Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47375 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Released on: 2007-07-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-7–In this second book in the series, Delaney chronicles the spine-tingling adventures of Thomas Ward, seventh son of a seventh son, and the last remaining apprentice of monster hunter Mr. Gregory, aka the Spook. The most dangerous monster of all, the Bane, has been imprisoned in the catacombs under Priestown. He kills by squashing his victims completely flat, and he appears to be succeeding at controlling the minds and actions of some of the town's inhabitants. He needs to be dealt with once and for all. Priestown holds its own dangers for Thomas and the Spook, however, as their work makes them subject to being declared witches and executed by the Quisitor. In the scary and dangerous events that follow, Thomas, accompanied by his friend Alice, faces the most difficult choices of his life so far, and learns to trust himself rather than simply follow his master's instructions. His first-person narration gives this truly spooky story an immediacy and a sense of reality that heightens the tension and impending danger. While part of a series, the story stands successfully on its own. Occasional eerily atmospheric woodcuts enhance the story's mood.–Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. When readers met Tom Ward in The Revenge of the Witch (2005), the first entry in the Last Apprentice series, he was a callow lad, apprehensively apprenticed to the Spook, who routs the Dark from the County. The malevolent forces that came into play last time seem almost mundane compared to the challenges Tom and the Spook face now: a violent, deadly bane growing in strength and power to become the embodiment of evil. Despite the blood and gore, this tale is more than a well-crafted horror story. Delaney infuses his characters with depth and emotion, but equally important, he grows his world by contributing significantly to the back story. Readers learn the reason the Spook has strong feelings about women in general and witches in particular, and Tom discovers something unexpected about his mother and her wisdom. Delaney also does an exceptional job of interweaving stories, with one plot point leading insistently to the next; at the book's conclusion, readers can go over all Tom has learned by leafing through his journal. Kids will breathlessly await Tom's next adventure. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Joseph Delaney lives with his family in Lancashire, England, in the middle of boggart territory.

Customer Reviews

Great series
I've read 1-4 of the series and am thoroughly enjoying it. The main characters, the illustrations, the storyline. It's no so complex that you feel the need to take notes or keep a dictionary near by. The whole book is suspenseful, pulls you right along. I'm not sure what more you could ask for. Entertaining young adult reading!

The creepy creatures keep on getting creepier
Tom Ward has now been an apprentice to The Spook for 6 months. He is learning the tricks of the trade and how to fight off all types of creatures from the dark. He is also learning how lonely the job can be as people are inherently wary of The Spook. But The Spook, taken ill, must send Tom off on his first mission alone. And this mission is to bind a boggart and at the same time try too save the boggart's victim - none other than The Spook's own brother. Tom quickly proves that he is a quick and good learner, but unfortunately the brother dies anyway. This leads The Spook and Tom to Priestown for the funeral as welll as to do battle with the scariest and strongest element of evil that Tom has yet faced. Tom must put everything he knows to use, summons all of his courage, and yet that still may not be enough.

Book Two in The Last Apprentice series is another fun and spooky page turner. It is entertaining to see how the story line progresses and how Tom has evolved. At times the writing is clumsy and there are places where the plot drags a bit, but overall it is another good installment in a fun series between good and evil.

From J. Kaye's Book Blog
CURSE OF THE BANE is the second book in Joseph Delaney's The Last Apprentice series. The first book was REVENGE OF THE WITCH. I can't stress this enough, this is the best series to come along. I am trying to think of something to compare it to, but this is in a class all by itself. That it's in my favorite genre, fantasy, which helps. But it's more than just that. Both my sister and I are fans. We're trying to hurry up so we can read the latest one, THE LAST APPRENTICE: WRATH OF THE BLOODEYE. It's going to be on shelves at the end of this month.