Lure of the Dead (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #10)

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Lure of the Dead (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #10)

by Joseph Delaney, Patrick Arrasmith (Illustrations)

4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 · rating details · 712 ratings · 88 reviews

"Time is running out for Thomas Ward. His final battle against the Fiend is drawing near, and the Spook's apprentice has never felt more alone in his task. Isolated and afraid, the Fiend is set to send the greatest of his servants against him - Siscoi, a Vampire God more ferocious than anything he has yet faced. Tom must risk his life to prevent the evil beast from enterin...more

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published August 21st 2012 by HarperCollins (first published June 1st 2012)

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Oct 14, 2012 Lex rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-book, fantasy, pnr

I'm on my tenth one!!! :) Soon I'll catch up with Glam. :)

Whoa. One of the best book in the series. From 'The Dark Lord' to 'Strigoi' and 'Moroi'. HP and VA. Lol. The Spook's blood proved my hypothesis wrong. Since I, admittedly, have seen JP's question to Glam earlier (Yes, it was placed in a spoiler and I still read it), I was really shocked about it. I started to think that he's dead.

I actually didn't think that this series would add Vampires in their list of evil denizens of the dark. It is...more I'm on my tenth one!!! :) Soon I'll catch up with Glam. :)

Whoa. One of the best book in the series. From 'The Dark Lord' to 'Strigoi' and 'Moroi'. HP and VA. Lol. The Spook's blood proved my hypothesis wrong. Since I, admittedly, have seen JP's question to Glam earlier (Yes, it was placed in a spoiler and I still read it), I was really shocked about it. I started to think that he's dead.

I actually didn't think that this series would add Vampires in their list of evil denizens of the dark. It is not the 'sparkly vampires' JP always said about Twilight. This vamps here are gross and really monster-like. :/ I don't even want to imagine them for the fear of dreaming it at night.

Oh! Earlier, there's this local show in my country that shows the old legends here. There's this psychic girl saying that this creature, 'aswang', as we called it, was warning them to stay ayaw from its lair or else it'll come to them. And they also have a drawn picture of it after the people in the neighborhood describe it. These aswang could shapeshift from black ominous cats to large dogs. The picture looks like a werewolf. Big and scary looking not like the fluffy Jacob of Twilight. >_< at first when I saw that TV program I jokingly said "You need the Spook and Tom Ward!" But as I listened more, I grew scared cause I remember my dreams about those creatures back when I was a kid. :/

And well, just saying. I believe in Angels and well, to those kinds of things too. Those legends are not just that. Maybe I've been reading a LOT of Spook's books. :O

Back to the review, although Alice annoyed me whenever she said to Tom that she did this and that for him to his face, I'm a bit concerned about what Tom was supposed to do on the Halloween. I pity Tom for having such HUGE responsibilities even though he's not yet completed in his apprenticeship. It's like the whole world is in his hands and it'll be his fault if he didn't defeat the Fiend. Easy said than done.

Overall, a well deserved 5 stars! The Spook's Blood just proved me wrong in a good way! (view spoiler) I'll read the latest book tomorrow MORNING. Because Glam said that it is SCARY. And she doesn't get scared easily. ???(less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Janika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As expected from the wardstone chronicles, its fantastic!
when you read this book, you feel as if your inside it, exploring the world of Thomas Ward.
In Spook's Blood, you wouldnt guess what will happen next and it will give you lots of emotion at the same time. as for me, i feel sad, curious, relieved and excited at the same time. its like you scrying on a mirror and suddenly the mirror goes blank. Its as if Im Tom, Grimalkin and Alice at the same time. I feel the presence of the characters and...more

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Mar 17, 2012 BlackroseBlackheart marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, excitement-is-not-the-word-for-it, feel-the-need-to-read, good-books-r-hard-2-find, hoping-it-s-as-good-as-the-others

Wow. What a roller coaster it's been, the whole journey.
And now.
It's near the end. *Sniff*

It's.

Finally.

Gonna.

End.

