Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Spook's Tale and Other Horrors (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles)
The Last Apprentice series follows the terrifying adventures of the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward. But Tom's is only one story. There are others. . . .
The Spook himself was once an apprentice. How did "he" begin his training?
And what of Alice, the young witch who is Tom's closest ally? How did she overcome her dark past?
What did the witch assassin Grimalkin do to become...more
The Spook himself was once an apprentice. How did "he" begin his training?
And what of Alice, the young witch who is Tom's closest ally? How did she overcome her dark past?
What did the witch assassin Grimalkin do to become...more
MP3 Book, 0 pages
Published
April 28th 2009
by HarperCollins Publishers
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,141)
Nov 17, 2011
Lynchan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
avid fan/s of this book series
Recommended to Lynchan by:
actually, the temptation caused by free reading
First of all, I would like to thank POWERBOOKS for having err giving us me the opportunity to read this book for FREE! c:
What a very generous bookstore! From the bottom of my heart... I Thank You ~teary-eyed~
Well, this story tells about a very, very, very short tale (Just little/tiny details) about the childhood days of the Spook. It was a story on how he met the dude (sorry I forgot the name. I have a weakness when it comes to memorizing people's namesakes, and yeah, even the fictional ones) wh...more
What a very generous bookstore! From the bottom of my heart... I Thank You ~teary-eyed~
Well, this story tells about a very, very, very short tale (Just little/tiny details) about the childhood days of the Spook. It was a story on how he met the dude (sorry I forgot the name. I have a weakness when it comes to memorizing people's namesakes, and yeah, even the fictional ones) wh...more
As a big fan of Delaney's Last Apprentice series, I had to check this book out. But readers beware: this book was published for World Book Day, and was not meant (as some have mistakenly believed) to be a continuation of the series but rather, a supplement to the series and introduction for newcomers to the Last Apprentice universe.
The book consists of three short stories and a small "gallery of villains" which includes a brief description and passage from other novels about certain villains fro...more
The book consists of three short stories and a small "gallery of villains" which includes a brief description and passage from other novels about certain villains fro...more
This book is more of an interlude or a supplement to The Last Apprentice series. It is well written and interesting nonetheless, but not as fantastic as a full-fledged book would have been. Although we don't have a long wait "Clash of the Demons" comes out the end of August '09.
There are three stories in this book. The first details how the Spook became a Spook. This story was okay; it gives you some background around the Spook. Nothing that is really surprising, but a decent story.
The second st...more
There are three stories in this book. The first details how the Spook became a Spook. This story was okay; it gives you some background around the Spook. Nothing that is really surprising, but a decent story.
The second st...more
Apr 04, 2013
Eden
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-to-buy,
fiction-horror-and-paranormal
This is part of The Last Apprentice series, but not a main entry in the series. Instead the book has three stories from three of the characters of the series. The first tale is John Gregory's, next is Alice and the last is Grimalkin, the Witch Assassin.
John Gregory's tale is about when he was younger and exactly how he became a Spook. As is known from the other books, he was older when he finally decided to begin his training as a Spook. This tale explains exactly how he met his master and expe...more
John Gregory's tale is about when he was younger and exactly how he became a Spook. As is known from the other books, he was older when he finally decided to begin his training as a Spook. This tale explains exactly how he met his master and expe...more
Aug 07, 2010
Mailis Viiand
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-books,
witches
One of the few authors that can force me to read scary stories and enjoy them. I`m otherwise inclined to skip the gore and blood and `things that go bump in the night`, but Delaney keeps things so exciting and action packed that i just want to know what happens to the weirdly sympathetic people in the Spook series, and so i read these horror books and cant wait for the new ones to come out. And so what if im a bit jumpy after reading them and if youd jump out of a closet and yelled boo at some p...more
Probably targeted at readers between 12 and 14. I like the world Delaney creates. It is a world of fear and superstition, and danger. It isn't scary like horror fiction, because he keeps the reader grounded in the past--nothing will jump out of a closet tonight and 'get' anyone; the characters in this book worked to eliminate all the terrors of this past time--15th or 16th century, perhaps--so they are no longer around to threaten. But, all the characters are aware of the dangers and know that t...more
This book has a very strong and intriguing start, but begins to wane midway because it is actually a “trailer” book of sorts. While it got me interested in reading the five books that make up this edition, I find it frustrating that I have to seek out the full stories because the jacket of this book makes it appear that the book is a collection of short stories rather than a compilation of clips and partial stories. So, while I liked “The Spook’s Tale”, I was left with a feeling of irritation th...more
While not a book that can stand on it's own, "The Spook's Tale" is a good addition to the Last Apprentice series. In these three short stories three characters' backgrounds are shared. My favorite by far is Grimalkin, the witch assassin. Because really, don't the words "witch assassin" sound super cool and just a little bit scary?
I wish these stories were longer with greater detail. I felt they only skimmed the surface and left me wanting more. Delaney is a plot driven author, so these insights...more
I wish these stories were longer with greater detail. I felt they only skimmed the surface and left me wanting more. Delaney is a plot driven author, so these insights...more
Book would be an appropriate read as Book 4.5
-There is a story about the John Gregory before he became a Spook. I know I'm reading a story about John but the voice of the character sounds very much like Tom to me.
-There is a story about Alice. It describes some of what happened to her in book four. Stuff that was happening behind the scenes when she went to Pendle to find out what she could about Mam's stolen trunks & Tom's kidnapped family. Also tells some of Alice's past with Lizzie &...more
-There is a story about the John Gregory before he became a Spook. I know I'm reading a story about John but the voice of the character sounds very much like Tom to me.
