A review by tbr_the_unconquered
The Last Apprentice: Seventh Son: Book 1 and Book 2 by Joseph Delaney
3.0
Jeff Bridges : that’s the guy I think of when I was figuring out as to why I pulled up this book from a pile at the library. The scraggly beard, flowing mane of hair and the looks of a wanderer suited him to a T. Fierce eyes set behind bushy eyebrows and a look that appraised you in one glance : all stuff that Bridges can easily pull off. It was only after I read this book that I figured out that the character of John Gregory, is a very close approximation of Bridge’s portrayal of this character. The movie was panned by critics and viewers alike but the book is a fairly good one. This volume collects the first two stories in the lives of John and his apprentice Thomas Ward.
The first story - The Spook’s Apprentice, is a sort of warming up of the bond that forms between John and his apprentice. With hard experience, young Thomas realizes that the spook is a person who travels the countryside getting rid of the evils that plague the population. His job is not one that makes him popular specifically in the eyes of the Church. But that does not mean that he is a magician who dispels evil with a well-placed spell and a waving of his wand. . The spook relies on a series of proven procedures that help him overcome even the most mischievous of evil spirits with a mix of science, shrewdness and a strong mind. Thomas has the uphill task of learning the trade of being a spook and trying to survive in the process too. He matches wits against witches, sadistic sidekicks and other creepy crawlies and survives by the skin of his teeth. He is pitted against the ancient evil in the form of a witch – Mother Malkin in this tale. The second part - The Spook’s Curse has them trying to rid the world of an ancient entity called the Bane. This story is both good and bad at the same time. The good part is that it is more complicated than its predecessor. The author builds an emotional backdrop to this story which is much more satisfying than its older brother. The bad part is that the ending is a rushed one and a tad too formulaic. The character of Alice, who is Thomas’s friend also gets much more prominence here.
Darker, gritty fantasy stories have corrupted me to such an extent that simple fare appears too bland ! The story of the spook and his apprentice fell into this latter category. While the rich use of stories from the English countryside is well done, the characters are too much of black and white shades that it appears very predictable. The intended audience is also a younger one which means that horror factor is a great deal watered down.
Definitely worth a read and light years better than the movie adaptation.
The first story - The Spook’s Apprentice, is a sort of warming up of the bond that forms between John and his apprentice. With hard experience, young Thomas realizes that the spook is a person who travels the countryside getting rid of the evils that plague the population. His job is not one that makes him popular specifically in the eyes of the Church. But that does not mean that he is a magician who dispels evil with a well-placed spell and a waving of his wand. . The spook relies on a series of proven procedures that help him overcome even the most mischievous of evil spirits with a mix of science, shrewdness and a strong mind. Thomas has the uphill task of learning the trade of being a spook and trying to survive in the process too. He matches wits against witches, sadistic sidekicks and other creepy crawlies and survives by the skin of his teeth. He is pitted against the ancient evil in the form of a witch – Mother Malkin in this tale. The second part - The Spook’s Curse has them trying to rid the world of an ancient entity called the Bane. This story is both good and bad at the same time. The good part is that it is more complicated than its predecessor. The author builds an emotional backdrop to this story which is much more satisfying than its older brother. The bad part is that the ending is a rushed one and a tad too formulaic. The character of Alice, who is Thomas’s friend also gets much more prominence here.
Darker, gritty fantasy stories have corrupted me to such an extent that simple fare appears too bland ! The story of the spook and his apprentice fell into this latter category. While the rich use of stories from the English countryside is well done, the characters are too much of black and white shades that it appears very predictable. The intended audience is also a younger one which means that horror factor is a great deal watered down.
Definitely worth a read and light years better than the movie adaptation.