I was asked to film a showcase for 3rd year fashion students at BCU and it became part of my Final major project. The students were designing costumes based on characters created by author Joseph Delaney, so I decided that the showcase should be seen as a fictional trailer. This is the sum of our efforts.
As danger increases in the County, Tom is sent far north by his master to be trained by Bill Arkwright, another Spook. Arkwright lives in a haunted mill on the edge of a treacherous marsh and his training methods prove to be harsh and sometimes cruel. But he has toughened up many previous apprentices and now he must do the same for Tom and prepare him for the gravest dangers of his life.
But when the Fiend sends his own daughter, the ancient powerful water witch Morwena, to destroy Tom, Arkwright makes an error of judgement and Tom finds himself facing his enemies alone. The Spook and Alice realising his danger, hasten to his aid but will even their combined strengths suffice in the face of such terrible dark power? And what is the Spook's mistake, the consequences of which might give final victory to the dark?
My Thoughts;
I liked seeing a different side to a Spooks job, Bill was tougher in his training methods and the way he deals with the dark. John seemed soft compared to Bill. I felt Bill's loneliness a lot and as I was reading,I was concerned for Tom's safety because Bill got hostile at times.
I really liked the cover of this book, Bill looks mysterious and his dog's Tooth and Claw look fierce.This image stayed with me throughout the book. It gave me a fear to meet Bill and set off an unnerving vibe around everything to do with Bill.
I felt the story get a bit boring from when Tom and Bill try to find Morwena and till Bill goes missing.after that my adrenaline picked up as Tom was in panic, I thought the writing was brilliant .Toms thought were bouncing off the walls sending the reader on an emotional journey.
I found the Fiend very horrifying,when he first appeared I felt a sense of finality.The way Joesph Delaney disguised the big reveal of the friend was amazing,i really didn't expect it!
I thought that the fiend would be a cheesy character and fail to impress but I was very wrong! the author got it spot on! I like how he's underhanded and he haunting demeanor is.
so far in the series I haven't been given any clue of what to except him to look like, in this book he takes on the form of another person.the idea of the friend looking like a person Tom trusts is very clever and unsettling! but John Gregory said his true form is monstrous I'm half dreading it but then again I can't wait!
This is my favorite scene in Mistake,when Tom realizes that the Fiend is standing in front of him in disguise the shock factor was brilliant great twist!.
I looked across the open hatch at the creature who had taken the bargeman's likeness. "If that's Mr Gilbert" i said "Then you must be..."
"Call me what you will,Tom.I have many names,"he replied. "but none adequately convey my true nature. I've been misrepresented by my enemies.The difference between the works fiend and friend is merely one letter.I could easily be the latter.if you knew me better..."
With those words,I felt all the strength drain from my body.I tried to reach for my staff but my hand wouldn't obey me,and as everything grew dark,I caught a glimpse of Alice's terrified face and heard her give a wail of terror.That sound chilled me to the bone .Alice was strong. Alice was brave. for her to cry out in such a way made me feel that it was all over with us.
This was the end.
Grimalkin appeared in this book again but this time as Tom's ally,I have mixed feeling about this because after meeting her at the end of Battle i thought that she makes a brilliant enemy of Tom's and I was looking forward to seeing more of her in that light ( or should i say dark). if i had a choice i would have her as my ally rather than my enemy i think shes an enemy that would never give up the hunt.
later on Grimalkin sides with Tom in a battle orchestrated by the Fiend against water witches.i loved that fight! it was very exciting seeing Grimalkin fight and watching Tom put his resent training to the test.
At the end the Fiend paid tom a visit and told him a shocking truth!my first thought was WHAT i don't believe it! then I thought hmmm is it a lie?
it was a brilliant way to end this book.gave me a lot the think about.
John Gregory decides that after realizing Alice is defiantly leading tom to the dark,that Alice has to go,and never have anything to do with tom again.Tom still shocked and confused with what the fiend has revealed can only listen to his master and set his sights on training to face that dark without her.
This upset me a great deal, Alice is my favorite and the thought of Tom seeing Alice as an enemy is heartbreaking.
After reading this book, I was listening to Breaking Benjamin and made a musical link that I thought goes with these books :)
Mainly about Alice and Tom
Great twists! Bill kicks arse.Only wish i could own claw,shes awesome! x
John, Alice and Tom are living happily at the summer house in Chipenden until ......Tom discovers that his remaining family have been kidnapped along with his mam's chests by Pendle witches.
