The Wardstone Chronicles #8 The Spook's Destiny

After a long line of satisfactories, it is about to end with a spectactular (keyword 'about to'). Presenting The Wardstone Chronicles #8 The Spook's Destiny by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

Thomas Ward has served as the Spook's apprentice for three years. He has battled boggarts, witches, demons, and even the devil himself. Tom has enemies: The Fiend stalks him, waiting for a moment of weakness. The terrifying Morrigan, goddess of witches, warned him never to step foot on her homeland, Ireland. But now war has consumed their own country, and Tom, his friend Alice, and the Spook must flee to Ireland. The dark rages strongly there. No one can be trusted. Can Tom defeat the creatures that hunt him most fiercely?

The Spook, Tom and Alice in order to evade re-capturing by the invader forces flee to Ireland. But that place has its own problems and a dangerous enemy for Tom waits there, the twin of the celtic witch whom Bill Arckwright had killed and she is out for blood..... planning to give Tom to the vengeful goddess of the witches, Morrigan. But that's not all, the threat from the fiend still looms large and then there is the problem of the goat mages who are preparing to offer sacrifices to the god of nature, Pan and pull him from the other world to ours.....maybe it is time they brought an end to the fiend to finally dealt a big blow to the dark magic practices.

The series that began with the Spook's Apprentice is finally about to end. Notice I said 'about to' its not over yet and as I mentioned earlier after a long line of satisfactories ranging from book 2, this eight bokk actually was spectacular Tom finally realizes what he feels for Alice after the unthinkable happens, even the Spook is starting to accept that maybe, 'you need dark magic to combat dark magic' and things are more at stake than ever. Joseph Delaney sure delivered a good one with this, coupled with the Spooky, hair-raising and haunting details of all things that go bonk in the night. Have to say though, i'm hoping he won't be extending the series meaninglessly and will end it with a spectacle of its own spookiness.

"Evergreen characters and with the bout of the Spooky, Joseph Delaney delivers a solid one"

Genre :      Young Adult, High Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

The Wardstone Chronicles #7 The Spook's Nightmare

Presenting The Wardstone Chronicles #7 The Spook's Nightmare by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

The Spook, Tom and Alice return from Greece to find the County under siege - and the Spook's home burnt to the ground. With his precious library of knowledge destroyed, they seek refuge on the nearby island of Mona. But with Mona in the thrall of a twisted Shaman there is little respite from hostility or denizens of the dark. And as Alice dodges the ever-tightening net of the island's witch hunters, a more deadly enemy emerges... Bony Lizzie, freshly-escaped from the Spook's bonds, has grand ambitions: to take for herself the throne of isle. She has harnessed the services of a tunnel-dwelling buggane, an evil creature which thrives on stealing the animas, or life force, from its unsuspecting victims. With the buggane as her secret weapon can she become an all-powerful Witch Queen?

Its a complete and utter nightmare, the invading army has gotten deeper into the County, plungging and looting everything in their way. The Spook's Chippenden house is also not spared, everything was burnt to ashes, the roof gone...with the roof the Boggart protecting the house is also gone. Time's are hard, people are fleeing the County, leaving everything behind to evade being taken prisoner. 

The distraught Spook, Tom and Alice have no choice but to flee. They hire a boat and sail to the nearest island of Mona but there their troubles take on their own different forms, in the name of Bony Lizzie, Alice's mother who had escaped from the pit after the Spook's Chippenden house was pillaged, looted and burned and why is Tom having nightmares of the Goddess Morrigan telling him not to come to Ireland? Weird but let's focus on Lizzy, the Buggane and that Shaman here, we can focus on Morrigan in the next book.....

As of the previous Wardstone Chronicles books, this one too is packed with action and the perfect hair raising narrative , fit to be read around Hallows eve but a change is in site, with the lose of all the books in his library, we see a certain change in the Spook, a depression. He knows he is getting old but he is also going through his own version of nightmare, all his collections are lost, his library that accumulated knowledge of a generations of Spooks can never be replaced(as a book junkie I can relate). For Alice and Tom, sorry no change at all but it was the encounter with things of the dark that was the most gripping parts of the book. So definitely excited to start the next book and hope the movie of the first book called 'The Seventh Son' with Ben Barnes and Jeff Bridges comes out beautifully with the touch of the Spooky.