Why???? *Breaks into full-blown sobs, shoulders heaving. Blows nose loudly into a handful of tissues, composes herself*

But I'm going to be mature about this. I was 11 when I started this series, and I feel like I've grown up with it, along with Tom, Alice and Old Gregory. All my old copies of the series are dog-eared, with spills from juice and coke from when I was younger, each and e...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Cj Wilkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lure of the Dead is the 10th book in The Last Apprentice Series. The series follows Tom Ward who is an apprentice to John Gregory. John Gregory is the County's local Spook, who deals with creatures from the dark. In this book, Tom, Mr. Gregory, and Tom's friend Alice (a witch) are back in the County after traveling to Ireland. The 3 of them had to travel to Ireland as refugees after enemies had invaded the County. The Spook's house had been burned by the enemy soldiers, and Tom and the Spook are...more Lure of the Dead is the 10th book in The Last Apprentice Series. The series follows Tom Ward who is an apprentice to John Gregory. John Gregory is the County's local Spook, who deals with creatures from the dark. In this book, Tom, Mr. Gregory, and Tom's friend Alice (a witch) are back in the County after traveling to Ireland. The 3 of them had to travel to Ireland as refugees after enemies had invaded the County. The Spook's house had been burned by the enemy soldiers, and Tom and the Spook are working on restocking the Spook's huge library about creatures of the dark. One day the Spook gets a letter from a Romanian woman named Mistress Fresque. Mistress Fresque says that she has many books in her library about the dark that she is willing to sell to Mr. Gregory. So, the Spook and Tom travel north to Todmorden, to buy the books. It seems like a valid offer, but they soon find out that Mistress Fresque is a demon strigoica and the entire town is inhabited by strigoi (male demons) and strigoica (female demons). They are from Romania and are vampiric demons who worship the ancient vampire god, Siscoi. The strigoi kidnap the Spook but Tom escapes. They tell Tom that he can only have the Spook back if he brings him the head of the Fiend, who Tom has bound in a pit. The head is carried by Tom's ally, the witch assassin, Grimalkin. Tom calls on Grimalkin and his friend Alice to help him get the Spook back. Meanwhile, the strigoi and strigoica are trying to bring Siscoi into the world through a portal. If they succeed, then Siscoi will kill Tom, Grimalkin, Alice, and the Spook, and return the Fiend's head to his body. The only way that they can stop Siscoi is to kill the host body he is about to inhabit before midnight or all is lost. Tom and Grimalkin manage to corner Siscoi in his underground lair, and Tom, after a long fight, kills Siscoi. Grimalkin and Alice manage killing off the rest of the strigoi and strigoica to rid Todmorden of their evil, while Tom goes and rescues the Spook. After their victory Tom tells Alice that she must go into the dark to retrieve a weapon that could help destroy the Fiend permanently, but they don't have much time...

This book is very well written and I have no idea how the author has kept up such a great story line over what is now 10 books. The books just keep getting better and more exciting. I recommend this to anyone who like action and adventure and fantasy. This book also has ties to history in it as well. Overall, Lure of the Dead is an awesome book, and I'm looking forward to the next book in The Last Apprentice series.(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Barb Middleton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

Me loves a good scary monster! Delaney creates some awesome predators in his horror books. Book 10 of the Spook Series has Tom working more on his own as a Spook; he's no longer the apprentice. He has discovered that he must retrieve a sacred object and make a sacrifice of someone he loves before getting rid of the Fiend. I thought they had gotten rid of the Fiend when Grimalkin chopped off his head but, alas, he is not gone from the world. Even with his head in a sack being carried by Grimalkin...more Me loves a good scary monster! Delaney creates some awesome predators in his horror books. Book 10 of the Spook Series has Tom working more on his own as a Spook; he's no longer the apprentice. He has discovered that he must retrieve a sacred object and make a sacrifice of someone he loves before getting rid of the Fiend. I thought they had gotten rid of the Fiend when Grimalkin chopped off his head but, alas, he is not gone from the world. Even with his head in a sack being carried by Grimalkin, the Fiend can still speak out loud and manipulate his servants to pursue Alice, Tom, and Grimalkin in an attempt to attach his head to his body and achieve world dominance. Even his talking rotted head that resides in a sack can strike terror in the hearts of the heroes. Except Grimalkin. No one can scare Rambo-woman. She just sticks his head near the fire and toasts him a little to show who's in control. Gotta love that assassin. This sacred object/sacrifice of a loved-one quest looks like the storyline but it isn't so don't read it like I did thinking, "When are they gonna get the sacred object?" Instead this story is about Tom and the Spook going to fetch some books for a library only to find servants of the Fiend trying to bring forth powerful old gods of the dark to create an army to take over earth.

