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54th out of 118 books
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Clash of the Demons (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #6)
"You can't make alliances with witches and suchlike and hope to avoid being drawn toward the dark."
As the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward's first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about
...moreHardcover, 395 pages
Published
September 1st 2009
by HarperCollins
(first published June 4th 2008)
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Every 7 years, Ordeen will come to Greece and makes a bloodbath everytime she comes.
But not now, because Mam doesn't intended to let her back. Especially when the Fiend is unleashed.
And to prevent Ordeen, Mam needs allies. Either from the Light, or the Dark.
one of my favorite series, nowadays. So the review!
The characters
they're changed throughout this series. Either they're better, or worse.
I like to see how they'll end up like.
...more
But not now, because Mam doesn't intended to let her back. Especially when the Fiend is unleashed.
And to prevent Ordeen, Mam needs allies. Either from the Light, or the Dark.
one of my favorite series, nowadays. So the review!
The characters
they're changed throughout this series. Either they're better, or worse.
I like to see how they'll end up like.
...more
view all 4 comments
This is the sixth book in the Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. This was another wonderful book in this series; a lot of changes happen to Tom Ward and his adventures as a Spook take on a more worldly nature to them.
Tom is contacted by his mother who wants him to travel to Greece with her to face the Ordeen, an evil goddess, who is in league with the Fiend. Mam, thinks Tom's presence will help to win the final battle with the Ordeen. Bill, the Spook, and Alice areamong those wh...more
Tom is contacted by his mother who wants him to travel to Greece with her to face the Ordeen, an evil goddess, who is in league with the Fiend. Mam, thinks Tom's presence will help to win the final battle with the Ordeen. Bill, the Spook, and Alice areamong those wh...more
This latest Tom Ward book was just as good as all the others. I tore through it in a matter of days and now I have to wait until August to read the 7th installment!
I just love the characters in this one. Tom Ward, the Last Apprentice himself, is such a touching character. He is innocent in many ways, and yet has seen great evil in his short life. His best friend/girlfriend, Alice, was born to a witch family and there is the constant threat that she may turn to the dark side, bu...more
I just love the characters in this one. Tom Ward, the Last Apprentice himself, is such a touching character. He is innocent in many ways, and yet has seen great evil in his short life. His best friend/girlfriend, Alice, was born to a witch family and there is the constant threat that she may turn to the dark side, bu...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Polly Todd
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
followers of the series
Recommended to Polly by:
Lancashire Book of the Year Shortlist
I came to this book expecting great things and relishing the opportunity to indulge my love of the fantasy/myth genre. Perhaps suffering from not reading the first few books in the series, I had two or three false starts to this story. I don't know what it was about it, but somewhere along the line it missed the mark for me.
It has all the brilliant ingredients that should, by any measure, lead to a gripping and enthralling yarn. The use of real locations was a pure stroke of gen...more
It has all the brilliant ingredients that should, by any measure, lead to a gripping and enthralling yarn. The use of real locations was a pure stroke of gen...more
Once again Joseph Delaney gives his readers a fun and slightly chilling tale of Tom Ward, the Spook's apprentice. However, while still entertaining, it seems that the series has gotten to the point where he's really starting to stretch to come up with new, more dangerous perils for his characters to face. The change of locale to Greece was interesting, but felt a little arbitrary and illogical, despite building on Tom's mother's history. I would be reassured to know that the series had an end...more
I think Clash of the demons is a very good book. It is one of the best books I have ever read, it was that good. This is the sixth book in a series. It is about a young man named Tom ward who is training to become a spook. A spook is a person that fights against "the dark", ( witchs and evil In the fourth book a whole bunch of witches bring the devil onto earth, and the only person that can truly defeat him is Tom. In this book Tom's mother rounds up a bunch of people to go to Gr...more
The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney was an interesting read that brought out the sci-fi lover in me.
The main theme of this book is learning who to listen to most, your master or the ones that care most about you.
The style of Delaney is very interesting. The Last Apprentice is set in the past so some of the words used are old but are very easy to understand. This, to me, makes Delaney seem to be a great author. Delaney does not do a tremendous job of describing the char...more
The main theme of this book is learning who to listen to most, your master or the ones that care most about you.
The style of Delaney is very interesting. The Last Apprentice is set in the past so some of the words used are old but are very easy to understand. This, to me, makes Delaney seem to be a great author. Delaney does not do a tremendous job of describing the char...more
Love blood and guts and horrifying witches gnashing their teeth full of juicy human flesh? This book is for you. Horror delivered to young boys and girls, with a good plot and easy to read style. The journey to Greece was a new course for the series and gave Delaney a chance to widen the scope a bit. The previous book was even more creepy than this, but i might just gotten used to the ugliness of Tom Wards world. I never try to delve deeply into what happened in the book, because i don't want to...more
A fresh story after the stagnation of the last two (or three, even), as Tom Ward's witch mother comes to him for help fighting an Old God aboput to rise in Greece, her homeland.
The Spook reluctantly agrees to go, despite his misgivings about alliances with witches and other things of the Dark.
