""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 to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom's mother has mustered a powerful army—including Tom's friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin—to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark?
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"In this second installment in The Last Apprentice series, Tom Ward is once again, learning new lessons from the town Spook, John Gregory. Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son, just as Master Gregory is. They go about the countryside ridding the town of ghosts, ghasts, witches and other supernatural creatures that prey on weak townsfolk. But, this time they are also running from the evil Quisitor, who hunts for witches and falsely accuses many with the end result being burned at the stake. He also decries the doings of the Spook and his apprentice, and as such Tom and Master Gregory are in deep danger. On the other-worldly side, they are also trying to defeat the powerful Bane, who is growing stronger and stronger by the day. With the help of their not-so-evil witch friend, Alice they hopefully will find a way to defeat two such formidable enemies and go on with the mundane, everyday chores of Spook lessons and learning."
— Jackie (4 out of 5 stars)
“The Last Apprentice series continues to be one of the best written of the last several years…As in previous books, the writing is direct, and the plotting and characters, most not of the human variety, are smart and believable. Naturally, fans of the series are the best audience, but this is accessible even to those just jumping in.”
— Booklist" Tom Ward is called to try to save the Spook's estranged brother, who is being slowly killed by an evil spirit. He is too late, and when Tom and the Spook try to attend the funeral, the Spook is imprisioned, put on trial, and sentenced to death. Meanwhile, Alice too is to be burned, and Tom has to rescue her. Alice then enlists the ultra-evil Bane to help rescue the Spook. Eventually, Tom and the Spook have to rid Alice of this menace, who is the Spook's long-time nemesis. "
— Skip, 2/20/2014" Better than Harry Potter, extremely dark. "
— Brett, 2/7/2014" I thought this book was good. The detail was explained and I was able to picture the setting in my head. This book is basically about the Spook getting caught and the apprentice needs to save him and the same time dealing with the Bane (one of the Spooks most feared enemies). "
— Henry, 2/3/2014" Creepy yet satisfying. "
— Marian, 1/25/2014" i learnt how to trap witches and dig ditches to trap bogs in (: it would have been really useful skills if i had been born a 100 years ago "
— Kenneth, 1/22/2014" it was AMAZING! it was scary, adventourous and suprising! I LOVED IT! "
— Cecilia, 1/19/2014" Second in The Last Apprentice series. Here, young Tom has been an apprentice to "The Spook" for about six months and is already binding boggarts all on his own. He also discovers that perhaps one of the reasons the Spook has warned Tom to be wary of all women is that he had a bit of trouble with them in his own past. When a particularly vicious boggart called a "Ripper" attacks the Spook's brother, a priest, Tom must go to him and try to bind the boggart and hopefully save the priest, whom the Spook hasn't spoken to in 40 years. Sadly, the priest ends up dying as a result of the attack and Tom and the Spook travel to the funeral to face yet another supernatural monster AND a human one in the form of a persecutor and burner of witches who doesn't really seem to mind if the person is a witch or not. Tom learns a lot more about his own supernatural abilities, gets to know the Spook even better, and has yet another run-in with Alice the witch wannabe from the the first novel. This is a great series for those interested in the supernatural, in the "old ways" people had of dealing with such, and who like a bit of gruesomeness...but not too much! Grades 6 and up. "
— Samantha, 1/14/2014" The spooks curse was still brilliant but i found it a bit long in places. other than that i love these books "
— Kezz, 1/10/2014" the spook has had thomas ward as his apprentice for six months and they have fought creachers of the night together for some time. now they are faced with a new creacher that almost killed the spook a long time ago. it is called the bane and it is halding the people of preasttown hostage. "
— Tonykillebrew, 1/10/2014" Curse of the Bane is more complicated than "Witch" and is terrific. "
— Peyton, 12/28/2013" very much a young adult book but if you are really into witches, ghasts, banes, etc...this is the series for you. "
— Jenny, 12/16/2013" Great story. It's spooky, but not too spooky. Really good books for boys, which sometimes I don't think there are enough of them out there. It might be a bit scary for a younger audience, however. "