The strigoica and strigoi are the monsters this time with lizard-like vampire features and appetites. They move so fast that victims are dead before they can lift an arm to defend themselves. Tom continues to muse about how he has to use the dark to fight the dark. The Spook no longer gives speeches about the dangers of this, but then the Spook ends up in a horrible predicament that forces Tom to rescue him. He must enlist the help of one who betrayed them, along with Grimalkin and Alice. He is terrified that the prophecy of the Pendle Witches regarding the Spook have come true.

Delaney does a great job with creating monsters, tension, and violence. This book has more decapitations than I can count, along with stabbings, and blood-sucking creatures. The prose is on the boring side and there was very little character development in this book. Actually there is very little seen of the character, Alice. I missed her. Her voice is different and she's more in-your-face sometimes good, sometimes bad. She's too good and accepting in this book. The Spook seemed out-of-character at the end giving up. I could buy him being weak from his ordeal but I couldn't buy him retreating so into himself. There needed to be a better explanation than just turning old.

This plot wasn't as unpredictable as others. It was pretty obvious the power of the Strigoica's illusion. As always, the monsters shine. They are creepy and unpredictable. They usually have something odd or different about them that makes them not quite your stock vampire or shape-shifter. This book is similar to the others but the plot wasn't as complex and the characters didn't have much internal changes as in previous ones. It was less interesting with the loss of the mentor-apprentice tension that came from Tom learning the trade. Instead the tension was supposed to come between Judd and Tom with his betrayal; however, Judd's situation was too horrible to hate him for his actions. That tension is filled up instead with nonstop action as the plot moves forward and beasts and monsters attack the heroes. Enjoy this fast read and don't read if you have a queasy stomach.

Reading Level 5.7(less)

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Oct 13, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: not-translated, series

MILD SPOILERS!

I just started reading again (after hybernating for Hell knows how long).

this book is amazing, I had to sniffled like crazy because it's just heart-breaking, blood-curling, mind-wrenching, tragically lovely romance between our Dear Tom and the lovely Alice Duane.
I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT!
WHYYY? Delaney why??? they deserves to be married, have 5 kids at least and start a good life being a spook/witch.
but I guess, without the tragic thingy, I would have drooped my eyes out.
not really, t...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tom Ward and the John Gregory, the Spook, are back after Grimalkin: The Witch Assassin, trying to repair the damage to their house while making sure the Fiend's head stays hidden so he can't come back and give them trouble. Tom finds out that he is essential to doing away with the Fiend permanently; it will just take getting possession of three powerful knives, one of which Alice must retrieve from the dark. The problem? Tom will then be required to sacrifice Alice with the very knife she brings...more Tom Ward and the John Gregory, the Spook, are back after Grimalkin: The Witch Assassin, trying to repair the damage to their house while making sure the Fiend's head stays hidden so he can't come back and give them trouble. Tom finds out that he is essential to doing away with the Fiend permanently; it will just take getting possession of three powerful knives, one of which Alice must retrieve from the dark. The problem? Tom will then be required to sacrifice Alice with the very knife she brings back. He wants to avoid telling anyone this, however, so he and the Spook concentrate on rebuilding their library. They have been given the name of a Romanian woman, Cosmina Fresque, who is willing to sell some of her books in order to fix up the house she inherited. The two travel there and look at the books, finding the dangerous grimoire Doomdryte as well as a book by a former apprentice. But, as it often is in this world, Madame Fresque is not all that she seems, and danger is lurking around every corner. It will take Tom, the Spook, Judd, Alice, Grimalkin and many other characters, alive and dead, from the past to keep the Fiend at bay. And this isn't the last book! Slither's Tale, book eleven, comes out in January of 2013!
Strengths: I do not like violent, gory books, but I love these! In between the action and killing monsters with pikes through their hearts, they are deeply philosophical about the nature of good and evil, and I just can't stop reading them! The relationships are always intriguing-- the Spook and Tom, Tom and Alice, even Alice and his mother, the Lamia-- all have such depth and interest. Then there is always the question of whether the Fiend will escape, and more importantly, will characters go to the Dark. It takes a really good series to hold my attention for ten books and keep me wanting more!
Weaknesses: I don't think book 11 will be the last, and any series over 12 books really tries my patience, even if it is awesome. I do want to see the movie when it comes out, although it's probably too scary for my tastes!(less)

