The Last Apprentice: Fury of the Seventh Son (Book 13) audiobook

This review serves to stand in as much for the entire Spook's Apprentice series as for this one particular novel. Although I do believe this final novel deserves around a 4 to 5 star rating, I do not believe it to be the strongest book in the series. The series as a whole however, deserves a full five stars for its character development, worldbuilding and use of wit and subtlety in telling a fine overall story and set of stories within.In this thirteenth and concluding tale about Spook John Gregory and his thirtieth (and finest) apprentice Tom Ward, "everything ends". It is a grimmer tale than many of the others, full of harsh and sorrowful changes. Although one change in particular seems hard to swallow given the perspectives we have previously been given on the character. I assume future perspectives will help to clarify that particular area. This is the tale which explains part of the purpose of the Wardstone. This is the tale that explains how the Fiend is to be defeated. The themes of the entire series, alongside the characters, have fascinated me to no end. The whole battle between light and darkness is the kind of themes found in all other things I love from The Lord of the Rings through to Star Wars and even Christianity. This novel, as with all the others, particularly challenges the compromise of light and darkness and what it does for someone with good intentions to commit evil acts for that good. The internal changes within characters because of these decisions are explored in all the novels and reach a nice conclusion here.I must add, however, that fortunately a new major threat looms, allowing for another handful of books which will be set in the aftermath of the twists and turns of this novel. I personally look forward to seeing what Joseph Delaney throws up in that trilogy (or perhaps quadrilogy - depending on how his writing flows). Delaney is a a natural storyteller, and while many might argue about elegance and key themes or dismiss this as yet another Young Adult series, I will stand firm and state that it has depth, subtlety and charm connected to it. As such it is easily one of the finer Young Adult series around and I fully recommend that anyone interested read these books.

Great fantasy story. All the characters are well described and easy to love.

Very satisfied with this ending...but equally sorry that it is over.Review to come.Audiobook CommentsStill heartbroken over the loss of Christopher Evan Welch (who narrated books 1-11). Welch passed away from lung cancer in 2013 and the last couple of books had different narrators.This one was read by Alexander Cendese and while he was alright, he was no Christopher Evan Welch. Also, I was SUPER annoyed that Cendese didn't use all of the same pronunciations as Welch. I wanted more consistency.YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

So, I've been reading this series for a very long time (maybe 5-6 years now) and somehow I always stumble upon the next book. In the end, it became a little bit like a chore, since I find the writing simplistic and I feel like I've outgrown it. When I finally picked up this book, I was expecting a decent book with a decent ending that would give me a decent time- a fitting end to all those years I spent following the story.Well, boy oh boy Mr. Delaney, you shocked me big time. I was on the edge of my seat for 90% of the book and I was pissed as hell. I gave the book 4/5 stars just because it held my interest like a waltzing hippopotamus at the grocery store. I've always used Goodreads as a great tool for looking at reviews and summaries, but this is the first time I've written one. (view spoiler)[Jesus Christ, Delaney. I spent 13 books waiting for Tom and Alice to finally get together and you threw it all out the window. Words cannot describe my fury right now. Who the hell is this random Mage? Why are you making Tom look like an insecure delinquent next to this mustached man? He should feel threatened, but not because he's young. I'm not even going to describe the rest of the book (some moments were nice, like Gregory's death) because I was literally in shock. I'm really pissed because the way you've written it, there aren't a lot of ways this can go with the next trilogy. Here are the ones I've come up with, and I think that they cover them nicely. 1. Tom and Alice make up but Alice ends up sacrificing herself for him and Tom is alone.

Fantastic-The characters were at the height of their game and shocking plot twists!

What an incredible conclusion to a fantastic series! I am saddened to see this journey come to an end but what a great and bittersweet ending it was! I loved it! So many things happened in this one and a few things, I was not happy with and others, I was. I will admit that the things I wasn't happy with were all personal preference things...I just didn't want them to happen. The story itself was fantastic and I enjoyed it immensely. My favorite characters were in this one and reunited for the intense and horrific final battle against the darkness...against the devil (The Fiend being brought back) and all his followers. Grimalkin, the witch assassin, comes to aid Tom and The Spook (and so does Kratch....the dark magic boggart that guards The Spook's property). Many others also come to help them battle against the dark witches wanting to return the Fiend to power as well. As for Alice, my other favorite, her path in this story sort of went a different direction. It was so fascinating and while I expected it to an extent, I didn't foresee what ultimately happened so I was in shock somewhat and saddened really.Tom's journey really does come full circle by the end of the epic battle in this one. He is so different from the boy he was at the beginning of these novels! There's a handful of other books that sort of continue where these leave off so I look forward to continuing the journey. But, this series is now at an end. I definitely see myself enjoying a reread down the road, however. This series is most certainly wonderful and one you can enjoy repeatedly!I most definitely recommend it if you enjoy darker middle grade fantasy reads!

