Wednesday, August 17, 2011

review: Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #2) by Joseph Delaney

Book: Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #2)
Author: Joseph Delaney
Release Date: 09/01/06



Excerpt:

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, rid the county of witches, ghosts, boggarts, and other creatures of the dark. And there's some unfinished business to attend to in Priestown. Deep in the catacombs lurks a creature the Spook has never been able to defeat; a force so evil that the whole county is in danger. The Bane!
But the Bane is not their only enemy. The Quisitor arrives, intent on hunting down anyone who meddles with the dark. Thomas Ward and the Spook must prepare for the battle of their lives.


Review:
As of late with series the second book hasn't live up to the potential of the first. This cannot be said about the second book of the "Last Apprentice" series. In it Joseph Delaney has proven himself to be a stead fast author whose works has weakened, but appears to be getting better and better.

The tale takes place a few months after the first. Tom and the Spook must journey to Priestown for the funeral of the Spook's brother. There the Spook plans to finish some unfinished busy. Namely finally get rid of the "Bane" once and for all. Things go far from planned. The Bane has basically gotten to most of the town residents and not only that the "Quisitor" has come to town. And he has Alice. Things aren't looking up for Tom and the Spook.

First thing first how they manage to advertise this series to kids is beyond me. This book and series is clearly and utterly YA. I say this because it deals with adult themes and it gets really scary at some points. Here i am at 25 years old and in certain parts i wanted my dog with me. The author goes on to create a driven plot where nothing is as it seems and you're really not certain of anything. Bonus yet is that Alice keeps becoming more and more key to the story. Alice is the type of character where you're not that sure what she's about, but you want to keep routing for her. She knows what she wants and dammit she is going to get it.

The bane is also an interesting creation. In it the author seems to have taken the early idea of the Devil in beast form. The Bane is conniving, tricky, and an interesting horror character different from your normal monsters. He is also extremely scary and you find yourself rooting for Tom to kill.

Tom himself is growing in this book. He's no long the unsure kid as he was in the last book. He knows what he has to do and faces it like a man. The interesting thing with him is that he keeps showing hidden powers within. It probably helps that his mother is more than likely a powerful witch and his best friend one as well. He's become your harry potter of horror.

I'm sure i can say more, but many other reviews have said so. Plus as i have dusted for the first time in months my head is a bit stuffy.lol

Final rating: 5 Bunnies. Brilliant writing, characters, and plot development.


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