Customer Reviews

The Last Apprentice:Revenge of the Witch (AUDIOBOOK) [CD]

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When a kid comes up to me in the library (I'm a children's librarian) and asks for something scary I usually hem and haw and eventually hand them "Scary Stories To Tell In the Dark", as a starter. If they ask for scarier fare (which, honestly, shouldn't be hard) I'm usually hard pressed to come up with something truly frightening. I suppose there's good old "Wait Till Helen Comes" but all too often children's books rely far more on atmosphere rather than out-and-out teeth chattering terror. Enter Joseph Delaney. Delaney has been writing fantasy and sorcery tales for adults since 1985 and with "Revenge of the Witch" he makes his first foray into the world of children's literature. A significant step it is too. Chilling, nail-biting, and downright enjoyable, the book is bound to be loved by reluctant readers, die-hard fantasy fans, and those good souls that appreciate a tincture of good children's literature.

Being the seventh son in a family means that when it comes to a lifetime occupation, there isn't much to chose from. Fortunately for Thomas Ward, he isn't just a seventh son. He's the seventh son of a seventh son and that means something special. Unlike normal people, Thomas can hear the ghasts of hanged men up on a hill near his home. He can sense and see things that would frighten even the stoutest of hearts. It seems logical then that he should be apprenticed to a spook. Spooks roam the county keeping people safe from everything from boggarts to witches. Thomas is doing well enough and goes to live in the spook's home. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse when a local girl persuades Thomas to feed some sticky cakes to a witch trapped underground by the spook. Now Thomas must go head to head with a particularly nasty witch and her kin before innocent lives (including his own) are lost.

The whole seventh son of a seventh son idea has been used to great advantage by a wide variety of authors. The best known, I suppose, would have to be "Seventh Son" by Orson Scott Card. For his part, Delaney has taken great care to work British myths, legends, and local superstitions seamlessly into the framework of "Revenge of the Witch". If you see him discussing a hairy boggart or a cattle ripper you can bet that he's incorporated the idea from a regional belief or story. He's also worked his own experiences into the text. At one point in the book Thomas has to spend a night in a haunted house and at the stroke of midnight go into the basement to face whatever might be lurking below. The whole kid-spends-a-night-in-a-haunted-house idea is ancient and, had I heard about it without reading this book, I would have called it a bit trite. "Revenge of the Witch", however, makes the concept completely mind-blowingly frightening. The sequence, as it happens, was drawn from Delaney's own experiences as a child. In an interview with "The Independent", Delaney had this to say: "the haunted house in Watery Lane is a house that I lived in as a child. It was a terraced house next to a canal. When we lived there I used to have a recurring dream. I'd be in the room with my mother knitting and it would be warm and cosy. Then it would start getting darker and colder. I'd know that something was going to happen and I couldn't move. Then this thing would come up from the cellar and move into the room, like a shadow. It would pick me up and carry me towards the coal cellar. All of the children in our family had the same dream. Years later we talked about it and discovered that we'd all had the same dream. We all believed that if we'd been taken down into the cellar we would have died". So there you have it. The terrors of real life are neatly synthesized into a children's book that'll have you eyeing your own basement reluctantly for weeks on end.

The book was originally published in Great Britain and what with the British covers of children's books so often trumping America's I was amazed when I discovered that Greenwillow Publishers had tapped an especially unique resource right here at home. You see, for all the charms of "The Spook's Apprentice" (as it was called in England), there weren't any illustrations in the original tome. Enter our very own homegrown artist Patrick Arrasmith. Using a style that looks like woodcuts but may well be scratchboard art (it's difficult to tell and his homepage ain't saying) Arrasmith's art eloquently ups the creepy tone of "Revenge of the Witch" significantly. From its haunting cover art to illustrations of everything from a fist dripping blood to a single hand holding a candle flame, Arrasmith is the perfect complement to Delaney's dark tale. At first glance Arrasmith's work looks similar to that of "Wicked" illustrator Bill Sanderson, but of the two I think Arrasmith allows for a greater sense of atmosphere and tone.

There are plenty of nasty ends, bitten off fingers, and baby eating witches here to frighten off the weak. For those amongst you that don't mind a little gore with your scares and some fine fine writing as well, "Revenge of the Witch" is the perfect gift for the kids who want to be scared but find everything in the library a bit too tame.

Hard to believe but it's almost here - the spookiest night of the year, Halloween. It's a night for ghost stories and all manner of frightening tales. Put "The Last Apprentice" at the top of your list.

Young listeners in grades 5 through 8 will easily relate to Thomas and shiver as he tells his chilling story. He lived in England many, many years ago when Old Gregory was in charge of ridding the villages of devil's disciples and other forms of evil. Well, that is a taxing job and poor Gregory is weary, on his last legs, so to speak.

Someone has to take over for him but who? Several aspiring apprentices have come forward but none withstood the test of battling the trials and tribulations that beset the populace. Some of these lads were so afraid that they ran away; others, sorry to say, did not live.

Now, there is Thomas Ward. He's the only one left, the only hope for the plagued villagers. It's difficult to differentiate between a kind witch and a deadly one, the most venomous of all being Mother Malkin. But, this is something Thomas must learn - or die trying.

