Customer Reviews

The Last Apprentice: Wrath of the Bloodeye

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Taking up immediately after the ending of book four, book five in the Last Apprentice series still delivers the goods. Not a stand alone story, one must have at least read book four, if not all the others, in order to understand what happens in this book and which characters are on which side of the battling forces of good and evil.

This series has not petered out, the action, the frightening events and scenes, the ongoing developments of Tom's apprentice training, and additional insight into the main characters, remains steady and intriguing. I did not feel AS frightened in this book as in the others, but the reader will not be disappointed. The fear and chills are still there to keep the eerie intensity and high suspense alive. There are a good deal of high action scenes to keep you riveted to the book and to keep the pages turning. I found the author put in a lot more character development to the key players, showing us that all of us have darkness as well as light within us. As Tom learns this more in this book it helps him grow and aids him in his ongoing training as he inches toward his eventual graduation to an official Spook himself some day. I also felt that this book had more of an intricate plot that leads the reader down many paths and shows us many twists and turns that are unexpected and surprising. As Tom grows, his experience broadens and the story backs this up with more of a challenging read than the earlier, simpler installments. I enjoyed this book as much as the others, I found no disappointing aspects and in fact, I thought the wonderful surprise elements at the end were quite brilliant and teasing which will have us all eagerly awaiting the next book. It appears that the author is showing us his increasing talent, as well as our young hero's. Delaney has created a fabulous horror series for young adults that just does not stop delivering terrific reads.

One other thing I feel I must add and praise; the illustrations. I truly feel that these marvelous black and white illustrations and almost holographic cover designs add even more appeal to the success of these books. Each illustration evokes such a frightening feeling that the reader just cant help but feel scared to death. The art work here is truly talented and wonderful to behold. How can you not have a winning series with sensational illustrations to accompany very talented and creative stories? Bravo to both the author and the artist!

For maximum enjoyment, the Last Apprentice series should be read in the order. That said, Wrath of the Bloodeye (volume 5) can still be enjoyed as a standalone novel without having read the previous volumes. I read volume one and then skipped over the next three to read this one. While there is a clear subplot and many references to events that happened in the intervening volumes, the main plot is independent of the others and I still enjoyed it greatly.

In Bloodeye, apprentice Tom Ward is sent to the Lake District for additional training from that area's spook. This new setting is rich in all things wet and soggy; bogs and fogs, swamps and mires, canals, moats and deadly tidal plains. It is equally rich in all the evil beasties that make water their home. There are selkies, skelts, spirits of drowning victims and, deadliest of all, the water witches.

Tom's new master, Bill Arkwright, is a fascinating character, tormented by demons both inside and out. He is a hard and angry man but Tom manages to see the value of his training and accompanies Arkwright on a mission to capture Morwena, the worst of the district's water witches. When tragedy leaves Tom on his own it is up to him to call upon all that he has learned to defeat Morwena alone.

Delaney is great in setting an atmosphere of impending danger and Bloodeye does not disappoint. The reader is always convinced that something wicked is waiting just a few feet away in the fog and Delany seldom disappoints us. Bloodeye was hard to put down.

This was my first foray into the apprentice series but it won't be my last. Throughout the book, but especially in the beginning, the author acquaints the reader with the earlier works in the series. I did not feel handicapped by being a first-timer.

As for the story, it was scary with plenty of buildup to crucial moments. Delaney knows how to write. There is no dumbing down here. It is as if he sat down to write a book and it happened to be well suited for kids.

Delaney seems to put a positive spin on some facets of Christianity but not organized religion. However, if you are offended by witches and spells and magic, obviously this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you simply like a good read that will get your heart pounding, the apprentice may be just for you.

I really enjoyed this book. I see it as a step up from the old "Goosebumps" series and similar in level to the first two Harry Potter novels.

Some reviewers have complained that the writing style is a bit stilted, but remember, the book is written as the personal journal of a very young man (a young teen, in fact). For me the style worked and the personal nature of the journal approach helped pull me in. I agree it is not a sophisticated prose style, but I don't feel that is necessary for the intended audience.

I admired the fact that even given the youthful target, the author is not afraid to grapple with ethical dilemmas. It's easy to write a young horror novel in terms of black and white, right and wrong, but Delaney shows that there is gray in the world and our choices determine where we wind up. I think that's a powerful message for the readers.