The Fiend--the devil hisself--is still after Tom, who only needs to use the Dark a few times to lose his soul.
The new setting and larger evil expand the world beyond the ...more
The Spook reluctantly agrees to go, despite his misgivings about alliances with witches and other things of the Dark.
The Fiend--the devil hisself--is still after Tom, who only needs to use the Dark a few times to lose his soul.
The new setting and larger evil expand the world beyond the ...more
Verry verry verry good. lets put it a thousand times. read this in 3 hours. i thougt this book was so good i almost bought it event thought i i donthave the others just because i dont doesnt stop me. but it did. i went ad got it from my teacher mrs hanson. to my appreation. she was verry generous. i think that the plot was awsome little gory. but i love gore its just my way of life. i think Joseph Delaney is one of the better aouthers in this world. It is also a little scarry for those who are c...more
I love this book! I got a signed copy for Christmas and I spent lots my Christmas money on the rest of the set!
it is a great story about a boy called tom ward who is training to be a spook - someone who fights the dark -creatures like witches.He battles all sorts of monjsters and his mum is magical, he has 7 older brothers and he is the 7th son of a 7th son, this is why he can be a spook. But his dad died and his mum disappeared so the only people hje can confide in are Alice his witc...more
it is a great story about a boy called tom ward who is training to be a spook - someone who fights the dark -creatures like witches.He battles all sorts of monjsters and his mum is magical, he has 7 older brothers and he is the 7th son of a 7th son, this is why he can be a spook. But his dad died and his mum disappeared so the only people hje can confide in are Alice his witc...more
This book was okay. The dialogue is annoying at times. Why does Alice speak in fragmented sentences? I suppose it's Delaney's attempt to give each character his/her own, unique voice, but I find it distracting. I'm probably in the minority here, but I'd rather see Tom go to the dark side. I think he'd be a much more interesting character if he had an attraction to the dark, like Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars. I like Grimalkin the most because she's no friend of the light but is willing to aid ...more
I struggled with this one, and for awhile I thought it was going to be the first book in the series that I was going to give four stars to...but my concerns were taken care of by the end of the book.
My main problem had been Tom's mam and how cold she seemed to be. I got the impression of her as only really caring about Tom because of his destiny to defeat the fiend, when she should have loved him and wanted to protect him because he is her son (and her youngest at that!)It frustrated me be...more
My main problem had been Tom's mam and how cold she seemed to be. I got the impression of her as only really caring about Tom because of his destiny to defeat the fiend, when she should have loved him and wanted to protect him because he is her son (and her youngest at that!)It frustrated me be...more
I do love this series. It's really quite different - the setting, the characters, the lore that's involved, it makes me happy! Even after five novels Delaney manages to come up with new ways to challenge Tom (our dear protagonist) and offers up a great storyline set in a whole new country for this installment in the Spook's series.
Of course, being a little older than that target audience, I find some things lacking. The language is repetetive. I found that the same thoughts and ideas ...more
Of course, being a little older than that target audience, I find some things lacking. The language is repetetive. I found that the same thoughts and ideas ...more
± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ±
rated it
·
review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
horror-esque,
middle-grade
In general, I've really enjoyed this series. But this latest installment just didn't do much for me. My biggest complaints are as follows:
*** potentially spoilerish ***
1) In a lot of the books, but this one in particular, Tom seems to have more happen to him, and gets saved by others or by luck. He's not very proactive, and while he does do well in a fight now and again, I would expect more from someone who's been training for several years and have been in as many ti...more
*** potentially spoilerish ***
1) In a lot of the books, but this one in particular, Tom seems to have more happen to him, and gets saved by others or by luck. He's not very proactive, and while he does do well in a fight now and again, I would expect more from someone who's been training for several years and have been in as many ti...more
In terms of excitement and non-stop action, The Spook's Sacrifice is right up there with the first book in the series. I read this installment in just 2 days' time and now I'm a little bummed that I read so fast, because this is it until May!
This book has a formula that I consider to be successful in nearly all cases: there's a quest - an actual journey that takes the characters out of a familiar setting and plunges them into a totally new atmosphere. That tension nearly always crea...more
This book has a formula that I consider to be successful in nearly all cases: there's a quest - an actual journey that takes the characters out of a familiar setting and plunges them into a totally new atmosphere. That tension nearly always crea...more
I'm a long-time fan of the adventures of Thomas Ward, the Spook's apprentice. His story started with Revenge of the Witch and now Clash of the Demons is the sixth book in this genuinely frightening series. The story is told from Tom's perspective in the first person so the reader is completely inside his head. Delaney pulls you into Tom's world and makes you feel for him and care about everyone he loves.
For those who need a little Last Apprentice tutorial, Tom Ward is the seventh son...more
For those who need a little Last Apprentice tutorial, Tom Ward is the seventh son...more
This is book number 6 in the series that I've been reading aloud to Luke and the only reason it took a while to finish is that we were pretty busy doing other things like moving to Sweden for a year. You know how that is. Anyway, in this outing, the brave young Tom Ward gets recruited by his Mam to head south to Greece to fight a dangerous menace known as the Ordeen. Tom is in for some nasty surprises and some tough decisions.