-There is a story about Alice. It describes some of what happened to her in book four. Stuff that was happening behind the scenes when she went to Pendle to find out what she could about Mam's stolen trunks & Tom's kidnapped family. Also tells some of Alice's past with Lizzie &...more
Apr 14, 2013
R. J. Spindle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
short-story-collections
A nice start to what is sure to be a short tale. I'm excited about reading these three back stories. I wonder what insight they will hold for the future spook books in the series. This one will bring us some understanding of the Spook's motives and morals. I keep forgetting he was going to be a priest before he became a spook.
Read more and add your own commentary at R. J. Spindle
Read more and add your own commentary at R. J. Spindle
Delightfully horrid as usual, but lacking in the depth and breadth of others in the series. This is a quick mash-up of one-off short stories that attempt to fill in the background of some of the major players, like the Spook's early days. Alice's story is disappointingly brief, while the story of how Grimalkin becomes the witch assassin is nasty and terrifying. No mention of Tom's mother either, which was also disappointing.
The best short story in this selection is about the witch assassin Grimalkin, and how she won her way into being the most fearsome assassin ever. It's pretty gory and graphic, but awesome all the same. The volume also gives some of John Gregory's past, and how he came to be a spook, as well as some of Alice Dean's background, and exciting clips from previous books.
Aug 08, 2009
Ryan Mishap
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult-fantasy
A teaser book containing a brief story on how the Spook JOhn Gregory became exposed to the business, how Alice got involved with Tom Ward, and how Grimalkin became the Witch Assassin.
A rogue's gallery of nasties re-hashes the previous book's villains.
Obviously designed to lure new readers into the series.
A rogue's gallery of nasties re-hashes the previous book's villains.
Obviously designed to lure new readers into the series.
Dec 12, 2009
Angela
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
young-adult,
sf-fantasy
This is such a good series--very original and scary! This entry in the series is a collection of shorts written from different points of view/characters in the series. Some of the stories are ones we've heard in the other books but now told from another point of view--very satisfying!
The story at the very beginning is good but this book is too short. Check it out from the library. The rest of the book is recaps of characters and stories books 1-5 of the series. (not sure he had written book 6 yet when he put this out. They came out the same year)
This is an addition book, aside from the series with different point of view from the spooks, Alice and Grimalkin, and with different style of writing too according to the character.
I hope the author writes another addition book that includes Mam's point of view, I want to read about her story and maybe Meg's too.
I hope the author writes another addition book that includes Mam's point of view, I want to read about her story and maybe Meg's too.
A nice side book telling some bits of the story from other characters' point of view, and some interesting new background info as well. A bit too short and not really surprising to a fan of the series that has read the first four or five books, but still worth it.
Sep 18, 2011
Shiela Chan
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
strange-eerie-fiction,
owned
Gave this 3 stars because it's too short! I wanted to read more.
It consisted of introduction on Grimalkin the witch assasin, Spook's early life - what he was before he became a spook and some stuff about what Alice did. All of these are too short. Argh!
It consisted of introduction on Grimalkin the witch assasin, Spook's early life - what he was before he became a spook and some stuff about what Alice did. All of these are too short. Argh!
Good lord, this one was violent and gruesome! You definitely need to have read at least the first 3 books in the series for this companion book to make sense. The last third of the book is just excerpts from the other books describing the various villians and creatures.
Bukunya tipis saja - seperti kumpulan cerita
paling suka sih cerita John Gregory kecil, sebelum jadi spook yang
ternyata memang sudah peka dengan 'dunia lain'
beda dengan Tom yang bisa mengadu pada Mam, John Gregory malah
dikurung ayahnya di ruang bawah tanah ketika dia tiap malam bermimpi
buruk tentang seorang penambang
ketika John pergi dari desanya untuk belajar menjadi pendeta, di
perjalanan dia bertemu seorang spook yang sedang menguburkan muridnya
yang tewas
tanpa sengaja John akhirnya menjad...more
This series is really an undiscovered treat. (Although, looking at the author's website, the series seems to be very popular. Looks like a movie may be in the works.) I'm going to have to get the first book and start at the beginning.
I never knew how much I missed Tom Ward as narrator until he was gone. Although these were ostensibly published to fill in back story they fell flat for me. For hardcore fans, it's a little nibble of the other characters in the series to tide you over.
This is a fun collection of background stories behind the Spook. I really feel more connected with the Spook now and can better understand/cope with his mannerisms and idiosyncresies.
Stories told by other characters of the Last Apprentice series. For instance how the Spook started out and how Grimalkin became the witch assassin. Interesting if you like the series.
3 stars for the first story, The Spook's Tale. Filled with Delaney's customary solid, suspenseful language.
The other short stories aren't worth reading.
The other short stories aren't worth reading.
Oct 20, 2010
Nicole
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-horror-fiction
loved discovering the spook's and grimalkin's back story. my only complaint? it is too short! good thing i have book 7 'the rise of the huntress' to start.
Joseph Delaney is still the best youth author in my book and is fast becoming one of my overall favorite authors. Check out this series if you haven't yet.
Didn't read the last part, the Glossary of Villains. :P Cause it's like a spoiler. So I don't wanna read it and will just read the series. :)
Good. Is it bad if I found Grimalkin to be completely the coolest person ever after reading this? Not that I didn't already like her.
view 2 comments
Some really fantastic "between-the-scenes" stories. The story of how John Gregory first encounters the world of the Spook is especially great. It would be interesting to read some more stories of his early career, before he meets Tom Ward.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
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
More about Joseph Delaney...
Most of the places in the Spook'...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
