Spook's


Spook's, published as The Last Apprentice in the United States, is a children's dark fantasy series by English author Joseph Delaney. It is published by imprints of Penguin Random House in the United Kingdom and HarperCollins in the United States. The series has been published in 30 countries, with sales exceeding 4.5 million copies. It started in 2004 with The Spook's Apprentice, which has been adapted into a play script, a feature film titled Seventh Son, and a French graphic novel.
The main series consists of 20 books, with three arcs. The Wardstone Chronicles follows Thomas "Tom" Ward's journey as he apprentices under John Gregory, the spook of the County, situated in a fictionalized Lancashire. Through his mentorship, Tom masters the skills to confront supernatural threats. However, as the narrative unfolds, Tom finds himself confronting an even greater peril: the Fiend. The Starblade Chronicles extends the adventures of Tom Ward, now a Spook, battling a grave evil endangering the County and beyond. Tom mentors his apprentice, Jenny, amidst formidable challenges. Brother Wulf features the exploits of Brother Wulf, a novice monk, and Tom Ward.
There are also several related works set in the same world, including two short story compilations, a bestiary, and two novellas.

Overview

The first arc of the series titled The Wardstone Chronicles, published from 2004 to 2013, follows Thomas "Tom" Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son who is apprenticed to the County's spook, John Gregory, a master fighter of supernatural evil. The Spook gives Tom practical instruction on tackling ghosts, ghasts, witches, boggarts, and all manner of other things that serve the Dark.
Tom soon discovers that most of John Gregory's apprentices have failed for various reasons, including being killed in the process of learning how to be a Spook. As the arc progresses, the focus expands to other characters, such as the young witch Alice Deane and the witch assassin Grimalkin. Overall, the series develops the plotline of Tom being destined to save the world or be tortured by the Fiend, the father of all evil, for all eternity.
The County referenced in the series is based on Lancashire in the North of England. Various County fictional towns are thinly veiled modern-day cities; for example, the town of Priestown is based on Preston, Caster is Lancaster, Black Pool is Blackpool, and Chipenden is Chipping.
The first arc was followed by The Starblade Chronicles, a trilogy published from 2014 to 2017, continuing the adventures of Tom Ward, who has finished his apprenticeship and is now a Spook in his own right dedicated to fighting an unparalleled evil threatening the County and the world. Throughout the trilogy, Tom mentors his own apprentice, Jenny, as they face daunting challenges together. This was then followed by Brother Wulf, published from 2020 to 2023 as four books following the adventures of Brother Wulf, a young noviciate monk, and Tom Ward.

List of works

''The Wardstone Chronicles''

  1. The Spook's Apprentice
  2. The Spook's Curse
  3. The Spook's Secret
  4. The Spook's Battle
  5. The Spook's Mistake
  6. The Spook's Sacrifice
  7. The Spook's Nightmare
  8. The Spook's Destiny
  9. Spook's: I Am Grimalkin
  10. The Spook's Blood
  11. Spook's: Slither's Tale
  12. Spook's: Alice
  13. ''The Spook's Revenge''

    ''The Starblade Chronicles''

  14. Spook's: A New Darkness
  15. Spook's: The Dark Army
  16. ''Spook's: The Dark Assassin''

    ''Brother Wulf''

  17. Brother Wulf
  18. Brother Wulf: Wulf's Bane
  19. Brother Wulf: The Last Spook
  20. ''Brother Wulf: Wulf's War''

    Related works

  • The Spook's Tale / Interception Point – A short story "The Spook's Tale" combined with Mark Walden's "Interception Point" as part of a small publication for World Book Day UK, which could be purchased at that event for a £1 coupon.
  • The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Tale And Other Horrors – A collection of four short stories: "The Spook's Tale", "Alice's Tale", "Grimalkin's Tale", and "The Gallery of Villains". This compilation was published in the US, incorporating the earlier published "The Spook's Tale".
  • The Spook's Stories: Witches – A collection of five short stories: "Meg Skelton", "Dirty Dora", "Alice and the Brain Guzzler," "The Banshee Witch", and "Grimalkin's Tale". Published in the US as The Last Apprentice: A Coven of Witches.
  • The Spook's Bestiary – A guidebook to the creatures found in the Spook's universe. Published in the US as The Last Apprentice: The Spook's Bestiary: The Guide to Creatures of the Dark.
  • The Spook's Stories: Grimalkin's Tale – Short story published as an e-book.
  • Alice and the Brain Guzzler – Short story published as an e-book.
  • The Ghost Prison – A novella occupying the same universe, but with different characters and storylines.
  • Spook's: The Seventh Apprentice – A novella featuring the Spook's seventh apprentice, a boy named Will Johnson. Published in the US as The Last Apprentice: The Seventh Apprentice.
  • Seventh Son – The first two Spook's books, The Spook's Apprentice and The Spook's Curse, repackaged into one book as a film tie-in.