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Aug 05, 2012 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Joseph Delaney's Spook's books never disappoint so I always look forward to the latest installment. He's been spoiling us over 2010 and 2011 giving us two installments a year in place of the usual one as its been for the first seven volumes. Book 11 is due out early October.

There's been an ongoing thread in these books from the start but more notably in the last three or four books. This most recent volume however deals with some of the major plot line and then sidesteps it to bring us a b-story...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Dan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite Goodreads insistence that this is the final book, it is not. Probably the penultimate one judging by the way it ends.

In this one Tom and the Spook head to pick up some books to start a new library after the old one was burnt down. However, it turns out it's all a trick by Romanian witches who are trying to summon the vampire god. It's up to Tom to save the Spook and defeat the vampire god, though he has Alice, Grimalkin and a newly introduced Spook called Judd to help.

It's dramatic and u...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Anthony rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't see how many have read this to rate it..I HAVE read it because Joseph is a friend and he kindly allows me a manuscript. I promote his and many other authors in the NW. His books mean a lot to me as they are so local and so damn good too. If the film makes a difference then sometime soon we all will go ..now I read that and it is truly a real alternative to all things magically wizardly. His 'County' is even better than Hogwarts 'cos it is 'Warts and all' a truly spectacular reinvention o...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When the package containing this book arrived through the mail a while back, it came as a complete surprise. I wasn't expecting it and when I found out that it was the tenth book in a series, I wasn't even sure I could read it. But I'm so glad I did! It was brilliant!

Let me start off by saying that this book barely confused me... which was quite surprising! Since I hadn't read any of the previous books in The Wardstone Chronicles, I thought I was going to be questioning everything the whole way...more When the package containing this book arrived through the mail a while back, it came as a complete surprise. I wasn't expecting it and when I found out that it was the tenth book in a series, I wasn't even sure I could read it. But I'm so glad I did! It was brilliant!

Let me start off by saying that this book barely confused me... which was quite surprising! Since I hadn't read any of the previous books in The Wardstone Chronicles, I thought I was going to be questioning everything the whole way through. Oh, how I was wrong! Not only does DeLaney explain everything that's already happened clearly, you're just so absorbed in the adventure that you feel like you already know everything about all the characters anyway. I seriously can not fault his writing style - it was perfect! Really engrossing! So if you're asking if you have to read this series in order; then my answer, based on this book, is no. I think there's a different focal point to every book along with the under-lying main storyline of him trying to destroy the Fiend - but as already stated, this was very easy to pick up! Plus, there's character profiles at the beginning too!

The main character, Thomas Ward (aka. Tom) was very likeable indeed! Also quite surprising for me! I never usually get along with male characters/narrators... He was so well developed with a really enjoyable personality. I admired him throughout for keeping it together even though he practically had the weight of the world on his shoulders! Especially when he found out what he has to do to get rid of the Fiend! I couldn't help but empathise. I loved all of the other characters too, even Grimalkin. Alice also! They were definetly both admirable and brave characters!