"The Spook faces his worst nightmare ever in this hair-raising next book of the Wardstone Chronicles"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

The Wardstone Chronicles #6 The Spook's Sacrifice

In the previous book we learned about the mistake the Spook makes, now we learn what he sacrifices in The Wardstone Chronicles #6 The Spook's Sacrifice by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

As the Spook's apprentice Tom's first duty is to protect the County from the dark. But now Mam needs his help in her homeland of Greece. One of the most dangerous of the old gods, the Ordeen, is about to return there, bringing slaughter and devastation. Meanwhile, the Devil himself is still loose and if he and the Ordeen join forces, a new age of darkness will descend. Mam has summoned a powerful group to her side but among them are Tom's old enemy, the Pendle witches, including the assassin Grimalkin, and the cunning clan leader Mab Moldheel. Can Tom go against all the Spook has taught him and ally himself to the witches? What is the secret that Mam is keeping from him? And what sacrifices must be made in the battle against the dark?

After spending six months with another mentor, Tom is back at Chippenden with his master but with the devil himself loose in the world and his friend Alice back at Pendall with her witchy relatives things are very bleak. The battleground this time is Greece. Tom's mam is back in the County for a final visit at Tom's childhood home and she wants something from him.

She wants that Tom travel to Greece with her and help defeat the evil there once and for all. We all know now since the previous books that Tom knows his mother is not human but she may actually be more than Tom may have actually anticipated. Tom's mam wants a lot of things from him and the Spook in order to finally defeat her enemy, the Ordeen, an evil goddess, who if in league with the fiend spells trouble for not just one but all the Counties of the world and Tom's mam does not want that.

To accomplish such a ginormous task as this, she had asked the assistance of varied groups of creatures and people, the Pendell witches and a lot of unholy creatures fall in that category and the Spook is not okay with this. So can he sacrifice his virtues and work together with his adversaries to do what his Spook's business tell him to do.

As I have said before for the previous Wardstone Chronicle books holds true for this one too - they serve as a great narrative as a Halloween read. Its hair-raising narrative is always a treat for sore eyes but if we consider the character development that department...well sorry to say that is nill, so i'm not wasting time explaining what are characters go through in this book. Still there was one thing unique about this book, the reality check for our characters that you cannot distinguish between the black and white of life(of dark and light), that line has always been blurred and will always be blurred. But I'd very much love to see what Tom and the Spook are up to next after such a gruesome battle.

"Intense and Spooky.....can the Spook forgo his virtues and work towards a common goal?"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

The Wardstone Chronicles #5 The Spook's Mistake

Presenting The Wardstone Chronicles #5 The Spook's Mistake by Joseph Delaney, can Tom survive the new environment and the new master and what exactly is the mistake the Spook makes.

Here is the summary of the book:

As danger increases in the County, Tom is sent far north by his master to be trained by Bill Arkwright, another Spook. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. But he has toughened up many previous apprentices and now he must do the same for Tom and prepare him for the gravest dangers of his life. But when the Fiend sends his own daughter, the ancient powerful water witch Morwena, to destroy Tom, Arkwright makes an error of judgement and Tom finds himself facing his enemies alone. The Spook and Alice realising his danger, hasten to his aid but will even their combined strengths suffice in the face of such terrible dark power? And what is the Spook's mistake, the consequences of which might give final victory to the dark?

The dark made flesh is loose in the world and things are going rather bad in the war, the County soldiers wage against the invaders and so the army needs young men and as seen in a lot of historical accounts of the soldiers forcing young children into battle, so we see the same here. Thus, to prevent Tom from being pressured to join the army, the Spook sends him north to train with Bill Arckwright for 6 months.

A short into to Bill Arckwright. He is gruff, very hard, knows how to deal with the things that come out of the water, one of the few who were able to complete their apprenticeship with the Spook and has got got a serious drinking fetish. Arckwright is none too keen to take on Tom for a six months tenure but he does out of gratitude to the Spook. Tom's first impression of his new master is none too kind, Arckwright is the polar opposite of the Spook in their way of handling things but Tom does as he is asked. After a series of mishandling and rising curiosity on Tom's part, he finally finds out why his new master acts as he does and they both vow to lay off their differences and work together.

