Joseph DELANEY is the author of the internationally best-selling The Last Apprentice series, which is now a major motion picture, Seventh Son. He is a former English teacher who lives in the heart of boggart territory in Lancashire, England. His village has a boggart called the Hall Knocker, which was laid to rest under the step of a house near the church.
Gr 7-9-In this excellent production, Joseph Delany's third spine-chilling tale (Greenwillow, 2007) in the series, Tom Ward and his master, the Spook, work to keep at bay the evil creatures of their world: witches, boggarts, and other monsters. Morgan, a failed Spook's apprentice, returns to steal the Grimoire, a book of spells with which he plans to try to raise and get power from Golgoth, an evil spirit. Wanting Tom's help, Morgan blackmails Tom by torturing his dead father's spirit. With the help of Meg, a witch, and Tom's friend Alice, the Spook rescues Tom and Golgoth is defeated. Christopher Welch's expressive voice and clear diction beautifully convey the horror and building suspense of the text. His voices for the characters are subtle but appropriate and consistent. The packaging incorrectly states that there are tracks every 3 minutes; the tracks actually vary in length from 5 to 11 minutes. While the story followsx and will be welcomed by the fans of The Revenge of the Witch (2005) and Curse of the Bane (2006, both Greenwillow), familiarity with them is not essential. A welcome sequel where the first two books are popular.-Louise Sherman, formerly Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
Tom Ward returns in Night of the Soul Stealer by Joseph Delaney, illus. by Patrick Arrasmith, in the Last Apprentice series (in a starred review, PW called the first book a "tantalizingly creepy tale of solitude and sorcery"). Tom and the Spook travel to the Spook's winter house, where they contend with a host of otherworldly foes, including one of the Spook's former apprentices. (Greenwillow, $16.99 512p ages 10-up ISBN 9780-06-076624-5; Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
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