Stage, screen and television actor Christopher Evan Welch gives a properly pulse pounding reading of this horror filled tale as bodies emerge from the earth and a witch meets a particularly gruesome demise.

- Gail Cooke

Excellent book, highly recommended but read the back warning. This book is a bit scary. Haunted houses, ghosts witches, boggarts. A++ Must get

I can't get over how much I loved this book. I'm 35. I'm a teacher. I'm busy. I made time to read this book like you make time to eat. Two obsessive days. I carried the story with me when I was away from it.

There's an anti-establishment edge to it that I love. It's earthy and pagan and scary. Every single chapter takes your breath away. I guarantee you won't be able to put your bookmark in the middle of a chapter. Man! This is well-crafted stuff.

I read a lot. Of everything. This is the best thing I've read in a long time. Hands down.

I confess: I borrowed the copy I just finished reading from the library. I'm writing this review five minutes after I purchased it today (we need to encourage Delaney's publisher to keep paying him). It's a book I'm going to share with my kids and friends (as long as they promise to give it back...)

More, please, Mr. Delaney. (Write faster!)

I have only read the first book in this series (Revenge of the Witch) and so do not know if the not so subtle misogyny works itself out in later books in a more hopeful and nuanced way. While the writing is wonderful, the plot gripping, it would be unfortunate if young men (or women) were to read this book without an attendant history lesson from their parents. My 10 year old read picked it up but I read it first, then my 14 year old. We talked about how the book portrays women as at best mysterious and often evil, with male characters only stupid and manipulated rather than evil, or the heroes of the tale. Again, I'm hopeful that later books in the series do something to explain why it's only female witches that need to be locked in a hole in the ground as a "charitable" alternative to being burned at the stake. The book's writing and plot deserve five stars but as a book for children, its rating needs downgrading.

To a new series that takes us on a journey filled with adventure, many twists and a few chills. I knew from the second I pre-ordered this book that it was 1 book in a collection of I believe it was 14 total books; so I didn't expect the entire tale to be finished and wrapped up in red ribbons at the end of book #1. I expected the usual cliffhanger ending leading to books 2, 3, 4 etc. What I got was a book that while yes it left ample room for more down the road, it was in and of itself a satisfying complete tale that could easily be read as a stand alone; although I'm looking forward to more adventures.

I see some have had a problem with the depiction of women being dark and evil in this series. I myself do not. I was raised at a time when witches were dark and evil and yes most of them portrayed in books, movies, television shows etc were women. I think it balances a bit in that while it was never stated, I got the impression that boggarts are male and they have their own mischief, malice and darkness associated with them.

I would recommend this book to both YA audiences and to those who just like a good tale they may hear in the dark of night, seated around a campfire when any and everything is possible...

Many young fantasy novels wrap themselves in the dressing of Harry Potter and end up with tired stories featuring knock-off characters. Delaney really delivers the goods in Revenge of the Witch. This is a no holds barred horror tale with enough gore and other-worldly creepiness to keep you up at night. Delaney doesn't pull punches. He gives us murderous bad guys who are truly evil (not monologuing carbon copies of Voldemort), and good guys who are truly human. I internalized Thomas' fears to the extent that I dreaded turning the page to see what new terror awaited him. The haunted house scene near the beginning is worth the price alone. The nail-biting conclusion is easily the most memorable since the Hobbit or The High King. Epic in a very understated and humble fashion. Just...wow!

Can't wait to read the other books in the series. I've probably read near 100 children's books this year and Revenge of the Witch is the most engaging and immersive by a mile. This book will suck you in and not let go till the last page. Brilliant!

Read it now!

This book is a scary book that will have you sitting up in bed. I had nightmares for weeks after I finished this book. Horror will take on a new meaning. You will never look at the night in away it will fill you with terror and horrific vissions of death. Horror movies will seem like a basket of kittens after this. Never ever read at night.

I am 15 years old, and I bought Revenge of the Witch about a year ago. I know they say not to judge a book by it's cover, but that is usually the reason for me picking up the book to read what's it's about. I thought this book seemed pretty interesting, so I bought it. It took me about a week to read, and let me say, I was very happy to find out that this book was in a series because I loved it so much. It is very simple reading, yet the story is amazing. I love the feelings that the characters have, and how it makes you want to continue reading to find out what happens next. However, when you finish, it leaves you hungry for more! Great, great book.

Since there is really no more room on the farm, he's been hired as the apprentice of "Spook" the local 'magical cop. His apprenticeship doesn't start out well. Spook locks him in a haunted cellar for the night. The next day, despite Spook's warnings, he accepts help from a girl with pointed shoes named Alice.

Alice, it turns out, is a younger member of a family of witches. In return for her help, Tom has to feed a witch entrapped in a pit. He discovers too late that the witch, Mother Malkin, is using the cakes he has been feeding her to escape.

Can he save the countryside from Mother Malkin? Can he trust in Alice's help? Can he go home again? Can he even survive his apprenticeship?

All these, and a few more questions are answered in "The Last Apprentice" a very spooky tale that will keep you turning pages til the end and wishing for more.