Reasons? The threat of the fiend still looms large and even if it is said that the fiend won't come after him again since the witches could only control old Nick for 2 days but when he sends his daughter Morwena or better known as the bloodeye, can Arckwright's decision hold true or does he need to change his ways before its too late.

The Spook's Mistake follows shortly after the previous and don't think I told you all everything that is in the book in the above paragraph because it is not. For while Tom learns to adapt to a new master, more secrets that you may not have previously thought to exist are revealed and new allegiances are forged in a bid to battle the fiend's daughter and the true nature of the Spook's mistake is revealed, it may well be long lasting.

"Can Tom survive the harsh North and his new master...."

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

The Wardstone Chronicles #4 The Spook's Battle

The Darkness is growing but the Spook and his apprentice Tom Ward, both seven sons of a seventh son do this time when the dangers come from the witch country itself? Well read on to find out what happens next in The Wardstone Chronicles #4 The Spook's Battle by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

Warning: Not to be read after dark. 'I see your future clearly. Your master will be dead and you will be alone.' The Spook and his apprentice protect County from the dark abut now a terrible danger threatens. The witches are rising and the three most powerful clans are uniting to conjure an unimaginable evil - the Devil himself. If they succeed, will Tom and his master have the courage and cunning to defeat the most powerful enemy of all...?

In the course of the three previous books Tom has faced a lot of dangerous things, ghosts,old gods, vicious monsters, boggarts, dead witches and the like and came out victorious from them all but with heavy duty damages to himself and his associates. Not going to into details you might as well check my reviews of the previous three books here (click here to see the reviews).

But this time the dangers come from something close, the witch country of Pendle. This time the danger comes from his friend Alice's home country. Yup, i'm sure you guys remember that she is a witch (those pointy shoes are a dead giveaway).

So, the Spook, Tom and Alice set out to Pendle and be done with the witches once and for all but its not at all an easy task as the threat this time is more closer to home and on a much greater level than they ever imagined. The question remains can they prevent the doom that they witch clans are about to spring on them and more importantly can they come out of it in one piece? That is the question that remains to be seen.

On the whole The Spook's Battle is another well written chapter of the Spook and his apprentice Tom's life. Exuding an ounce of the creepy and a great sense of mystery. As the previous three books this time around again the fight is to the death and both the Spook and Tom are at their wit's end trying to battle the ever growing darkness. Tom, this time around shows a level of maturity that he never had before and the Spook himself battles the nuances of old age. This is definitely one book you don't want to miss out on, trust me!

"Do the Spook and Tom have it in them to fight - when this time around the enemy is the dark made flesh himself?"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              5/5 (It was Awesome)

The Wardstone Chronicles #3: The Spook's Secret

Winter's abound and let me present before you all my views of The Wardstone Chronicles #3 The Spook's Secret by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

It's going to be a long, hard, cruel winter. And there couldn't be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke. Thomas Ward is the apprentice for the local Spook, who captures witches and drives away ghosts. As the weather gets colder and the nights draw in, the Spook receives an unexpected visitor. Tom doesn't know who the stranger is or what he wants, but the Spook suddenly decides it's time to travel to his winter house, Anglezarke. Tom has heard it will be a bleak, forbidding place, and that menacing creatures are starting to stir somewhere on the moors nearby. Can anything prepare Tom for what he finds there? What if the rumors about the evil beast called the Golgoth are true? And how much danger will Tom be in if the secrets the Spook has been trying to hide from the world are revealed?


Winter is here and its getting darker and darker everyday. A harsh winter is about to come and Tom and the Spook set out for the winter house of Mr. Gregory in Anglezarke - which is literally a winter house. Gone is the comfortable warmth of the Spook's house in Chipenden. Tom must not only adept to the cold dampness of the Spook's winter house and all the spookiness that comes with it.

So yes in The Spook's Secret we see Tom and the Spook heading out to Anglezarke for the winter after the Spook sees an unexpected visitor. But why go to a cold and less inviting place then Chipenden when you should be staying warm in the winters....Spook's business of course. What else could it be! Arriving in the Winter home, Tom learns of the Spook's secret. The Lamia Witch Meg, his master's old love was not put in a pit as she should have been. Instead the Spook has been keeping her memories surpressed, despite his own advice of girls being a distraction and the dangers of keeping Meg out of a pit. And what of the looming dangers of the rising of Golgoth, the evil winter lord - not a pretty, cosy winter if you ask me.