    Books in the series

''The Wardstone Chronicles''

''The Spook's Apprentice''

In the County, Thomas "Tom" Ward, the seventh son of a seventh son, is apprenticed to John Gregory, a Spook who deals with supernatural beings such as boggarts, ghosts and witches. Despite repeated warnings from the Spook to keep his distance from witches, Tom befriends Alice Deane, whose family connections to Mother Malkin and Bony Lizzie draw him into danger. Alice helps Malkin escape by mistake, triggering a series of confrontations with the witch and her allies. With the Spook's guidance and using traditional tools of the trade, such as rowan wood and silver, Tom learns to face these threats. He finally lures Mother Malkin into a pig pen where she is destroyed, confirming his place as the Spook's apprentice, while Alice remains a doubtful but useful friend in his struggle against the Dark.

''The Spook's Curse''

In the cathedral catacombs beneath Priestown, the Spook and his apprentice Tom Ward confront the Bane, a powerful creature the Spook has never managed to defeat. Their task is complicated by the arrival of the Quisitor, who hunts witches, Spooks and anyone suspected of practising dark magic. In the catacombs, Alice Deane strikes a dangerous bargain with the Bane, offering it her blood and risking being taken over by it. When the Spook is arrested and sentenced to death, Tom and Alice work together to free him and confront the Bane. Alice grows afraid of the creature's influence and supports the Spook and Tom in planning its destruction. In the final encounter, Tom uses the Bane's moment of distraction after Alice's plea for mercy to destroy it, lifting Priestown's curse.

''The Spook's Secret''

During a harsh winter, the Spook suddenly decides to leave Chipenden for his winter house at Anglezarke, unsettling Tom. The house contains a cellar crowded with bound witches and boggarts, which adds to its threatening atmosphere. As the months pass, Tom learns more about his master's past and the reason for their move. The stranger who has appeared is revealed as Morgan Hurst, the Spook's former apprentice and now a necromancer seeking to raise an old god. Through Tom's discoveries and the Spook's memories, the book traces the Spook's earlier failures and the long-standing conflict with Morgan that now threatens the County.

''The Spook's Battle''

Tom learns that his mother has returned to Greece and left behind three trunks intended for him alone. On the Spook's orders, Tom and Alice Deane travel to collect them, only to learn that his family has been abducted by witches and taken to Pendle. While Tom struggles with what he learns about the Spook's history and the priest Father Stocks, he must also deal with rival witch clans, including the Mouldheels, and the threat of Mistress Wurmalde. The witches plan to summon the Fiend, a powerful personification of the Dark. Tom fights to rescue his family and prevent the summoning, confronting unsettling truths about his own heritage and his mother's links to dark powers.

''The Spook's Mistake''

Sent north for further training under Bill Arkwright, Tom endures harsh lessons at a haunted mill surrounded by dangerous marshes. Arkwright's methods are severe, but he prepares Tom for attacks from the Dark, including the Fiend's daughter Morwena, a deadly water witch sent to kill him. When Arkwright misjudges the danger and leaves Tom exposed, Tom is forced to face enemies with little support. With help from Alice Deane and the Spook, he takes part in a series of battles against Morwena and other servants of the Fiend. The effects of the Spook's choice to send Tom away, and Arkwright's own failings, threaten to give the Dark an advantage and place Tom's future as a Spook at risk.

''The Spook's Sacrifice''

Tom Ward is drawn between loyalty to the Spook and obedience to his mother, Mam, who reveals that she is a lamia with a complex history. Tom, Mam, Alice and the Spook travel to Greece to confront the Ordeen, a powerful entity whose return would bring widespread destruction. On their way they must deal with the Fiend's attempts to win Tom over, and with allies who use dark magic for their own purposes. Mam places herself between the Ordeen and the human world, giving her life to hold it back. Through her letters and a final encounter with her spirit, Tom gains a clearer understanding of her motives and accepts his role in the fight against the Dark, continuing his apprenticeship with Alice Deane at his side.