But make no mistake, this not a preachy novel, it's a thriller with its share of tense moments. This is the most mature of the four "Last Apprentice" books, but is not so dark that it should put off readers of the first three books.

Recommended for young and old alike.

Well, let me start off by saying I've not read the other books in the series, so I apparently had a bit of catching up to do. From the first few pages, I wasn't entirely sure whether this was the start of a series of books, or somewhere in the middle (apparently it's one of the latest installments, the 5th book {?}). I guess it was somewhat in media res (dropped into the setting without too much setup beforehand).

While I eventually caught onto certain aspects of the story, and the roles of the characters, it felt as though there was history that wasn't quite neatly explained from the start, and could only be sussed out through reading the entire book (and getting enough references back to prior events).

Once I finally got my bearings on the setting, characters, roles and plot, the book was pretty good. I rather liked it.

I didn't find anything in the book especially terrifying (as it's lauded as something of a horror novel) that may simply be because I'm older and wiser than I would have been had I read this at the suggested age / reading level. I may just be too jaded by today's movies, etc. to be moved by the words on the page as effectively as I once was.

I'd assume this would be relatively age appropriate for the young to mid teen market? Some of the stuff dealt with is a bit gory, though I don't think there was too much description of blood and guts, though the witches appear to be fond of tearing out people's throats (as some villains are apt to do). It's not described in detail and left at that for the most part.

In any event, the plot seemed to move right along from one chapter to the next and kept me turning the pages. It seems to answer a few questions, and leave others open while raising new questions for the characters, hopefully to be answered in subsequent installments of the series.

Before I knew it, I'd finished the book and found myself wanting to know what happens next. I'd probably recommend starting from the beginning, and working one's way through the series to get the back-story not explicitly recapped when starting this entry in the series.

Though, even without explicitly reading the other books first, enough details are sussed out to still make the world of the story feel complete and relatively rich.

I'd say this is a pretty good book, and probably better once having read the prior books in the series.

I discovered Joseph Delaney's young adult dark fantasy/horror series The Last Apprentice this past summer. Over the last few months I've barreled through each installment of the series and have yet to be disappointed. Delaney gets better with every book, and the series' fifth novel, Wrath of the Bloodeye, is no exception.

Bloodeye picks up where Attack of the Fiend leaves off. The witch clans have brought the Fiend (the "Devil himself") into the world and he's after Tom. In order to protect Tom from the Fiend, his master the Spook sends Tom to train with another Spook, Bill Awkwright, in the northern part of the County. Tom learns new things about the dark from Bill, primarily how to fight the fearsome water witches that inhabit the swamps of the north. Among these witches is the terrible bloodeye, Morwena.

In the tradition of the other books in the series, Tom must face his own fears to save his friends and fight the dark. Bloodeye offers some amazing twists, especially at the end. Pivotal decisions are made about Tom's ambiguous friend Alice that change the course of the series.

Even darker than its predecessors, and bordering on the philosophical, Wrath of the Bloodeye is a fast-paced thrill ride from the first page to the last. Delaney knows how to keep the reader on the edge of their seat; the pages just fly by. One of the best books I've read this year without a doubt!

I love this series! It's impossible to put down. You must start with Book One, and you'll eagerly move on to Book Two. Each installment is filled with spine-tingling action, but I think its greatest strength are the characters, which are very complex and interesting. The main character, Thomas Ward, is as authentic and likeable as Harry Potter. The storyline is so unique, I was never sure which way the story would turn, which kept me turning pages well past my bedtime. I also admire the author's writing style. The voice is simple and sincere, which contrasts nicely with the dark, twisted setting. I'm a devoted fan of this series and spreading the word to my book-loving friends! The Last Apprentice is a great series! Especially for boys over the age of 10.

This is a grabbing spooky story. This book is well writing,captivating, will keep you on your toes, and looking over your shoulder all night long. I look forward to finding out what will happen with Alice and what kind of power young Tom has. I have been intrigued by the authors unique writing and creative ideas when it comes to magic and his fantasy world. I highly recommend this book to young and older adults.

