Product Description

A wonderful and terrifying series by a new writer about a young boy training to be an exorcist. Thomas Ward is the seventh son of a seventh son and has been apprenticed to the local Spook. The job is hard, the Spook is distant and many apprentices have failed before Thomas. Somehow Thomas must learn how to exorcise ghosts, contain witches and bind boggarts. But when he is tricked into freeing Mother Malkin, the most evil witch in the County, the horror begins ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #277737 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 324 pages

From the Inside Flap
It’s going to be a long, hard, cruel winter, son,’ Mam said. ‘All the signs are there . . . And there couldn’t be a worse place to spend it than up on Anglezarke. Your dad was worried about you, son, and I am too. So I won’t mince my words. There’s no doubt that the dark’s growing in power and there’s a particularly baleful influence up on that moor. It’s where some of the Old Gods were worshipped long ago and in winter some of them start to stir from their sleep . . . So stay close to your master. He’s the only real friend you’ve got. You must help one other.’

From the Back Cover
Warning: Not to Be Read After Dark

‘How many times have you told me that the dark’s getting stronger in this town? That the priests are becoming more corrupt, that people are afraid. And think about the double tithes and the Quisitor stealing land, and burning innocent girls and women. What do you think’s at the centre of it all?. . . What terrible force makes good men inflict such atrocities or stand by and let them happen? . . . Aye, the Bane is to blame, and the Bane must be stopped now.’

The Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward, have travelled to Priestown to defeat ‘the Bane’, a powerful, evil creature that lurks in the catacombs of the cathedral and is corrupting the County.

As Thomas and his master prepare to battle with the Bane, they soon realize it isn’t their only enemy in Priestown. The Quisitor has arrived, searching the County for those who meddle with the dark – witches, warlocks and spooks! Can Thomas and his master survive the horror that follows . . .?
‘Spine-tingling’ The Times

About the Author
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's books are based on real places in Lancashire. And the inspiration behind the stories often comes from local ghost stories and legends.

Customer Reviews

Not to be Read After Dark
The Spook's Apprentice is a children's horror novel set in the time of the Pendle Witches. The eponymous Spook is a man whose job it is to protect the local villagers from witches, boggarts and all other evils, yet despite his invaluable service, he is shunned by all. After the death of his last apprentice, the Spook enrolls young Thomas Ward, who, being the seventh son of a seventh son is qualified for the position. However, he soon discovers that this is no mere accident of birth.

Thomas is left the entire night in a haunted house as a kind of initiation into his new job. The twist in this scene is perhaps a little too obvious. Thomas progresses with his lessons - but before long, the Spook is called away on an urgent matter in Pendle, and rather recklessly leaves his inexperienced young apprentice behind. During his absence, Thomas makes a rash promise to Alice (a girl with pointy shoes), and is tricked into releasing Old Mother Malkin, who was buried alive as punishment for killing the villagers' children and drinking their blood.

Once she is free, Thomas's problems really begin - and it seems that the only person he can turn to for help is the one who got him in this mess ... Alice. Alice is perhaps the most interesting character in the book. The reader is never certain whether she is to be trusted or not. Is she as well-intentioned as she claims, acting under duress - or is she an evil scheming trickster out to lure Thomas to the same bloodthirsty fate as the previous apprentice?

'Not to be read after dark,' it says on the back cover. Perhaps it's not quite as scary as the publishers would have you believe - but it's still sufficiently chilling for most young readers. Certainly not suitable for those under 8 or 9, or those prone to nightmares, as some of the imagery is quite intense: (ghosts of dying soldiers hung on a tree - a witch who wants to drink a new born baby's blood - a boy who has his fingers cut/chewed off by a boggart, and many others). However, if you're 13 or older and enjoy something on the gruesome side, this is an adventurous tale with many a cliff-hanger.

It's somewhat difficult to settle on a star rating for this book. To be honest, this kind of dark horror is not to my tastes; I prefer my fantasy reading material to be a little more light-hearted - preferably with a few laughs. However, putting that aside, I award 4 stars for the quality of writing. This is a well-written novel, briskly paced and with some good characterization. For those who live in Lancashire, the local history of the Pendle Witches may be of particular interest - but this book may well appeal to any teen with morbid or gothic tastes.

The Spook
If you're an adult, don't dismiss these books as simply 'kid's stuff'!

I'm nearly 43, and I was as captivated by the Ward Chronicles, as my 15 yr old daughter and sons of 11 and eight years. These books have much to offer an adult audience.

The plots are fast-moving, brilliantly written and, above all, totally enthralling. Joseph Delaney is an imaginative author, who makes it impossible to put down his stories once you've picked them up.

Even as an adult, it was easy to slip into young Tom Ward's mind, and really see the events from his viewpoint. Or, perhaps having a more experienced imagination just adds to the thrills!

A great (and good) surprise!
I bought this series through Amazon.co.uk, and at first I really thought it would be a great series. When I received the books though, it came as a small dissapointment. Why? They are not as long as they seem. Their design and cover is incredible (UK cover). I think it really fits, but the book itself is way smaller than the number of pages suggest. For this reason it took me some time to read this book.
And how much time I missed. Though short, the first book is very sattisfying, and the climax and end of it are amazing. I then began to read the second one (this one), and I couldn't let it go. I stayed awake longer than I should in order to finish it, but it was worth it. It is quite easy to read, and the story is marvellous, you just can not stop reading it, for every time a problem is solved a new one appears, and the relationship between Tom and Alice has some pretty interessing twists. All around, I believe this is the best book in the series (so far). The third book (Spook's Secret) is but slower, and focus a lot on the Spook's past, perhaps a little too much. The last one released (Spook's Battle) is once again set at a quick pace, having many dramatic moments. And once again it reaches an intense climax. A very interesting series, by a new and promising author.
Oh, and if you stop to actually imagine and "feel" some of the scenes, you may find out it is actually scary!