And as Tom goes deeper into the trade of a Spook, he must not only think clearly but also decide who he should trust.

The story here as in the previous two is well told. Mr. Delaney's description have an effect of sending you to the edge of your seats with every new twist and turns as we come across them in the story. The Spook's Secret is well meaning enough with the title, for this book peels more layers to the Spook's gruff exterior. It shows us the past and every decisions behind the Spook we see in this book. It shows us that he is not as indifferent as he always seems and makes us appreciate his character even more. As for Tom - well aside from more knowledge of the Spook's trade sadly we don't really see anything new with him - for we see him making the same mistakes again; you'd think that he'd have learned from his mistakes by now (him being around 13 years old might explain). A little (teeny-tiny one) is seen as improvement but not quite.

But here we don't see the actually villain of interest appear until the very end. Golgoth maybe a powerful godly spirit but being at the beck and call of humans is kinda weird (maybe understood also since it is the human prayers and faith that keeps that particular god powerful). But a well written and spookiness inducing work by Mr. Delaney.

"Maybe the harshest winter ever for Tom and the Spook"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)

The Wardstone Chronicles #2: The Spook's Curse

It gets better and better each time. Presenting The Wardstone Chronicles #2 The Spook's Curse by Joseph Delaney.

Here is the summary of the book:

Now it's the dark's turn to be afraid. The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, deal with the dark. Together they rid the county of witches, ghosts, and boggarts. But now there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs of the cathedral lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger of being corrupted by its powers. The Bane! As Thomas and the Spook prepare for the battle of their lives, it becomes clear that the Bane isn't their only enemy. The Quisitor has arrived, searching for those who meddle with the dark so he can imprison them—or worse. Can Thomas defeat the Bane on his own? Is his friend Alice guilty of witchcraft? And will the Spook be able to escape the Quisitor's clutches?

Picks up where the spook's apprentice left off. Tom with the Spook goes to Priestown to attend the funeral of one of his brother, a priest (the reason why they were going to Priestown in the first place) and finished an unfinished business of his....sense that...Spook's business. That "business" is a creature called the Bane. Long ago it roamed free and left destruction and despair in its path. It is secure enough, but is getting stronger and is able to control people's minds. The death toll is rising, so the Spook is ready to take care of it. 

But that is not the only trouble they face, the Quisitor is here an he is all sorts of trouble, he is ruthless, he is devious, he is all kinds of bad. In the name of religion he goes about burning women even if they were witches or not all based on the fact they were said to be associating with the dark and the spook seems to be on his hit list and would do all he can to get him killed. That not all the Quisitor has already got himself another witch to burn and its....Alice. 

Add to that something is different this time; keeping the Quisitor aside and taking the factor of the Bane in consideration. Well the Bane seems to be the influencing factor behind a major portion of the story. Constricted within the catacombs beneath Priestown, the creature can still access the minds of the people and day by day the darkness grows and the people keep getting controlled by it. The Bane knows that the spook is the only one who can put a stop to him. What follows is a series of events much more darker and dangerous than the previous one and testing the Spook, Tom and Alice to a T.

As far as the story and the danger level and the is considered there is the heightened level of risk here. The Spook's Curse is a very old and powerful curse that will one day claim his life (but if you believe in it). Again the story is pretty much an awesome piece of work. There is drama, there is risk and most of all there is the darkness that seems to be ever growing and more menacing than before. This book also peels away some more layers of the Spook's character bit by bit and kinda makes us see the "old-bones" in a new light but sadly Tom still remains the same, although he is now much more cautious, thinks things through and has realized that in a spook's line of work he has but only his master as his greatest friend but we don't really see anymore changes in him here.

So another great book and i'm off to read the next one now.

"It grows darker and darker in here"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)

The Wardstone Chronicles #1: The Spook's Apprentice

I'm back to the high-fantasy genre and this is my view of The Wardstone Chronicles #1 The Spook's Apprentice by Joseph Delaney, been meaning to read since I heard that they were meaning to turn this into a movie.

