Night of the Soul Stealer (The Last Apprentice, Book 3) Paperback – Illustrated, July 29, 2008

I enjoyed the third book in the Last Apprentice series. Winter is coming. It is time for the Spook and Tom Ward, his apprentice, to leave Chipenden and head to Old McGregory's winter home.This was a very revealing installment in the series. We get to learn more about Meg, a witch from the Spook's past. We also get to see Meg's sister. These two women are very dangerous witches. The problem is Meg was someone the Spook cared about. He's never been able to bury her the way she should have been buried.In the cellar of the winter home the Spook has three witches locked up behind iron bars. When they get out, Tom Ward must figure out what to do next . . . Only the trouble doesn't stop there. Morgan, one of the Spook's old apprentices (an apprentice the Spook had to fire), is trying to conjure great evil from the depths of Hell.Morgan wants Tom's help -- and blackmails the young apprentice. Morgan instills doubt about the Spook into Tom's mind.Facing dangerous witches, an evil ex-apprentice and growing doubt about who he can trust, Tom Ward finds himself to trying to figure out what is what, and who is who . . . With the help of Alice, a witch his age, a friend he is conflicted about having (since his job is to capture, bind and bury witches), Tom moves forward, out of childhood (thirteen years old) into young adult hood.A great story. I love the visits to Tom's family. The friendship between Tom and Alice, and the numerous dangers that are constant between the pages. Joesph Delaney writes very simplistically, but does not hold back on the darkness and horror. So far, the series is quite entertaining. I will now move on to read, Attack of the Fiend, Book 4. . .Phillip Tomasso,Author of Damn the Dead and Blood River

With this dark tale of supernatural mayhem, Delaney has launched a fine fantasy series that should appeal to kids and adults alike. Initially the pace is leisurely. Delaney doesn't rush in setting up his dark story world and introducing a cast of intriguing characters: young, earnest Tom, the seventh son of a seventh son; his enigmatic master the Spook; Alice who wears pointy shoes and can't decide whether to choose the side of darkness or light; the tame boggart that cooks their meals and appears from time to time in the guise of a ginger cat; and Tom's wise and mysterious Mam.The monsters, witches, ghosts, and evil boggarts bring in plenty of complications soon enough as Tom begins his apprenticeship with the Spook. This isn't the Hogwarts brand of training, and you won't find the humor or occasional zany misadventures that are served up in a Harry Potter book. Instead, the tone stays serious as if Delaney doesn't want us laughing at the ghasts that haunt the night, lest we let our guard down too far. Tom spends a lot of time digging holes of the proper dimension to hold boggarts, and if that seems spun out a bit too long, be patient. Delaney's pacing in this book reminds me of a Hitchcock movie, slow and leisurely at first, but before you know it he's got you by the throat and you don't want to put the story down, especially when Tom has to confront the scariest witch I've met in recent fiction.I'll also add that the second book in this series, THE CURSE OF THE BANE, opens with grim, hair-raising urgency. But read NIGHT OF THE SOUL STEALER first.

Delaney's The Last Apprentice series gets better and better with each book. It's interesting watching how he is growing as an author with each book. He consistently delivers a fast paced, intriguing story, and Night of the Soul Stealer meets that standard. He is also growing the characters finally and we learn more about what make these characters tick. That was one of the biggest flaws of books one and two. This book is also different from the first two because The Spook is incapacitated much of this book, so Tom gets to act more on his own. It's interesting seeing how he is growing in confidence just as one would expect of a 13 year old boy. I would have liked to have seen a little more of Alice in this story as the only drawback. Without her, this story is possibly less interesting for girls, which is an important part of the audience as young adult fiction. It's still an interesting series which I will continue to read.

The Thomas Ward Series is well written but not a good choice if you're looking for a few laughs. Everything tends to be pretty dark in these books although they are enjoyable.Tom, apprentice to the aged and crabby John Gregory, or The Spook as Tom calls him, is charged with rounding up and neutralizing ghasts, ghosts, witches and other monsters that pester the good people of the County. The Spook's standard method for dealing with witches is to seal them in a pit where they exist on worms and bugs for decades at a time. (Wouldn't killing them be kinder? I'm just asking although yes, the plots do thicken when the witches escape and start looking for people to chow down on.)"The Soul Stealer" features two such witches, sisters, that bring no end of grief to Tom and his master especially since The Spook is in love with one of them: Meg who easily walks through the iron cellar door designed to stop all other evil things. Delaney never explains how she does this but that's just quibbling.This is an intriguing series and well worth reading for anyone who likes their fairy tales Grim.

These books just seem to get better and better they pull you in and after hours of reading you barely notice its 2 am and you have to get up early. Eager for book 4 to steal my sleep

Joseph Delaney's ability to deliver big scares and chills alognside a gripping storyline and expertly developed characters is unsurpassed, except by J K Rowling.The third book in the Wardstone Chronicles sees Tom and the Spook Mr Gregory head to their winter house high in the fells where the dark brings all manner of scary beasts out of the shadows and being the local Spook Mr Gregory does his duty by protecting the inhabitants of the County from the darkness. In this third book we learn more about the Spook himself and his character begins to unfold more than it has in the previous two installments with the introduction of the women he loves, Meg, who happens to be a Lamia witch. But there is other trouble afoot as a rogue Spook is set on releasing an evil God upon the County. This installment is scarier and more disturbing than the previous two and could be too scary for readers under ten.Delaney draws the reader in from the first page and the action, excitment and thrills don't let up until the very last page, these books are fast becoming my favourite series ever written, behind Harry Potter at the moment. If you enjoy scary and exciting books that are impossible to put down then The Wardstone Chronicles are definitely perfect for you.

This is the 3rd in the series and my 3rd journey with Tom and The Spook! I love these books. They were initially recommended by my 14yr old god-daughter, Alice, and I am very happy to recommend them to others. We are near neighbours of the county and these tales of magical landscapes, witches and supernatural are at the same time borrowed from folklore and a new interpretation of Lancashire.For anyone who would like to find a little magic under the surface of the everyday, a little peril and who would be a force for good.Ps:I am well past 14

Again, fantastic book, fantastic quality

I found this book interesting and action packed. You may expect the book to mainly consist of the spooks dark past beginning to unveil, but it comes back to haunt him and also the spooks young apprentice Tom Ward. We meet Meg, the person which captured the spooks heart and start to find out more about her and her sister who is hidden in the cellar. Alice is back, and her and Tom seem to be getting closer than ever. Along with this, disastrous consequences at home cause Tom to be terrorized by the spooks ex-apprentice Morgan. With action, adventure, romance, horror and suspense what isn't to like?!? This was my favourite spooks book so far and I can't wait to read the next book... the spooks battle!!!

Its a rough life being a spook or his apprentice! Again as the first two books in this series its a good read a little 'darker' as more of the Spooks secrets come back to haunt him and as for Tom he could do with doing as he was told to keep him out of trouble. Alice's character is becoming more to the fore is she or isn't she? What do you do with witches?