Customer Reviews

The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale: And Other Horrors

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

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I was reading the other reviews, and noticed that most people seem to misunderstand why this book was written. It is not meant to further a story; it is a World Book Day book. On World Book Day, authors release small supplements to their stories. Exempli gratias, J.K. Rowling's short story, or Eoin Colfers Artemis Fowl Files. These books are simply companions to the real stories, and are still highly enjoyable.

Being a huge fan of the Last Apprentice series, I loved the short stories in The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale: And Other Horrors. The stories actually kind of filled you in on the background of a couple of key characters and gave you some insight into what happened to another character. What I wasn't crazy about was that the actual Spook's tale ended quite abruptly. I was expecting a little more about him, but I'm guessing we'll find that out in later books. The book did give me a new appreciation for the character Grimalkin. I really like her now, if it's possible to like a witch! The entire book kind of felt like a teaser for someone who's never read a Last Apprentice book, but if you are a fan, you'll enjoy the stories, too. I agreed with another reviewer that I wish it had been a lot longer for the money, but all in all, it was just spooky enough to tide you over until the next book in the series comes out. Once again, good work, Mr. Delaney!

This book is more of an interlude or a supplement to The Last Apprentice series. It is well written and interesting nonetheless, but not as fantastic as a full-fledged book would have been. Although we don't have a long wait "Clash of the Demons" comes out the end of August '09.

There are three stories in this book. The first details how the Spook became a Spook. This story was okay; it gives you some background around the Spook. Nothing that is really surprising, but a decent story.

The second story is about what happened to Alice when she was in Pendle right before Tom came to rescue her. This was my least favorite story of the bunch. Again no surprises and a very brief story.

The third story made the book worth having. This was the story of how Grimalkin became a witch assassin. I think Grimalkin is a fascinating character and found this story to be an interesting read. It made me wish that Delaney would write some books from Grimalkin's point of view...maybe he can do that after he is done with Tom Ward's story :-)

Overall I enjoyed this book. It is just filler for the main event though and I am eagerly awaiting "Clash of the Demons"!

It's a pretty necessary part of a story -- backhistories, explaining how X became what he or she is today. And "The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale and Other Horrors" is pretty much devoted to the backstories of important characters in Joseph Delaney's story about the "Last Apprentice," although the titular story has the feeling of a story set on repeat.

First there's the backstory of Thomas Ward's master: he was the seventh son of a seventh son, able to hear ghosts and see bizarre creatures. On his way to a seminary, the young boy encountered the countryside's spook, and finds himself being hunted by a malignant boggart, and a very clever witch. What's more, the witch wants the boy's bones for her own power -- leading him into a life-changing clash between

Then there are the stories about two of the supporting characters -- Alice Deane is captured by the malevolent Mouldheel witches, stinking side-clans who hate her for being a Deane. Along the way she ponders her past as the orphaned child of abusive parents, the kindly aunt who tried to shield her from her witch heritage, the ghastly Lizzie who dragged her into it against her will, and the boy who changed her life.

Then there's the backstory of the lethal witch assassin Grimalkin, who lost someone she loved to the Fiend as a teenager. Intent on revenge, she vows to become the greatest witch assassin -- but to do that, she must defeat the previous top-dog witch assassin, Kernolde -- who has killed a few dozen witches who have dared to challenge her.

"The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale And Other Horrors" is very redolent of the atmosphere that Joseph Delaney excels at -- it's full of bones, blood, graveyard, half-seen horrors and ghastly old women who prowl around looking for thumb bones. His writing style sometimes is a bit bare-bones, especially in descriptions of the more supernatural creatures, (what? WHAT does a boggart look like?) but it's soaked in enough gory, grimy graveyard atmosphere to make your skin crawl.

Unfortunately the titular story is kind of lacking -- it feels as if Delaney dashed the backhistory of the current Spook off, and retreading the same kind of basic story and characterizations (sinister yet kindly Spook, check. Inexperienced boy in over his head, check!). And the ending just sort of sputters out -- Delaney never tells us why the Spook chose this different path in life, why it took so long, or anything else much. We just hear what he did, as if the author was too worn out to continue.

The second and third stories are much meatier and inspired, as well as more gruesome -- we get some insights into the world of the witches, their different clans, and more about the gruesome monsters spawned by the Fiend. And while the perpetually teetering Alice already has a reader's sympathy, Grimalkin becomes a much more human, understandable character as Delaney explores how she became a witch assassin. It's actually a rather tragic story.

After that, Delaney briefly outlines some of the important monsters and witches (including Grimalkin) and their backgrounds, but it's mostly snippets that tell you to read this or that book for more info.

The titular title of "The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale And Other Horrors" is a rather flaccid little read that sputters out, but the accompanying witch tales keep it from collapsing under its own weight.

An excellent book. A great intermediate book to read while waiting for the next book in the series.

Another excellent series. The illustrations are sometimes much scarier than the descriptions in the book. I'm 35 and I have to keep some of the books covered for fear of bad dreams from looking at the pictures. :)

As a big fan of Delaney's Last Apprentice series, I had to check this book out. But readers beware: this book was published for World Book Day, and was not meant (as some have mistakenly believed) to be a continuation of the series but rather, a supplement to the series and introduction for newcomers to the Last Apprentice universe.

The book consists of three short stories and a small "gallery of villains" which includes a brief description and passage from other novels about certain villains from the series. The short stories center around present day-Spook John Gregory and the events that placed him on the path to becoming a Spook, a story about Alice's origins and training as a witch, and an origin story about Grimalkin, the witch assassin.

John Gregory's story easily steals the show here -it's as chilling as the other Last Apprentice novels and gives some interesting insight into John's past. Grimalkin's story falls in the middle -it's well-paced and unique, but feels like it should have been more than a short story. Alice's story bothered me the most, primarily because it took place during book four of the series, rather than before the events of the series, and, frankly, didn't seem to add much to her character.

All the information here is great back story and is good for fans who are new to the series, but The Spook's Tale and Other Horrors, even with its World Book Day backdrop, left me wanting more. Not just another book in the series, but full books about John, Alice or Grimalkin. Perhaps we'll see these in the future, but until then, I can't wait for more Last Apprentice.