“Night of the Soul Stealer (Last Apprentice #3)” by Joseph Delaney
Genre: Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal
Source: Free pre-order
Summary from Goodreads:
In this third and terrifying installment in the Wardstone Chronicles, the nights are drawing in and it’s time for Tom and his master to move to Anglezarke, the Spook’s winter house. Tom has heard it will be a sinister and menacing place but nothing could fully prepare him for what he finds there. For this house, and indeed the whole of Anglezarke moor is full of secrets about the Spook’s youth. Secrets that are about to come to the surface and could wreck havoc on the whole County .
Review
Series books are always difficult to review. This really is just another installment in the Last Apprentice world. We do get some interesting developments. We learn more about the Spook and his past. He seems so cold and distant you almost forget that he on some level is a ‘normal’ person. He made mistakes, he loved women in the past, and he’s done the best he can. This book definitely highlights that. It fills out his character more.
Tom matures more. I’m glad that he does progress a bit in each book. It’s not a ton of progress but if each book only takes place over 3-4 months, the progress makes sense. He’s able to tackle some big monsters on his own. Of course it scares him but he knows what has to be done.
As far as the story goes, it was okay. It wasn’t awful but I didn’t overly enjoy it. It was an enjoyable enough way to spend a few afternoons. So far none of the books that I’ve read have captured the magic that The Revenge of the Witch had. Sure they all follow the same type of format but there’s not that little something extra.
The bottom line? A good way to pass the time.
Other books in the series:
I have not read any of these yet. A student of mine recommended them to me and I plan to read them at some point. I just have a stack of books to get through first. It sounds like the series is good so far.