Now one thing that had me in complete awe, was the world-building. And that's just after reading the one book! Tom's world... well quite frankly it's absolutely terrifying! I'd hate to live there! What with all the creatures and the way everyone in the County lives in fear. It only makes it worse that Tom is a Spook. Even though the Spooks protect citizens of the County from the Darkness, they still avoid them like they are the Dark. Which is rather unfair for them, don't you think?!

Overall, The Spook's Blood turned out to be an epic read! It had great characters (a very likeable main one!), fantastic world-building and was equal parts awesome as it was creepy. I really recommend everyone to read this! If not, you are seriously missing out - take my word for it! I'll happily read more of Tom's adventures if I get the chance!(less)

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Jan 18, 2013 Sathursan.K rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-last-apprentice, jan2013

The book, "The last apprentice The Spook's blood/lure of the dead" talks about Tom Ward and his master trying to repair the spook's house but when one of his ex-apprentice, Judd Brinscall tells of a place to get new books, the spook and Tom went off Todmorden. When they got there, Tom didn't know it was a trap as was his master indeed. So there are new types of beasts and witch coming from Romania. These beast look like vampire and they are trying to summoned their god,Siscoi to retrieve the st...more

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Dec 06, 2012 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the tenth book in the Last Apprentice series. In this book we are back to hearing from Tom and the Spook. It was an excellent addition to the series and really shows how the story is shifting away from the Spook and more to Tom.

Tom makes a journey to find out what needs to be done to bind the Fiend's soul for good. Then Tom and the Spook journey to a small town to get more books from the Spook's library. When they arrive they find out that the town is infested with Romanian witches on a...more This is the tenth book in the Last Apprentice series. In this book we are back to hearing from Tom and the Spook. It was an excellent addition to the series and really shows how the story is shifting away from the Spook and more to Tom.

Tom makes a journey to find out what needs to be done to bind the Fiend's soul for good. Then Tom and the Spook journey to a small town to get more books from the Spook's library. When they arrive they find out that the town is infested with Romanian witches on a mission for the Fiend.

This book progresses the story nicely. We find out what must be done to bind the Spook’s soul and what a horrible thing it is. All of these books are dark, but I thought this was one of the darkest books yet. This book was more of a YA reading level than a middle grade read I thought. Very violent at times and kind of creepy and scary too.

All of our favorite characters are here; Tom, the Spook, and Alice. We also get to meet a new character that is one of the Spook's previous apprentices and he made a good addition to the story. Tom definitely takes front and center and is really coming into his own as a Spook.

The Spook is definitely showing his age and takes a backseat to the other characters in this book.

Alice is growing in power and continues to flirt with the dark, yet she remains steadfast to Tom and does her best to try and combat the Fiend. You see a lot of her struggling to balance the necessity of using the Dark and the want to stay with her friends in the Light. She is also absent a large portion of the book since she is off helping Grimalkin.

We meet some new horrible and creepy creatures of the dark. The book gets fairly violent at points, with some scenes of torture as well. Just a heads up for younger readers.

The book ends at a good spot, with things being set up for the next installment. Not a lot of twists or turns in the story, but it is still an engaging read. The creepy illustrations throughout really add to the story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it progressed the story nicely. It was a bit darker than other books in the series, more violent with some torture scenes...so just a heads up to younger readers. Tom is really coming into his own as a Spook and it was great to see him take on the Dark by himself. Alice also continues to grow in her dark power. This whole series is highly recommended to those who enjoy adventure fantasy with horror in it. (less)

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Mar 27, 2013 Eden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-to-buy, favorites, fiction-horror-and-paranormal

Time is running short for Tom. He doesn't have many months left until he has to deal with the Fiend and defeat him once and for all. But can he do what's been asked of him?
But for now, they have to deal with repairs to the house and building the Spook's library again. They find out about a woman with books about the dark and she is willing to sell. Tom and the Spook set off to take a look at this library, but find more than just some books.

