5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth reading if you can't wait - but this feels more like a supplement than a true addition to the series, May 19, 2009
My daughter and I have been reading The Last Apprentice series since they came out, and we were very excited to see this new contribution to the series. As it turns out, the stories in this volume feel more like the little supplements from Tom's journal that appear in most of the volumes, than like original contributions to the series. Think of this as comparable to the "extras" that you'd get on a Special Edition DVD and you won't be disappointed.
The tales in this little book are interesting enough, and flesh out some of what we already knew or could infer from the main stories, but aren't really "essential reading" for fans of the series. There is the "Spook's Tale" that tells a bit about how the Spook himself became a spook, how he discovered his own powers as a seventh son of a seventh son, and how he met his own master. The tone of this story is a bit different, and feels more like a "morality tale" by an aging master designed to intrigue and frighten a young apprentice into obedience. What struck me is that it seemed the narrator was very controlling of what details he was willing to convey and for that reason doesn't give a very clear sense of who he was as a young man - more like what he as an old man would like to remember of his experience - and it doesn't go into details that would have been intriguing, like why he abandoned his vocation as a priest.
Alice's story about her own perspective on the events in
The Last Apprentice: Attack of the Fiend intrigued my daughter, which is no surprise since Alice is her favorite character and probably the most developed and multi-dimensional character in the stories. It didn't, however, give us a lot of information that couldn't have been inferred from the book and doesn't really add to her characterization.
The best story in the volume was that of Grimalkin - the witch assassin who appears initially in the series as the incarnation of evil but who takes on an increasingly complex set of motives, and in this story begins even to appear sympathetic, someone who in different circumstances might have been more like Alice. The story makes clear why she is willing to help Tom, and that her motives for achieving mastery as a fearsome assassin are not drawn from a passion for blood or even a desire for power.
The rest of the book offers brief introductions to the main heroes and villains of the series, but mainly by including snippets from the previous books in the series and not offering any new material. Once again, this is recommended for fans of the series but is not really an essential contribution. Unless you are impatient, you might do better to wait for
The Last Apprentice: Clash of the Demons, which will be out at the end of August, 2009.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Filler, July 2, 2009
This book appears to have been the product of a publisher hoping to cash in on a series. I can't blame the author for putting this out, but it really is a horrible discredit to the other books. It neither furthers the story, nor does it give the characters any more weight than they already have. Please Mr. Delaney, don't water down your otherwise five-star series with this light-weight stuff.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great work - not a recapping book, April 30, 2009
Note that I am a Fan of the Last Apprentice, but this last installment was a little frustrating. I did in fact like getting a look backwards with key characters in the series, without being insulted with a different branch of books covering a `prequel' feel; which seems to be the trend that many authors are using to tap into our wallets that much deeper. This installment has all the flavor, art, and darkness that carries the Last Apprentice series. It's of my opinion that this book covers those annoying flashback sequences in a book that could easily distract from what's really being conveyed. Good work Mr. Delaney! I'm looking forward to your next book - I hope it'll be soon. Bottom-Line is that if you're a fan of the series already, The Spooks Tale is a very nice publication to continue reading. I just wish it was a lot longer considering the price.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
