The Last Apprentice Curse of the Bane

Title: The last Apprentice Curse of the Bane

Author: Joseph Delaney

Illustrator: Patrick Arrasmith

Genre: Children Literature

Age: 10-14

Pages: 455 (paperback)

Publisher: Greenwillow Books 

        The life of a spook is dangerous, thrilling, and enriching, although there's always a price to pay in order to get rid of the dark. Tom Ward, a boy of 13 years old was placed into this exciting life, a few months ago in book 1. His father had given him apprenticeship to John Gregory, the County Spook. With their tools of the trade and knowledge they get rid of any dark creatures that could be potential enemies to their beloved County. In Joseph Delaney's second book of the series, Tom is rushed into battle from the start. He is sent to take care of a Ripper, which is a powerful boggart. We later find out that the priest who had intended to take care of the ripper in the first place was the spook's brother. The story soon unravels to an unknown territory, Priestown. All the while, Tom learns about the different creatures of the dark and quickly discovers a very powerful one. The spook instructs his apprentice about the Bane. Its domain is in the catacombs, underneath Priestown and he can now reach people's minds and make them do what he likes. The spook and his apprentice are hard-pressed by the new arrival of the Quisitor. Now they have two enemies too deal with and not much time!

        I enjoyed book two of The Last Apprentice, as much as the first. the story was fast paste and each chapter brought different ideas or different conflicts. I enjoyed seeing Tom grow as a person and apprentice, whether it was when he learned about enemies of the light or when he had to make harsh decisions. The author did a splendid job introducing the new characters. He left nothing out and did it efficiently without rambling on uselessly. Interestingly we see the spook at his weakest and it makes me think if Tom will have to take over soon. The bane was a clever addition to the series, and it showed us how strong the characters really are. The conclusion was terrific; I loved the note from his mam and the plot twist. This book was Delaneys best so far! I'm excited to read the third and hope it's as great as this one.

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                                                                         Rating: 3/5
                               

                              

This is the second book of the series. If you havn't seen the first Click Here
If you liked this book then I think you'll like this one ----> Click Here