The author really did a great job of setting a sinister tone. It wasn't over the top, but very subtle and building. His use of words drew a very vivid image, where I felt as though I was standing there and the witch was crawling out of the grave to get me. There are many types of witches –malevolent, free, unaware and bound - don’t trust the ones with pointy shoes! First of all, a very, very engaging and rather original plot! It's similar to HARRY POTTER in this: both take place in England, and both have a lot to do with folkoric creatures and legends: witches, boggarts, and the like. But there's where the similarities end. You can read the synopsis up at the top and know that this will be the story of Thomas J. Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son (hey Angie Sage--that's like your story!) who becomes the apprentice of the County's Spook (hold your horses - fellow Americans! That's the dude's title) and through all sorts of adventures learns the lessons of the trade.

This is a fantastic first book for The Wardstone Chronicles fantasy series. It introduces some of our main characters as well as a few mysteries we want to discover more about. This introduction to the world offers us a glimpse at just how epic in scope the story can be further down the line. Meg Skelton: the mysterious Lamia witch that lives in John Gregory's winter house in Anglezarke. Formerly Gregory's lover. The Spook’s Apprentice was first published just before I joined Random House Children’s Books (now Penguin Random House Children’s) and so Joe and his totally unique blend of fantasy-horror have been a part of my entire working life. I was so proud to have been his editor for many years. It was frustrating at times – we would meet for a beer in Manchester and in response to my questions he would simply smile and remind me every time that he followed ‘The Bram Stoker’ method of writing (meaning nothing was ever planned or plotted in advance!) so I would have to wait for answers – but it was also of course completely magical as the creatures and characters from his worlds would slowly come into focus, journeying into brilliantly terrifying adventures. I hope he’s with the ghosts of his beloved Lancashire now and that there’s some delicious red wine on tap. We are so very proud to publish him.” Welcome to josephdelaneyauthor.com The Spook's Bestiary – A guidebook to the creatures found in The Wardstone Chronicles universe. Published in the US as The Last Apprentice – The Spook's Bestiary: The Guide to Creatures of the Dark. – 2010

Aberrations

There are questions that I would still like answers to, but reading the next books in the series, will definitely give insight into the enigmatic Spook, and Tom's mother, who has gifts that are still somewhat mysterious at this point. It's the job of the Spook and his apprentice; Thomas Ward; to protect the County from the dark. But deep in the catacombs beneath Priestown lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat âeuro;' the Bane. As they prepare to battle it; yet another deadly enemy emerges to threaten Tom and his master. I love the master/apprentice plot when it’s done right, and The Spook’s Apprentice does it so well. Thomas is soon learning about witches from his master, John Gregory, as well as learning Latin. Before long, he meets Alice, and trouble soon follows.

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. The first series, titled The Wardstone Chronicles, concluded in 2013, and was followed by The Starblade Chronicles in 2014, a trilogy following the continued adventures of Tom Ward, who has finished his apprenticeship and is now a Spook in his own right dedicated to fighting an unparalleled evil threatening the County, and the world. Bill Arkwright: the Spook for the county north of Caster, and a previous apprentice of John Gregory. He is killed helping the others escape the Ord.A long time ago the Spook had bound Mother Malkin to a pit in the ground with 13 iron bars on top, so she could never escape to terrorize anyone again.