On another note, I really believe that the Amazon Vine(tm) Program people who rated this book a 2-3 star book would have a different opinion if they had read the entire series first. I have enjoyed the entire series and definitely recommend to start reading the series from the beginning and not with this one.

THE BOTTOM LINE(at the top of the review):

I like that I didn't have to have read the other books in the series to pickup up this book and enjoy the suspense. This book does make plenty of reference to previous adventures, so it makes one want to go back and catch up on what has occurred. It also leaves off with enough new hints at books to come, yet a feeling that this part of the story was resolved.

My 10yr old asked me about the book and when I told him of the contents he felt it might be a little scary but doable for his sensitive nature. I'd have to agree.

MORE DETAILS:

The story is about the spook apprentice, Tom Ward, who is sent by his spook master to train for a short time under the another spook, Bill Arkwright. Arkwright specializes in water creatures as he lives in an area surrounded by canals and marshes. This is only the beginning of Tom's battles with the legendary water witch, Morwena and the continuing battle with the Fiend.

The characters are likable. They have flaws and strengths making them more than cardboard stereotypes of the fantasy genre. We get to see the growth of several characters through the story, which added a higher enjoyment to the time invested reading about their lives.

The story progresses at a logical, even pace. When something unexpected happened, I was glad to see the characters stay true to themselves as they try to work out the situation. The mysteries in the story are revealed at an even pace, to where at the end of the book more new truths are discovered, which set up things for books to come.

The setting was described in enough detail that I felt the chill of the cold mist and the stink of the marsh. I felt like I was there.

The one reason I give this a minus 1 star is the author's same one-side preaching seen in our post-modern society, in regards to the statement that God doesn't exist due to evil in the world. The story was great till this diatribe from the Fiend.

It would have been fine if there was a rebuttal to bring balance to the story, but there wasn't. I'm only concerned that the young and impressionable will leave with the same faulty arguments to apply to their own understanding of the universe, before exploring the other side of the coin. This the the author could avoided by presenting all sides to the open-minded seeker.

Overall, I can see myself reading more books in the series to get the full extent of Tom's life as an apprentice and eventually how the story lends itself to the title: The Last Apprentice.

Sat down, thought I would read a couple of chapters and then finish it later on in the week. But....I finished it by evening. The grandkids and I have been in the midst of a reading frenzy this summer and I chose this specifically for them. They are reading the Harry Potter novels, among other things and I thought they might enjoy this as well. And now that I have read it, I am sure.

Unfortunately this is the fifth in a series and we haven't read the previous four, but the book had enough references to the early books so that I didn't feel lost, and I so enjoyed this one that I will order the earlier books in this series.

In this book, things are looking grim in the county, hunger is beginning to haunt the citizens, lawless bands roam the countryside, and the fiend is lose in the world. So for his safety the young hero Tom is whisked away from his comfortable existence with his Master Spook, John Gregory, and Tom's dear friend Alice, to be trained by another spook, a former apprentice of Gregory's, Bill Arkwright. To be trained to defend himself and to learn about more denizens of the dark, especially water witches. Arkwright is a dour figure, battling not only water witches, but the "demon drink", and he has a secret hidden in his house. The first of many secrets that will be revealed as the book progresses. So begins Tom's new adventure that puts not only his life at risk, but Gregory's, Alice's, and Arkwright's as well. The conflict between Gregory and Alice deepens, and the end of the book finds Tom looking forward to his Mother's visit, pondering the past events and unanswered questions the book posed. A perfect springboard to the next installment.

The book had some really scary parts, and its world view is rather dark. Not much happiness in the County, and more than a few corpses piled up. And that is the main quibble I have with this book. It is a tad too dark. But I think that for the direction the plot is moving this is necessary. After all the devil is walking the earth causing conflict and promoting the domination of the dark. And it is clear he and Tom are heading for some sort of showdown. Or at least it seems that way to me. And it also seems to me that Alice has "Sacrificed Self For Love" written all over her. But we shall see in the later book(s).

The book was well written, and it is interesting the way the author takes I suspect local legends and brings them to life. Well plotted, lots of action. Characterization was a little thin but this is the fifth in the series so most folks who read it will be well acquainted with the characters. I recommend this book. I liked it a lot, and I am looking forward to reading the first four and happily anticipating the sixth in the series. I also enjoyed the illustrations. They were the perfect accompaniment.