After events Tom,John,Alice and an ex spook Father Stocks discover the magnitude of the situation.The three clans of witches that reside in Pendle are conspiring to summon the fiend! The Devil himself! ,The witches have corrupted the magistrate Roger Nowell making him blind to the witches intentions and the witches are intent on using the unknown content of mams chests for evil!
The dark is stronger than ever as enemy witches join forces for a communal goal!
My Thoughts;
This is my favorite book so far! the magnitude of the plot was very excited. Joesph Delaney introduced some interesting characters in this book, one being Mab Mouldheel,I thought she was a great character,she has immature quality's and gets childish when she doesn't get what she wants but on the other hand shes the head of the Mouldheel clan and so shes very powerful.her craftiness rivals Alice! which is saying something,brilliant!
Mab is a very good 'scryer' which is seeing the future.her predictions are great to mix up the chaos a bit more because there is always a threat of her sryes coming true.in the previous books Tom's Mam was telling Tom things to beware of in the future but because she's in Greece I think Mab's a great addiction!
The witch assassin Grimalkin is a fierce character.I love her, shes a force of nature so awesome! she was talked about in curse (I think) and at the beginning of this story but she only appears at the end of this book.I thought it was really clever how Joesph Delaney kindled a great fear about her long before Tom actually saw her,there was great adrenalin when she was chasing Tom through the woods,I had a terrifying image of her at his heels with her huge scissors.I loved the scene when Tom turns and sees her for the first time;
Now i could see Grimalkin for the first time.she wore a short black smock tied at her waist but the skirt was divided and strapped tightly to each thigh to aid running.her lips were painted black and when she opened her mouth in a travesty of a smile,I saw that her teeth had been filed to points!
" your a disappointment" Grimalkin said leaning back against the trunk of the final tree and pointing her daggers downwards so that the long blades crossed against her knees.
"I've heard so much about you,and despite your youth I hoped for more"
A bit of a confusing ending for this book.Nothing really got revealed about the friend.the ending looked bleak for tom but suddenly nothing happened ( not that i wanted him to die,there was no explanation as to what happened) it was a bit of a let down! The author did leave an impending doom for Tom at the end though. even though the ending was a let down, the future for Tom was left open for something exciting to happen in the next book.John was going to send Tom to another Spook Bill Arkwright I'm looking forward to hear about him.John mentioned that he has a different method of teaching,that will be interesting to see how Tom copes with that.
Brief Summery; Tom and John Gregory ( Spook) move to the Spook's winter house in Anglezarke,Alice is left with a family that owe John a favor. There Tom and Alice are faced with the mysterys of the Spooks past. who is Meg Skelton? what does Morgan want from the Spook? Is the spooks past catching up to him?
My Thoughts; I really enjoyed this book for different reasons from the first and second.I think secret was more about Johns past than a challenge for Tom.granted there was dark for Tom to face; Meg,Morgan and Golgoth. Lots of twists and turns in this book,quite afew shocking reveals that had me gobsmacked.
It felt strange to leave the Chipenden summer house and move to Anglezarke.I loved the way Joseph Delaney made Anglezarke feel and look miserable through Tom's eyes. Alice is still my favorite character! she's brilliant I love how stubbon and crafty she is.I thought it was hilarious when she'd had enough of living with strangers and went to stay with John's brother Andrew. On the other hand it was unsettling when John fell ill.In curse when he was captured by the quisitor.Tom had to take things into his own hands then like he does in this book.Toms growing stronger in mind and body.its interesting to read about!
I don't think I've mentioned the illustrations yet,I really love them.somtimes they don't make sence untill the chapter is read which I find really clever and somtimes they're of the characters.imagining what the characters look like with the brilliant discription is awesome but these picture add allitle bit extra.
no complaints for this installment only praise as usual :)
I've already read the next book 'The Spook's battle' Review will be up soon
This book is the second instalment of the Wardstone
chronicles by Joseph Delany
Have you read the first book?
If you
haven’t read the first book, ’The Spook’s Apprentice’ I’ll give you a quick
synopsis; this story follows a young boy called Thomas Ward on his journey
training to be the next spook. A spook is a very brave person with the job of
protecting the county from ‘the dark’, the dark consisted of witches, ghouls,
ghosts, boggarts, spiritsand so on…This
book mainly covers Tom getting use to a spooks lifestyle and the Spook deciding
if tom is up to the challenge.