Wow. This entry in the series is just so intense and ev...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Christian rated it 4 of 5 stars

I like the ever-increasing stakes in this series. Based on one of the half-book releases, I knew we were going to be dealing with Romanian witches at some point, so that wasn't such a surprise for me. I like how they have been distinguished from County witches.

Based on the events of this book, I feel that we're close to the end of the series. There is a very real possibility that there will only be one book left. Or not.

The writing is, as always, quite good. There was a bit more repetition tha...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars

In this installment Ward and gang face off against a new foe from a foreign land and the pieces are set in place for the final battle. Many loose ends are left.

Although I like this series, I was a little disappointed to wait all this time and be handed a story centered around vampires and Romanian witches. I feel there are many untapped regional myths and legends that must lurk in the County. It's the 10th book; going for trendy is not necessary to get readers.

In the beginning, we learn more of...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Don rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, bizarro, fantasy, fiction, ghost, horror, magical, paranormal, terror, vampire, witches

As mentioned in a previous posting in regards to this 'series', I was given almost the entire THE LAST APPRENTICE series.

And again, I have to state that this is NOT FOR YOUNG READERS and should be for strictly GRADE 8 and up.

It contains Black Magic, Demons, Witches, and all sorts of bloodletting, dismemberment, and much violence depicted within it's pages. Still can't believe it's zeroed in on basicly a Young Age Group.

For older Teens and such? Yes, by all means as this is proving to be a very...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Zalophus O'taria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It didn't take me more than a day and a half to start and complete this book, for so enraptured by the story was I.
I most eagerly await the next installment.

I love the writing style of this series, though not quite as intricate as I've recently grown to, it's still very detailed and lets the reader understand the story very clearly. That said, Delaney still manages to keep enigma in the plot, keeps you thinking, ‘hoping against hope' (a favored phrase from the series) and wondering, just what c...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Esmeralda rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ghost, vampires, spies, realms, witches

I don't know I wasnt feeling the excitment to much with this one. All the characters I enjoyed seemed to have lost their spark. I really lost it when I thought that the spook had been killed, but then we saved him and he was just a shell. Yeah, I get that he is old and that Tom is growing up to be the spook but I.. it is sad that it went the way it did. Alice, I will always love, Alice But she is hardly in the book any more and the little she is, she is being wierd. I feel sad that she and Tom a...more

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Dec 07, 2012 Karen Lowe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is called Lure of the Dead not The Spook's Blood. I was glad to get back to Tom and Alice after the last book about Grimalkin, but this one took a really dark turn in the middle and really did scare me for a while. Like Harry Potter, this series is getting darker as Tom tries to rid the world of the Fiend and his allies. Can it be done and will Alice have to die in order to make it happen? I hope not but that's the path that is set in this novel. I hope the end is as good as the journey has...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Michael Moore rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So excellent joeseph delaney truelly amazing
so grimalkin still running aroud with the spooks head
tom has learned he must send Alice into the dark to retreive a sacred sword
his mams told him he must sacrafice Alice in order to be ridden of the fiend forever
romanion vampire sigorie are trying to raise siscos a powerful god
the spooks head appeared to be chopped of and kept kept in a box
toms brother murdered by creatures of the dark
Alice has gone into the dark to get sword
tom powers are getting str...more

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Oct 02, 2012 Clare rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As we get closer to the end of the series, the stakes get more and more dire. We've now learned in this book from Tom's Mam exactly what Tom must do to rid the world of the Fiend forever, but it is a truly horrible sacrifice. Will he be able to do it? Will he have to?

