Curse of the Bane

By Joseph Delaney
Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Reviewed by Noelle

This is book 2 in The Last Apprentice series. Tom Ward has been the Spook's apprentice for a bit over 6 months and he is training hard to be able to deal with the dark things in the world. This installment begins with Tom having to deal with a nasty boggart on his own, all to save a priest who happens to be the brother of Tom's master, Old Gregory. But when the brother dies of his injuries, Tom and his master travel to Priestown for the funeral. Unfortunately, Priestown has 3 things that are deadly to spooks like Tom and his master: a town full of priests; the Quisitor who likes to burn witches and warlocks (and spooks fall in that category for him); and the Bane, an ancient evil creature who is gaining in power and influence over the world above him. The Spook gets caught by the Quisitor, and so does Alice, a character from the last book who may or may not be a witch. Tom mounts a rescue mission to save them from burning, but the result is Alice falling under the power of the Bane and letting it loose into the world. Tom and the Spook must find a way to kill the Bane before it begins preying on the rest of the country. This is a marvelously chilling, exciting, spooky read that is hard to put down and will keep you guessing until the end. Anyone who loves a good, twisting plot with spooky happenings will enjoy this book and will be anxiously awaiting new additions to the series!