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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Bon, je réalise que mes chroniques sur cette saga on tendance à se ressembler un peu, mais je vous avoue que les premiers tome sont certes, intéressants (je ne le nie pas), mais n’ont pas encore de très grands enjeux. Et je trouve qu’ils suivent un peu tous le même schéma… Je reprécise quand même qui c’est une saga pour jeune ado, donc bon, j’ai peut-être passé l’âge aussi.
Bref, Gregory est un vieux ronchon, Tom est toujours un peu naïf et Alice est la seule à faire fonctionner son cerveau dans la bande (merci Alice).
Mais le gros point positif de ce tome, c’est clairement les petits secrets de Gregory qui sont peu à peu dévoilés. Et quels secrets ! (Attention, ça va spoiler un peu là) D’abord on a un ancien apprenti bien vénère qui débarque et qui s’en prend à notre pauvre petit Tom, mais surtout (ok, là je rigole plus, ÇA VA SPOILER À MORT À PARTIR D’ICI) on découvre qui est Meg, aka la meuf de Gregory. J’ai été estomaquée, horrifiée, outrée, que dis-je, indignée par la façon dont Gregory la traite ! La droguer, sérieusement ? Enfermer sa sœur dans une cage ? Bon d’accord, elles sont pas toujours gentilles, mais voyons Gregory, c’est pas comme ça qu’on traite une femme ! ça, c’est de la séquestration !
Bref, Gregory est un vieux ronchon, Tom est toujours un peu naïf et Alice est la seule à faire fonctionner son cerveau dans la bande (merci Alice).
Mais le gros point positif de ce tome, c’est clairement les petits secrets de Gregory qui sont peu à peu dévoilés. Et quels secrets ! (Attention, ça va spoiler un peu là) D’abord on a un ancien apprenti bien vénère qui débarque et qui s’en prend à notre pauvre petit Tom, mais surtout (ok, là je rigole plus, ÇA VA SPOILER À MORT À PARTIR D’ICI) on découvre qui est Meg, aka la meuf de Gregory. J’ai été estomaquée, horrifiée, outrée, que dis-je, indignée par la façon dont Gregory la traite ! La droguer, sérieusement ? Enfermer sa sœur dans une cage ? Bon d’accord, elles sont pas toujours gentilles, mais voyons Gregory, c’est pas comme ça qu’on traite une femme ! ça, c’est de la séquestration !
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Posted to my Livejournal in March 2008, saved here for posterity:
This is the third in the Last Apprentice series, which follows young Thomas as he is apprenticed to the local Spook, Mr. Gregory (whose job it is to rid his county of ghasts, witches, boggarts, etc.). In this one, Tom and Mr. Gregory travel to his dreary winter home, where there are dangerous witches bound in pits in the cellar and another, subtly more dangerous one loose in the house. Worse, the Spook's old apprentice, Morgan, lives in the area and has become a necromancer. He hates the Spook, and he has plans for Tom that involve binding the ghost of Tom's father as blackmail.
I love this series because it is truly scary and suspenseful -- it doesn't skimp on the supernatural horror -- yet still appropriate for middle grades kids. The creatures Delany creates -- from the blood-drinking boggarts to the slimy, crawling, flesh-eating witches -- are macabre in the best way, and the Spook's process, such as how to bind a boggart or trap a witch, feels totally original and unique to that world. The black and white illustrations are moody and dark, complimenting the creepiness, and Tom always includes his study notes in the end papers. The setting, in the rural English countryside, also adds to the atmosphere. Tom is loyal and honest and hard-working, and isn't above being scared to death of his job sometimes, but he always tries to do what's right, and the Spook is an appropriately crafty, mysterious, but caring figure. I read somewhere that said this series was like Sweeny Todd mixed with Harry Potter, and that was so apt, I had to share it, though now I can't remember where I read it. Probably somewhere on Amazon. There are plenty more mysteries to solve (such as the truth about Tom's spiritually wise mother, and the origin of the coming darkness that both she and the Spook predict) and I can't wait for the next one.
This is the third in the Last Apprentice series, which follows young Thomas as he is apprenticed to the local Spook, Mr. Gregory (whose job it is to rid his county of ghasts, witches, boggarts, etc.). In this one, Tom and Mr. Gregory travel to his dreary winter home, where there are dangerous witches bound in pits in the cellar and another, subtly more dangerous one loose in the house. Worse, the Spook's old apprentice, Morgan, lives in the area and has become a necromancer. He hates the Spook, and he has plans for Tom that involve binding the ghost of Tom's father as blackmail.
I love this series because it is truly scary and suspenseful -- it doesn't skimp on the supernatural horror -- yet still appropriate for middle grades kids. The creatures Delany creates -- from the blood-drinking boggarts to the slimy, crawling, flesh-eating witches -- are macabre in the best way, and the Spook's process, such as how to bind a boggart or trap a witch, feels totally original and unique to that world. The black and white illustrations are moody and dark, complimenting the creepiness, and Tom always includes his study notes in the end papers. The setting, in the rural English countryside, also adds to the atmosphere. Tom is loyal and honest and hard-working, and isn't above being scared to death of his job sometimes, but he always tries to do what's right, and the Spook is an appropriately crafty, mysterious, but caring figure. I read somewhere that said this series was like Sweeny Todd mixed with Harry Potter, and that was so apt, I had to share it, though now I can't remember where I read it. Probably somewhere on Amazon. There are plenty more mysteries to solve (such as the truth about Tom's spiritually wise mother, and the origin of the coming darkness that both she and the Spook predict) and I can't wait for the next one.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The subsurface tones of sexism makes these books hard to consume at times.