Thomas Ward has been the Spook's apprentice for a while. He's battled witches, boggarts, ghasts and many dangerous creatures of the dark. Including the Fiend, who Tom, John Gregory and others seek to destroy once and for all.Now with the help of Grimalkin, a boggart and others, Tom sets forth to rid of the world of the Fiend.I finished this about an hour ago, maybe a bit more. And I've just been thinking, how will I write my review for the final book in The Last Apprentice series? How shall I start it?Well, I suppose I'll start with how I found this amazing series. I am a huge fan of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. In 2009 I registered on a message board for fans of the trilogy and just of works by Philip Pullman in general. In one of the topics, someone had recommended The Wardstone Chronicles by Joseph Delaney. I had never heard of the series before nor its author. I did some research on Google and found that the series was known as The Last Apprentice in America. And the series definitely sounded good. I love reading anything to do with the paranormal, fiction or nonfiction, and the series sounded like something I would like. It was summer of 2009 and I was signed up for a summer reading program at a library not too far from me. They only had one book in the series, the first one, and I put a hold on it. I read it and loved it completely. It became an instant favorite.Forward to January 2013 and I've been reading about the forthcoming Seventh Son movie. I decided I need to finish reading the series. At that time, books 1 to 11 were out, plus the bestiary and the two books with short stories. From January to April I devoured all of the books. I just couldn't get enough of the series. I eagerly awaited I Am Alice, which I received as a gift from my boyfriend for our anniversary last year.And after that, I waited for this book. Even pre-ordering my copy in December.Like the others, I read this one fairly quickly. If you haven't read this book yet, or the series, please do not read any further as there will be spoilers.***SPOILERS AHEAD***At the end of I Am Alice when Alice returned from the dark, it was revealed that there may be another way to destroy the Fiend without sacrificing her. And when I started this book, I found out that Tom decided he could not sacrifice her, even if it meant destroying the Fiend forever. I understand that. How could you sacrifice someone you love, even if it meant saving many people? And it also goes against everything John Gregory taught Tom. I know that if I were in Tom's position, I couldn't do it either.There were definitely some twists in this book, especially with Alice. I just felt like crying. The change with Alice was so quick, so unlike her. I know with Alice she was always sort of in the middle - she could go either way, light or dark. But reading the short story from her perspective and I Am Alice last year in September, I felt that I knew Alice even better than before. She didn't want to belong to the dark. Heck, she didn't even want to be a witch! It was something Bony Lizzie, her real mother, decided for her. The Alice I know and love was afraid to belong to the dark and would do anything for Tom.The Alice in this book is so different, so quickly, but I could still see bits of the old Alice there. No matter what, she didn't want to physically hurt Tom. I feel that at least she must still care for him somewhat. And is she really in love with this Mage? I don't know. She may just be with him for another reason, and if it is for another reason, it was not revealed in this book.But I know my heart broke for Tom. One of the saddest things about the book for me was Alice's sudden change. And the other was the death of John Gregory. After reading the whole book, I know it had to happen. While this book concludes The Last Apprentice series, it does not end Tom's story and his story will continue in The Starblade Chronicles, which I am very excited for. Perhaps in those books, there will be more explanation to why Alice changed.But I know why John Gregory had to die, it was to pave the way for Tom to become the County Spook and to pave the way for the next adventure. However, I was still very sad. John Gregory was an amazing character. Flawed, but yet wise and even still learning until his death. I can't say that I agreed with John Gregory 100 percent of the time, but he knew was he was talking about, he was a great teacher to Tom and I loved his character."I never saw him alive again."It was so quick, so sudden and while not detailed, it was such a sad part of the book for me. That was when I began to cry a little. John Gregory, like with all the characters, I've grown so attached to them and his death was just devastating.And now I see why the character Slither was introduced so late in the series. It was to set up the next books and I wonder if we'll see Slither again in the new trilogy.***END SPOILERS***As a huge fan of this series, I have to say that I loved this book just as much as the others. There were sad parts, there were times I cried. This book was like a roller coaster of emotions, you weren't quite sure what emotion you were going to have to deal with feeling next.The story and the characters of this series are just amazing and well-written. The world Joseph Delaney created is unique and so easy for me to get into. I love the characters, who I have grown very attached to over the course of the series.I know how a lot of people feel about Harry Potter and I have to say that this is about I feel about The Last Apprentice series.It it a truly amazing series, one that I highly recommend. This book does a great job concluding the story of this series and tying up loose ends as well as leaving things open for future books set in the same world.What else can I say about this book besides that I love it, that I love this book and I am very thankful to Joseph Delaney for creating these unique and wonderful books.Now, bring on The Starblade Chronicles! :)