Here is the summary of the book:

"I was going to learn how to protect farms and villages from things that go bump in the night. Dealing with ghouls, boggarts, and all manner of wicked beasties would be all in a day's work. That's what the Spook did, and I was going to be his apprentice." Twelve-year-old Thomas Ward, as the seventh son of a seventh son, has no inheritance and is bored with farm work, and even though his new job will mean the superstitious villagers will forever shun him, he is eager to go off to adventure with the tall, hooded man he calls the Spook. His mother, a magical person herself, approves, and the Spook's teaching is strict but kind. But when Tom has only learned enough to be able to control their house-boggart, he is tricked by Alice, the young daughter of a witch family, into inadvertently releasing and then killing Mother Malkin, a witch the Spook has imprisoned in a pit. This is no polite wicca-type witch, but a snuffling, slime-trailing, cannibalistic creature reminiscent of Tolkien's nasgils. The story of Tom's escape from the reincarnated witch's hideous revenge is full of horrible details, as Alice helps, and then once again betrays him. This well-crafted novel marks an auspicious start for an exciting and fast series for young teens. (Ages 10-14) --Patty Campbell

Very different this story is and has definitely got the potential for being a Halloween read. It all begins with Tom Ward, who is the seventh son of the seventh son and is the custom his father must get him into a trade but since his father has used up all of his previous favors for all of Tom's six older brothers. So, naturally only the Spook was left. The Spook's business is not always the preferred line of work. Well literally a spook's job is to protect farms and villages from things that go bump in the night like ghouls, ghosts, boggarts, witches and all manners of wicked beasts and Tom becomes the Apprentice of the only Spook in the County (there is one more but he works on the outskirts of the land), John Gregory.

Not crossed thirteen yet, Tom has been sent far from home and thrown into a world danger. He has been given a month to prove that he might have what it takes to be a Spook's apprentice, but first Tom will have to last through his first night. A Spook's business basically involves with tackling creatures of dark and so he must prove his worth - spend the night in the cellar of a haunted house. Definitely not as easy as it sounds.

To be a Spook Tom first has to learn a lot of things. Not just reading but practicality is a definite factor in here and if he is not careful he just might catch an early grave for himself. But not to worry Tom has rather some vast advantages above the other previous apprentices - he is his Mam's son who is in her own rights a very mysterious character herself and then there is Alice - the girl with the pointy shoes. Now the Spook has warned him to stay away from girls with pointy shoes as they are mostly witches and can prove a problem for him.

Tom's encounter with Alice sets up a series of incidents that might make it difficult for him to gauge if Alice is a friend or the worst enemy he could find. But trouble really arises when his master is called in to another village Tom is left to fend for himself....and there goes the worst scenario sets in for the lad.

Now as far as the whole thing goes Mr. Delaney has set up such great characters and not to mention such a rich plot for the Wardstone chronicles. It goes without saying that writing high fantasy is not a simple job and he has done beautifully at it. Be it Tom, Mr. Gregory (the Spook), Tom's dad and mam, Alice or the whole plot scenario - everything works. They are great characters with too many layers and mysteries upon them. Story takes place in England and author uses a lot of folklore creatures and legends; witches, boggarts , ghosts, ghasts and others. Characters are well developed and very likeable. I really liked Tom, he struggles with the idea that he will be next Spook, and at first he is not even sure if he wants to be one. The Spook is also another great character, wish there was more on him in here but no problem this book is just the beginning. Tom's Mam is another mysterious character, by how much we found in this book it is enough to know that she is not a normal human being. And then there is Alice, she might just the best one of the lot because for the matter we don't know which side she is Light or Dark - she lies in the gray area of the in-between.

So yes I'm expecting great things from the Wardstone chronicles as since the spook's apprentice is just the beginning of this slightly gory tale (do bear in mind this is not your simple medieval fanstasy tale.....think Lord of the Rings in a much toned down manner). Overall an enjoyable read and definitely a scary, spooky and horror book. It is the details that matter and if something offers such an in-dept scenario where a single sentence can make the hair stand on straight.......well I don't think you need anything else to do besides getting the outcome.

"Makes for a great spooky read"

Genre :      Young Adult, Fantasy


Publisher: Red Fox


Rate:              4/5 (Really Liked It)