— Michelle, 12/8/2013" this was an awesome book i would recommend it to anyone, and the first one too "
— Samia, 12/7/2013" We are gripped by the series and enjoyed this book whilst reading it to me son. "
— Stephen, 12/3/2013" in the secod young tom ward is learning that not all places are kind to spooks and it is best to avoide those places. he also learns that there are mor powerful things in his world that he is best staying away from and that there are things that are out of his hands. "
— Amalia, 11/27/2013" Wow I loved this book! I also very much loved the first one! It's so clear and vivid to me. I get sucked into the book and simply can't stop reading it. It was very entertaining and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. "
— Alexis, 9/5/2013" It's kind of different than what I normally read because it's a little more dark. If you don't like that sort of thing don't read it and also some of the pictures are a little weird so I don't look at them and imagine it my own way. "
— Brinlie, 7/28/2013" The book was even better than the first one! I can't wait to read the third book in the series. "
— Tisa, 7/24/2013" This book series is totally growing on me. Again, I wouldn't have read this one if it wasn't free, but I'm glad I did. The characters are starting to interest me more and more. Maybe if the next one goes on sale I'll pick it up :-) "
— Carrie, 4/19/2013" Sweet......... "
— Shadow, 12/22/2012" Loved it, creepy yet fascinating. Interesting concept. "
— matthieu, 8/1/2012" I very nearly finished this book. But when I was about a third of the way from the end, I realized I just did not care about the story or the characters or their peril. I gave up because I just didn't care. "
— Nichole, 7/15/2012" Once again, Spooky! "
— Alisa, 1/23/2012" #44/2011. The second in this YA Horror series of books. A good, creepy little adventure, that follows the aprentice of a spook hunter. "
— Beth, 5/10/2011" The Last Apprentice: The Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney <br/>* The second book of the Last Apprentice series. They are very entertaining and the villain in this book is quite interesting. If you have kids 10 to 13 they will probably like this series. "
— Gregory, 5/9/2011" An excellent audio book. The way he does the Bane's voice is so creepy and effective. Scary and fun. "
— Kim, 5/9/2011" Really enjoyable, "scary" book. The Bane was an interesting creature. Nice how it carried the tradition of the first book, but wasn't just a repeat. This one holds it's own for sure. "
— Kendar88, 3/26/2011" I liked this book but not as good as the first one but this book is creepier "
— Zach, 3/24/2011" Even better than the first book, although I did get tired of the author continually summing up what happened in the last book. But that is to be expected in books in a series. "
— Commissionedsk, 3/22/2011" I didn't think it was possible, but I think I liked this one even more than the first one! <br/>I love this series so much and I can't wait to read more! "
— Katrina, 3/8/2011" This series is getting better and better!! I am blowing through this series! I love the evil characters like Bony Lizzy and Mother Malkin. "
— Kris, 3/6/2011" This was a good book. I listened to it on the way down/up from PA to visit friends. Its an interesting series so far, though sometimes it gets a bit annoying. Too...childish?, I guess you could say. But of over all it was good. I like the guy who does their voices. :) "
— Heeyoung, 3/5/2011" Not as good as the 1st, alice is boring and too girly "
— Gem, 3/3/2011" Fun, light reading. Excellent YA book. "
— Jeff, 3/1/2011" These books are a little tense to say the least! "
— Lisa, 3/1/2011" Original and gripping. The gothic theme is what keeps me reading. "
— Maj, 2/2/2011Joseph Delaney (1945-2022) was an English teacher before becoming the bestselling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold millions of copies. Revenge of the Witch was adapted into a 2014 film, Seventh Son, by director Sergei Bodrov; its cast included Kit Harrington, Jeff Bridges, and Julianne Moore. He was the author of two other series of novels, Arena 13 and Aberrations. He lived in Lancashire, England, and most of the places in the Spook’s books are based on real places in Lancashire. The inspiration behind the stories often comes from local ghost stories and legends. The Spook’s Apprentice, The Spook’s Curse, and The Spook’s Secret have all been shortlisted for the Lancashire children’s Book for the Year Award. The Spook’s Apprentice won both the Sefton Book Award and the Hampshire Book Award.
Angela Goethals is a native New Yorker who has appeared on and off Broadway in Picnic, Four Baboons Adoring the Sun, and The Good Times Are Killing Me, for which she won an Obie Award and a Drama Desk nomination. Since moving to Los Angeles with her husband, she has appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Without a Trace, and Boston Public, with a recurring role on 24.