"So, lets see how well you can fight. Lets see how well you can die."Throughout the past four years of his apprenticeship, Thomas Ward faced hardships that no boy under John Gregory's hand had before him. From facing the Bane alone with only an untrustworthy witch to be by his side to baring witness to the sacrifice of his own mam; he has laid down his life time, and time again in the war against the dark.The final instalment of the Wardstone Chronicles placed Tom in the most dangerous situation yet: before the devil himself, without the one he loves the most by his side.Spooks Revenge, in my opinion, dealt with both betrayal and loss to the best of Delaney's abilities. Driven mad by grief, Tom becomes irrational and a shell of his once self; following in close footsteps to his own master in that respect before him.At the attempt to keep things spoiler free, this thrilling conclusion to the series lived up to my expectations and more! The plot twisted in a way that I am shocked at for not scrying myself. I look forward to the Starblade Chronicles, but first I need to morn the last nine years of my life and the dedication I gave this series. At last, all I will say is this:"I am Thomas Ward: your worst nightmare."

I can't believe that this is the end. I fell in love with "Wardstone Chronicles" when I was 12 and now, almost 10 years later, I still feel great sentiment towards this series and definitely this is one of my favorite book series. The whole plot was interesting and I really enjoyed reading it. Tom finally grown up. He proved that he was ready to be Spook and that he would handle the dangers of darkness in the future. But still I am very disappointed and angry at Joseph at the same time. That's why I gave this part 4 stars. From "Revenge of the Witch" I've hope that in the end Tom and Alice will be together. These two have helped each other over the years and they always have each other back. After the last parts I wanted them to be togeter even more. But instead I got betrayal and broken heart. So I hate you Joseph for what you did. My childhood dream has just been ruined and I'll never forgive you. Unless this whole "bad situation" somehow was fixed in the next series and I'll finally get the happy ending.

This is the 13th book. Gah. My feelings, it is overflowing. Finally! The 13th book~ lets dance. *seen published date* Oh drat, I'm late to the news.Seeing Spook and his Apprentice adventure coming to an end made me sad. From this point, all the readers who know this story will eventually know that the Spook adventure will end no matter how and why it will; and you always wish and hope that's its not. I don't know how to think about this book. My thoughts are clattered in all places, its like finishing HP book 7 for the first time. It’s like parting with boyfriend with no hard feelings. It’s like saying goodbye to your favorite pet. But that goodbye that you always knew is what you anticipate from the beginning, for that goodbye will come something new. I can't seem to open and read book again after I finish this book. I did read though, but my mind is flying into this series over and over. I will miss this series but the author promise us to have more of this world. For that, my clattered thoughts are starting to pick up but it’s just something to cheer me on.The StoryWelcome to Tom's world. Thomas J. Ward is destined to fight the dark. Set in 'County' where darkness and humans dwell, his adventures starts being the Apprentice of a Spook. Spook is the one who fights the dark including witches, boggart, ghoul and a lot of dark entities.Tom, being the seventh son of a seventh son could qualify to be an apprentice to the spook. Trained to fight, trained to learn the craft of Spook, Tom is destined to fight the master of darkness. As her Mam says Tom is her gift to the county.SummaryAfter many encounters to the darkness entity, it is now where the Master of Darkness will set revenge on Tom and on all people who is against him. The darkness is gathering more and more to attach the beheaded Fiend to its body. This Halloween is set to complete the attachment and once again to conquer the County or even the whole Earth. With the help of Mam and Slake, Tom acquires a ritual to defeat the Fiend. For that ritual needed the three blades made by the Old God Hephaestus and a willing sacrifice, Alice.Alice is his only friend from the beginning of his adventure since his apprenticeship to the Spook. They face different struggle and their friendship became stronger. Then this day came. What would be their plan? Can Tom really sacrifice Alice?With the help of his Master, his family, his gift from his Mam and witch allies from different clan that is against the fiend, led by Grimalkin they set to defeat the fiend. Irony to his name, the set of battle was named after him, the Wardstone.Deceit, trust, misjudgment partake in Tom’s life this time.World BuildingFor me this series is one of the best world buildings I ever encounter, some might not agree with me but who cares, I agree with myself. I will never be hooked-up into this if its not. Set in County where different dark elemental resides, witches, mages, Greek Gods was also mentioned, boggart and a lot more.Image taken from the bookThe map.. yes the map of Chipenden.. Somehow I dunno how fast Tom ran when someone rings the bell. It's quite far away from the Spooks house or how the ringer should has to have that strength to ring a bell.The Ward Peak where the Wardstone looks near but it’s a two days worth of walk.The CharactersSpook series has the most interesting characters. Clash with Greek Gods, Witches, Mages, etc. It is set in a world before it was ever known to me, the world where classic fairytale was set, interesting indeed. In our country we have different folklores and such so some type of these entities is not familiar with me.The main characters were described on the first page of this book, so I let them off. Instead I’ll do some characterization.Spook, they were the one who fight the dark entities. There craft is same as priest instead they more of atheist, might be but mostly they are. People usually stay away from them as long as they can for they believed that some darkness might brush in them. Our main character Tom Ward is an Apprentice to the Chipenden’s Spook, Master John Gregory.Boggart is not familiar creature to me, for the description on how I imagine it is like Splash Mud monster. But they took on different form on how they wanted it. On the Spook Bestiary, different type of boggart was described. On this series the boggart on the Spook house played bog big role in here.Witches, one of the primary characters in this series. Mam, Alice, Grimalkin and a lot more is a witch. That 3 witch is my favorite, but Mam died since book 6. Witch too has different type: Benign, Malevolent and Unaware. True to there type those would describe them most. But they have various kinds: for Alice used familiar, Grimalkin used Bone Magic and Mam falls to the rare kind: Lamia.Mage, the male counterpart of witch (oh, sorry not wizard :p) they are usually stronger than most witches, but they are always in small number. It would be weird if there are four mages in one group.Overall this series is highly enjoyable, and this book has the most action albeit I’m old enough not to be scared to my wits it really did bring me to their world especially with the Wardstone fight scene. Overall Rating: 5/5