Tom faces
his first witch Mother Malkin and proves to the Spook that he has what it
takes. Tom meets Alice who was brought up by witches. Tom befriends her but
can’t be sure if she is to be trusted.
Vague Plot of Curse (with no spoilers)
The Curse starts off with Tom
still training and learning the Spook’s ways. Even though Tom is only thirteen
he shows great promise which is shown in the first scene of the book.
Soon the spook and tom have
to go to Priestown, a place the spook has always given a wide birth. There Tom
and the Spook are faced with a few problems. Things look very bleak for the
pair especially when Alice appears back into the story as a damsel in distress.
Deep in the catacombs below
Priestown lurks a creature the spook has never been able to defeat. The Bane!
The Bane is a very dangerous
ancient evil spirit, once worshipped like a god but feared as it thrived on
death and chaos. Even though it is now imprisoned it can still reach and
torment the innocent Preistown. It must be delt with once and for all!
My Review
I finished this book in quick
succession to the first; so far this is my favourite in the series. I found it
very interesting to find out about the history of Preistown and the Bane.I found the plot twists thrilling and well placed. I
felt I had to tell someone and share my amazement when the unthinkable
happened. Every twist shook up the plot and along with it the characters.
I did sympathise for the
Spook as there were times when I felt his fragility, this was unsettling
because before the Spook was always perceived constantly as tough bold and
relentless!
Tom had to take action on
this own again like he did with the witch but this time with the Bane and also
to save Alice and his master .watching him grow and be courageous defiantly
added to the progression of the book. This made me want to move straight onto
the next book to see what else he can face.
I’m starting to like Alice.
She continues to be sly and crafty and I don’t think Tom will everbe sure if she can be completely trusted. I’m
sure that throughout the books there will be temptations for her to overcome…or
not who knows.
I really liked the bane as a villain; it was always cunning
and terrifying at times. The author was very clever to build the banes
character long before Tom and the reader come face to face with it. I felt the
fear of the Bane from the spooks stories, villagers in Priestown and also from
Toms impending anxiety to fight the Bane.
I have no complaints for this book, the characters continue
to grow and the plot thickens with every new addition to the series. I ‘m
enjoying the mystery of Tom’s mam and the Spook’s past, bit by bit new things
are revealed.
There were some scary parts which had me at the edge of my
seat the Bane was very unnerving.
I’m defiantly hooked on this series as I’ve already finished
the next book ‘The Spook’s Secret’ and am now reading the fourth book ‘The
Spooks Battle’.
This novel is the first of the Wardstone chronicles. It falls
under fantasy and adventure.
The main character is a thirteen year old boy Thomas ward and is
told from his point of view.
The story is set in a world where creatures such as witches,
boggarts, ghosts and demons terrorize the good innocent people of the county.
These creatures originate from ‘the dark’.
A fearless man John Gregory known as a spook leads his life
protecting the county from the dark by taming and bounding the things that go
bump in the night.
The spook is feared by all for facing the dark, it’s a lonely job
but someone has to do it.
The spooks getting old and
is now looking for a replacement. Many apprentices have failed, given up or
been killed. Tom may be the last hope.
This story follows tom and John Gregory, you see his challenges
and the fears he has to face in order to be the best spook he can be.
I found this book impossible to put down and read it in one
sitting.it was very easy to read even though there were a few uncommon words I
had to look up.
The plot was captivating and the text brought the scenery and
characters to life with enchanting description.
The characters are very interesting as your always learning their
backgrounds. I especially found the character Alice fascinating; the author
portrays her as a shifty individual. This always leaves the reader unsure to if
she is friend or a foe.
I like the cover of the book it has a picture of the spook and
some grim hands reaching out from grates on the forest floor. This sets the scene for an eerie, spin
chilling and gripping novel.
I
would undoubtedly recommend this book. However I would advise younger readers
to take heed of the warning on the back of the book, ‘not to be read after
dark’. Especially those with a nervous disposition as there are some terrifying
moments and scary creatures.
I’m
looking forward to reading the next in the series ‘The Spooks Curse’
I’m
excited for a film adaptation of this book called ‘the seventh son’ which will
be released in 2013