(And for parents, I would advise that in these later books I think the age level is definitely going up from the earlier books. They are getting scarier, and much more serious in content. Will include a spoiler at the end for those...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-literature, fantasy, fantasy-sci-fi-challenge, favourite-series, new-ya-books-challenge

I have mentioned before my personal rating system which kind of goes 'stars for however I felt about that book.' And of course there is adjustment in this system for different genres as I tend to like books differently within genres and rate them differently for each genre. So my system tends to be very much a patchwork of up and down ratings. Now why am I beginning my review with this? Well I actually didn't have a reason I thought it would be a good thing to throw in there and test my readers....more

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Aug 31, 2012 Maddison rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Spook's Blood is a medieval fantasy book.
The reason I read this book is because I had already started the series after being recommended it, and I just loved it, so I've followed the books and looked forward to the new releases for a long time.
The main plot is for Tom, the Spook's apprentice, to destroy Siscoi, the old god who the witches are trying to raise. He does this by persevering with hardship, the long nights and the horror.
Tomas Ward, a 15 year old who turns 16, is a Spook's apprent...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Pennyjelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-witch

This book was great, but it didn't really bring an end to the series. Lots of unresolved issues. I don't think I'll read the next book #11 called "Slither" due out Jan 2013. Since the series didn't end with book 10 - - I'll just take a moment to write my own ending. Here goes - Alice and Tom get married and have 7 spooky-witchy-hell raising kids. Tom uses his brother in a ritual to kill the fiend once and for all. The end.

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Sep 01, 2012 Polly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-books, fantasy, fiction

Not sure why I keep reading these, as they kind of annoy me, but I also kind of enjoy them--the plot and all the evil creatures are well done, I just find the protagonist irritating (and I can't ever remember his name). I am glad to hear, however, that we can only expect a couple more books, as I don't have that much more patience. I'm amazed by how little the story actually moves ahead in each book.

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Nov 02, 2012 Darin rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story was fine, but the series is being dragged out too much. Take this book as an example. We get some good details on what needs to happen to wrap up the main story, but once that information is given the book goes off on its own little story. It seems like the last few books have done this. With the current trend, this series may continue for quite a while. Sigh. More reinforcement on my decision to never start another series until it is finished.

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Feb 22, 2013 Brian Regan rated it 4 of 5 stars

What can I say? I love this series. It's cheesy, melodramatic, and loaded with every creepy ghoulie ever known to man (this time it's vampires - not pouty, romantically glowing Twilight vampires, but Strigoi! The nasty, demonic Eastern European kind that possess the bodies of the dead). Very psyched I happen to have the next volume on hand, ready to go!

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Jul 04, 2012 Edel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Ahhhh Joseph Delaney you can do no wrong in my eyes!!.
This was another gem in the Spook's Apprentice series , and just as good as all previous books. It is getting nearer to the end ,and you can sense the end coming while reading the book.There are a few twists in this story that had me reaching for the tissues ,but I loved them all.
This time there are Witches and a vampire god Siscoi causing Thomas no end of problems so he is going to need all his old friends like the Spook,Alice, Grimalkin,a...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Ted Mccoy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maybe I feel like harshing on these last few Last Apprentice books, but it seems like things are being dragged out wayyy longer than they need to be. Tom Ward is not a particularly fleshed out protagonist, and I get that most of these novels are set-ups for cool/scary stuff to happen, but there was supposed to be a story arc at some point, right?

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Young Adult

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Paranormal > Witches

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Fantasy > Paranormal

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Horror

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Fantasy > Magic

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Fantasy

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Adventure

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About Joseph Delaney

Joseph Delaney is a retired English teacher living in Lancashire. He has three children and seven grandchildren and is a wonderful public speaker available for conference, library and bookshop events. His home is in the middle of Boggart territory and his village has a boggart called the Hall Knocker, which was laid to rest under the step of a house near the church.

Most of the places in the Spook'...more

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Books by Joseph Delaney

Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #1)

Night of the Soul Stealer (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #3)

Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #2)

Attack of the Fiend (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #4)

The Spook's Mistake (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles, #5)

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title link	preview: Lure of the Dead
avg rating	preview: Lure of the Dead Goodreads rating: 4.26 (712 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13553258-lure-of-the-dead?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340804714l/13553258.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13553258-lure-of-the-dead?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Lure of the Dead by Joseph Delaney[/url]

Lure of the Dead (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #10)

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