Now that's more like it. The final book of The Wardstone Chronicles is an improvement in the previous instalment, 'Alice'. Really enjoyed being back in the company of Tom and The Spook although it is obvious we are going to say goodbye to certain characters as hinted at throughout this story. All the old favourites are there and some interesting additions too. Shall continue on with the 3 book Starblade Chronicles at a later date.

Excellent final book.....glad to see Joseph is working on a new series based around this world!

The series finale! Wow. I started this series back in 2012 and at that point it wasn't even complete. But now it is, and I've finished it.It's hard to talk about the last book in the series at all, so mostly I can say that I'm glad I saw it through although there were some things I was hoping would happen that didn't, and on the flip side there were big surprizes I didn't see coming (some I loved, others not so much). I'm still sitting with how I feel about a lot of the choices made in this book, and the series as a whole. I had a feeling in book 11 that this might take a different turn than expected, and it did feel that way.The challenges I had with this one include: (view spoiler)[ The change in Alice. How/why did she connect with the mage? That was out of nowhere and we didn't see from her perspective, so it felt unresolved.There is trilogy after this one. I feel that at 13 books, the series should feel complete and/or resolved. As much as I love the fact that we can see Thomas go from apprentice to apprenticing, especially with a girl as an apprentice, I wanted completion with this one. (hide spoiler)]Things that impressed me in this one include:(view spoiler)[In the big fight, Thomas steps up and says that they need to follow one leader, and that leader is Grimalkin. She was the one that brought the two sides together and that they all respected. I really came to love her as a character, which was a big surprize.Thomas also says he's had enough of violence and is putting that behind him to become a regular Spook and he isn't going to help with the upcoming battle against the new threat introduced in Slither. Although I didn't love this from a story perspective, I really appreciated it from a character perspective. He's done a lot over the books, so to stand up for stepping back was a very surprizing but a true to character moment.I LOVED the boggart! That was a wonder surprize to see Thomas befriend the boggart, and call him for help. And trust his instincts on what was the right thing to do in that situation. Delightful. (hide spoiler)]And finally, I absolutely LOVED the illustrations by Patrick Arrasmith. I read the majority of the books digitally, but I am so happy to have been able to get a few physical copies as well. The illustrations are so evocative and atmospheric, I always looked forward to what the next chapter would hold.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conclusion to this series that I enjoyed so much, but it felt somehow...incomplete. It simply did not give me the satisfaction I was looking for-and I don't understand fully how some story elements concluded (or didn't). I think part of this is due to the new series that Delaney wrote following through on Tom's story-but I guess we'll see how that goes. This series was such a dark delight-it was gross, disturbing and at times confused, and I loved every minute of it! This last installment delivers to the series and in terms of style was exactly what I was expecting. I struggled to understand the change in plans-or rather, why they came about as the resolution to the key problem.I would recommend this book, but I think it's best if you have the history of the series.