant.
Les derniers chapitres furent très émouvants et les adieux proposés au lecteur que je suis m’ont totalement transpercés. Ce fut, bien évidemment, une lecture coup de coeur, même si Delaney nous offre un ouvrage intermédiaire où l’on ne sait pas vraiment où se situe la frontière entre ses deux oeuvres majeures.
Je dois admettre que ce troisième volume m’a laissé perplexe tant au moment de le commencer qu’à la toute dernière page. Je m’étais tellement habitué à vivre aux côtés de Tom Ward l’épouvanteur que je ne m’attendais pas le retrouver dans les dernières années de sa vie. Pire encore, l’auteur nous propose une intrigue express où l’impression qu’il s’agit de l’ultime ouvrage de la série est omniprésente.
Heureusement que le 4ème volume est déjà publié en VO, sans quoi cela aurait été une lecture très décevante. Je ne parviens pas à expliquer cette précipitation autrement que par une volonté de mettre, « enfin », une distinction claire et nette entre L’épouvanteur et Frère Wulf. Mais une fois que l’on prend conscience qu’il s’agit d’un ouvrage qui introduit une nouvelle ère, on y prend beaucoup de plaisir tout en étant soulagé que l’aventure ne se terminera pas maintenant.
Les derniers chapitres furent très émouvants et les adieux proposés au lecteur que je suis m’ont totalement transpercés. Ce fut, bien évidemment, une lecture coup de coeur, même si Delaney nous offre un ouvrage intermédiaire où l’on ne sait pas vraiment où se situe la frontière entre ses deux oeuvres majeures.
January 26, 2023
3,75
The book started out very strong, and i thought it would be another 5 star read. However, the plot slowly started to feel rushed and weird. As a reader from the early days, who grew up with Tom and Alice, i had i very hard time having to accept that both them and Tilda had just died from one page to the other.
I would've loved to have known more about their deaths and if they did end up in the light together.
The defeating of the fiend seemed so unnatural to me. It took multiple books to gather the power to beat him in the first chronicles, but in this book it was almost just a "meh might as well" from Wulf, which seemed so unnatural, as we know how insanely powerful the fiend is.
It was a little to easy in my opinion.
These things are what is keeping me from the five stars, the writing style otherwise is on point as per usual, and hearing about Tom and Alice again was like catching up with old friends.
The book started out very strong, and i thought it would be another 5 star read. However, the plot slowly started to feel rushed and weird. As a reader from the early days, who grew up with Tom and Alice, i had i very hard time having to accept that both them and Tilda had just died from one page to the other.
I would've loved to have known more about their deaths and if they did end up in the light together.
The defeating of the fiend seemed so unnatural to me. It took multiple books to gather the power to beat him in the first chronicles, but in this book it was almost just a "meh might as well" from Wulf, which seemed so unnatural, as we know how insanely powerful the fiend is.
It was a little to easy in my opinion.
These things are what is keeping me from the five stars, the writing style otherwise is on point as per usual, and hearing about Tom and Alice again was like catching up with old friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2023
Since I didn't write a review the first time I read it, I'll do it now. this is my second time reading this book (4/9/23) and I don't think it's the best of the 3 so far. this one is more action packed than the previous 2 and I really liked the dual pov between wulf and Alice in this but I still think the previous book is the best one of the 3 I've read, I've still got to read the final one and that may change which is my favourite but for now, the 2nd is my favourite
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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