Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Review - Rise of the Huntress (The Last Apprentice, Book 7) by Joseph Delaney (4/5 stars)

This is the seventh book in The Last Apprentice series by Delaney.  Originally the series was planned for seven books, but this book definitely isn't the last in the series.  I haven't been able to find an updated estimate of how many books this series will have.  This was another great addition to this series.

This book finds the Spook, Tom, and Alice back on their way to the Spook's house.  Things are getting worse on the war front, the enemies are invading further inland and when the Spook and crew arrive home they find the Spook's house burnt to the ground.  They end up fleeing to the island of Mona where they will find even more trouble than they left behind on the mainland.

This was another creepy, action packed installment in this series.  It is one of the darkest books of the series so far.  The Spook hits new lows with his house destroyed and his enemies stronger than he can handle; this results in Tom and Alice having to step up and take on more responsibilities.  Over everything you can feel the shadow of the Fiend; his presence on the earth is making humans act in more despicable ways than ever, making the war even more brutal than a war normally would be.

Tom and Alice continue to grow in complexity as characters; both of them are constantly toeing the line between good and evil and trying to stay in a happy grey-white area.  All of the characters are sent through horrible trials in this book and it really makes you feel for them.

Most of this book ends up being a fight between Bony Lizzie and the Spook and crew.  I can't help feeling like this book was just throwing in another adventure to stall for time while Delaney tries to figure out what to do with the over-arcing story involving the escape of the Fiend.  Things are getting worse and at some point the Fiend will have to be dealt with; I am hoping it doesn't get drawn out too long and is addressed in the next book.  There really isn't any resolution at all when it comes to the Fiend in this book.

Fans of previous novels should enjoy this book.  Although the story is darker, it is written in the same great style as previous novels and is very readable and engaging.  Quite the page-turner it was hard to put down.

Overall another excellent installment in this series.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series and hope that we finally get some resolution to the storyline about the Fiend.  I love this series, but it is starting to drag on a bit for me.

This book goes towards the following reading challenge:
- The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
The Last Apprentice: Rise of the Huntress 

2 comments:

  1. i never even read the word "huntress" in the entire book other than the title pages... I DONT UNDERSTAND! WHO IS THE HUNTRESS?!?!

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  2. I believe the Huntress refers to Bony Lizzie....

    - Karissa

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