8.6 /10 1 Votes
9.3/10 Fantasy Book Review Language English Publication date 2004 Originally published 2004 Series The Wardstone Chronicles | 4/5 Goodreads Country Great Britain Publisher The Bodley Head Pages 325 pp Awards Hampshire Book Award | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hard & paperback) Genres Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Historical novel, Children's literature, Speculative fiction Followed by The Spook's Curse, The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane Similar Joseph Delaney books, The Last Apprentice books, Fantasy books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Spook's Apprentice (American title: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch), written by Joseph Delaney, is the first story in the series "The Wardstone Chronicles". The plot is centred on a 12-year-old farm boy named Tom who lives in the countryside of The County, loosely based on the English county of Lancashire, where the author resides with his large family. As Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son he is able to see things others cannot, such as boggarts, ghasts, ghosts and others.
Contents
Plot
Tom Ward lived his whole life in the County (loosely based on the English county of Lancashire). Because he is the seventh son of a seventh son and thus has the ability to see ghosts and fight other supernatural beings, his parents have apprenticed him to the Spook, a cloaked man named John Gregory. The Spook travels the County fighting troublesome creatures such as boggarts, ghosts, ghasts and witches for the people who need these things gone. Tom will have to learn how the Spook fights "The Dark", so that he may one day become a Spook as well.
The Spook tells Tom that most of his other apprentices have failed due to them being cowardly, disobedient, or deceased. It is revealed that one of the deceased was Billy Bradley, who while fighting a particularly dangerous boggart had his finger bitten off and died from loss of blood. Tom goes to live in the Spookâs house in Chipenden. This house is protected from unwanted visitors by a boggart, with whom the Spook has made a contract which states that as long as the house is standing, the boggart must guard it (as well as cook and clean for the Spook and his apprentices).
Tom is sent out on an errand to pick up some food for the house. He is given a strict warning by the Spook: do not talk to women wearing pointy shoes. On his way home, some boys about the same age as Tom threaten to beat him unless he gives them some food. Tom refuses and the boys are about to beat him when suddenly a girl in pointy shoes shows up and scares them away by telling them a certain person is back. The mysterious girl's name is Alice, and she is a relative of some of the most dangerous witches in the County: Mother Malkin and Bony Lizzie. then they go on a adventure to save a baby.
Film adaptation
The book was very loosely adapted into a 2014 film titled Seventh Son released in 3-D and IMAX 3D. Whilst most of the characters remain, their story has been much changed and expanded (presumably to better suit an older audience & the film's more 'epic' stature.) - It stars Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore. Sam Claflin and Alicia Vikander were cast as Tom Ward and Alice but as of in June 2011 Variety revealed that Claflin had bowed out for unknown reasons and Ben Barnes was cast in his stead.
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