Luke and I read to page 270 or so when he just couldn't wait...more
Luke and I read to page 270 or so when he just couldn't wait...more
This one was different from the others. Usually the others are more like a mystery that unfolds over time, shifting settings, characters, etc. as the plot unfolds. In this one, it's a consolidated event - the all go to try to stop Ordeen. It's one big effort and the whole book is about them in this one place (really) trying to do that. Out of all of them so far, this was probably my least favorite. I think because it is so single-focused I wasn't as enthralled as I usually am.
I love it. The whole series is awesome and I eagerly await each book.
The whole plot entrances me the idea of the County being a very British affair, with those various ghouls and the ultimate devil threatening the existence of it.
It is set in a Medieval landscape and it fits perfectly together. I love every moment. An excellent read for fantasy fans, a much darker and gruesome tale to the HP series. Joseph Delaney gets my vote any day for fiction author!
The whole plot entrances me the idea of the County being a very British affair, with those various ghouls and the ultimate devil threatening the existence of it.
It is set in a Medieval landscape and it fits perfectly together. I love every moment. An excellent read for fantasy fans, a much darker and gruesome tale to the HP series. Joseph Delaney gets my vote any day for fiction author!
This is the sixth book in The Last Apprentice series. Mam returns to the County and enlists the help of Tom, Alice, the County witches, and the Spook. The Ordeen, the most dangerous witch in the world, is about to arise from the Ord in Greece. If she is not destroyed, she and her followers will bring death and destruction to the entire world. Joseph Delaney introduces a new set of horrific, evil creatures for the forces of good to defeat.
One of the most exciting and action filled books in the series yet. Tom's mam comes home to ask Tom and the spook for their help to fight a great evil back in mam's county. When they arrive, they realize just how powerful of an evil they face. The odds seem stacked against them and it doesn't look likely that they'll all get out alive. The full truth is revealed and nothing can ever be the same again.
Tom goes with his mom to her homeland of Greece to fight the Ordeen before she brings death and destruction to the world. I thought this might be the last in the series, but its not. A new book comes out but so far its only available in Kindle edition on Amazon. Grrrr. I want to find out how Tom handles the final confrontation with the Fiend. I have really enjoyed this series despite its dark and bloodthirsty antagonists, I like the struggle between light and dark and the inner struggle bet...more
For those of you still not on board with the Last Apprentice series, it's not too late to repent.
This latest volume takes the story in a different direction, but with the same quick intensity as the others. It's a great spooky without being too dark read. Those of you who get the heebie-jeebies easily, you'll want to read with the lights on.
I dreamed of lamia witches last night. Yikes!
This latest volume takes the story in a different direction, but with the same quick intensity as the others. It's a great spooky without being too dark read. Those of you who get the heebie-jeebies easily, you'll want to read with the lights on.
I dreamed of lamia witches last night. Yikes!
The books in this series seem too short!
Tom's Mam returns with instructions that he and the Spook visit with her at the farm. When the Spook finds she has made an alliance with the Pendle witches to travel to Greece and defeat the Ordeen, a very powerful witch hoping to ally with the fiend, the Spook is disgusted. Tom decides, of course, to obey his mother. Meanwhile, he is reunited with Alice, who is part of the Pendle alliance. Eventually the Spook comes around. Tom learns ho...more
Tom's Mam returns with instructions that he and the Spook visit with her at the farm. When the Spook finds she has made an alliance with the Pendle witches to travel to Greece and defeat the Ordeen, a very powerful witch hoping to ally with the fiend, the Spook is disgusted. Tom decides, of course, to obey his mother. Meanwhile, he is reunited with Alice, who is part of the Pendle alliance. Eventually the Spook comes around. Tom learns ho...more
Whew, what a great book, as always. I read the first 150 pages in no time at all, and the rest of the book was just as good; I just didn't have enough time to read straight through. This one isn't as scary as the first book, but it's just as interesting and well-written. If you've enjoyed the other books in the series, you will continue to enjoy this!
I feel like these books are getting better and better, without leaving the children's genre behind. **cough, Harry Potter, cough** It helps that I took a several month break from reading the last one, but I still really like this series and am excited to see Tom's growth over the next couple books and how Alice plays into it all.
Tom Ward's mother Mam has returned from Greece looking for help from him and the Spook. She has a bold plan to fight "the Ordeen" a blood thirsty demon who appears with a horde of followers every seven years. If she is not stopped she will escape and take her revenge on the county. Another great installment in the series.
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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.
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“Have faith in who you are. Believe that you will recover, and it will truly happen. And don't judge yourself too harshly. Some things are meant to be, and you had to fall so that later you may rise and become what you are truly meant to be.”
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“Human beings have hope. Not matter how desperate things are, they convince themselves that they can change things for the better."
- John Gregory (Clash of the Demons)”
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- John Gregory (Clash of the Demons)”
