I Am Alice (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles,… (2024)

Alice = I Am Alice (The Last Apprentice / Wardstone Chronicles #12), Joseph Delaney, Patrick Arrasmith (Illustrator)

This book is about Alice adventures in the realm where demons and old gods live. Alice has fought evil side by side with the Spook and his apprentice, Thomas Ward.

But now Alice is alone in the realm of the dark. And the creatures she has helped to banish there, now have the chance to take their revenge.

Alice must seek the final weapon needed to destroy the Fiend for good. If she fails, the world will fall into despair and darkness. If she succeeds, it means facing her own death at the hands of her dearest friend.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش

عنوان: من آلیس هستم؛ کتاب دوازدهم از سری آخرین شاگرد؛ نویسنده: جوزف دیلینی؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیا - سده 21م

این کتاب درباره ماجراهای آلیس در قلمرو محل زندگی شیاطین و خدایان کهن است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 26/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Tom was reluctant to tell Alice exactly what must be done to defeat her father, the Fiend, but she knows. She will venture into the Dark to retrieve the final weapon needed to rid the world of him. The dark is filled with his supporters and they will stop at nothing to stop her from achieving her goal. She must find the weapon quickly and exit because, while she is there, she is eating away at her life force. Staying in this place too long could mean forfeiting her life.

I liked this, but not as much as I thought I would. Alice is one of my favorite characters, so when I found out we would get a book narrated by her, I was beyond excited. Maybe I just expected way too much...

In this book, we learn of the 2 years Alice spent being trained by Bony Lizzie and her first encounter with the devil himself. We learn what her fears are and how lonely she's been in her short life.

Joseph Delaney, bless his heart, writes strong female characters. Grimalkin, Bony Lizzie, Morwena, Tom's mother, the Skelton sisters, Nessa Rowler, Mab, Agnes, and little Alice. All are fierce and able to stand their ground. Will they not rip the throat of any man, woman, or beast who stands in their way? Will they not knowingly and willingly put themselves in danger to achieve their means? Will they not get back up every single time they fall, and try and try and try again until they are either dead or victorious?
Some of then are ambitious and power hungry, some are out seeking revenge on those who wronged them, and others are driven to do things they normally wouldn't do in order to save friends and strangers alike.
Whether they are malevolent or benign, there is one thing they have in common. They are strong-willed, opinionated, and brave women who bow to no one. The type of women that can change the course of history. They can start wars or end them. They can place you on top of the world or bury you six feet underground.
I live for strong females, those on the written page as well as those in the real world. I want to know that little girls need not look too hard to find girls to look up to.
Whether you love Fantasy and magic and look up to characters like Sabriel and Hermione, or perhaps you prefer magic-less characters like Scout Finch and Katniss, strong women are all around just waiting to be met.
Okay, so maybe little girls won't aspire to be witch assassins or necromancers, but they can see these characters' determination and absolute refusal to give up or stand down and maybe emulate it and learn from it.

Don't underestimate the power of a good book!

_____________________________________________________
September 12 update:
I can now say that I am a proud owner of this book.

"I'm a bad girl, bad inside.
My hair is kindling; my flesh tallow; my bones dry twigs.
One day I'll burn in the fires of hell. As sure as eggs will rot, that's the truth.
So there ain't no use denying it.
My name is Alice."

This is going to be good!

The only bad thing is my copy of the book came with the godforsaken Major Motion Picture sticker. I guess we can't have everything we want in life...
___________________________________________

Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god. That Cover!

Be still, my beating heart!

I've never been more excited for a book.
Ever.
Not even Mockingjay had this kind of effect on me, guys.

I will pay any amount of money to have this precious thing in my hands.

But I'm warning you, red sticker, stay away from my copy of this book!
Oh, how I loathe those "Major Motion Picture" stickers.

__________________________________________

May 19, 2012

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!

There's going to be a book from Alice's pov. Why am I JUST finding out now?!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'm SOOOO excited. I LOVE ALICE!

OMGOMGOMG

This is Alice.
Actually, it's Alicia Vikander, but she will portray Alice in the upcoming movie: The Seventh Son. Which will start playing on

YAAASSSS["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>

5/10

Whereas the last book was filler but still enjoyable to me, this one felt like too much of a stretch and it was more of a slog than anything. I was onboard for the idea of an Alice POV story but not one which spends half the time set in the past.

The series is near the end and this one only fractionally pushes things closer (don’t get me started on the final chapter of this!). I liked the idea of Alice questing in some selfless task but things just didn’t hold my attention, especially with the past events being dragged up.

Probably the weakest of the series for me but I’m keen to see the resolution in the final instalment. After reading the last two it made me realise I’m ready to say goodbye to this series now and probably won’t bother with any sub series.

Neznam dal sam se zasitio serijala ili je kvalitet drastično opao ali ne uživam ni približno u ovim knjigama kao nekada. Glavni razlog koji bi naveo je što se oseća kao da je knjiga neka pod priča, nešto manje važno a ne glavni deo serijala. Pratimo samo jedan lik većim delom, i to ne smeta previše, ali smeta što se koriste stari negativci, što ima previše flešbekova i što se glavna priča jedva i pomera.

Slabo.

Završiću serijal u nadi da će zadnja knjiga biti daleko bolja.

This is reportedly the penultimate novel in the wickedly entertaining Wardstone Chronicles. Yet the quality of any novel or series is not purely in how it entertains but also in the writing and in the way that characters and the story are created.

It is no secret that I rate this as one of my favourite young adult series. It is rather dark, but it appears to hold the right balance that I like in a novel, a balance whereby evil exists, tragedy happens but all happens to be resolved in the end.

I easily rated the previous novel Slither as one of the lesser works in this series simply because it was a filler novel. A novel that did little but fill in the minor details for the reader rather than progress the overall plot. The quality of writing did not diminish but the focus shifted dramatically as did the details.

One could say the focus shifts here too, as the reader observes how Alice undertakes a mission into the dark to find the final of three swords needed to finally defeat the Fiend. Alice is one of the most interesting characters in this series, because of all the characters she most exemplifies the fight between good and evil. She was raised to be an evil witch with a parentage of evil but yet makes a conscious choice to strive towards good. Tom on the other hand as a character is her opposite - raised good and struggles against the power of using evil.

That is the most fascinating aspect of this series to me: the battle between good and evil. Most of the time evil is shown as having the stronger power but I think that Joseph Delaney is hiding a truth about the nature of good and evil. Evil is simply easier to get power from - is it not easier to steal power (as bone witches and blood witches do) than to gain power through the act of self-discovery and purity?

As one of my university friends noted, this series has an incredible amount of subtlety which is its strength. And such key strengths are indeed recognised within this novel and then played upon to great effect, creating a story that recognises where the series has come from and where it is headed. Surely I am not the only one looking forward to the grand finale in the next book, due I believe, next year. All of which means that any reader interested in fantasy or young adult fiction should start racing through these novels. It will be worth your time.

Just one thing worse than the dark, ain't there? And that's what's inside it - the things that call it home.

I really like alice, but this constant back and forth with her character is a bit annoying.

Review to come.

Audiobook Comments
When I first listened to this, I was furious. Where was Christopher Evan Welch?? After all, in the previous perspective-change (for I am Grimalkin), we kept Welch as the narrator.

But now, all of a sudden, the reader is female (Angela Goethals). And she would say some of the words (i.e. the Kobolos tribe) differently. After eleven books of Christopher Evan Welch as the narrator, I fully expect everyone on the audiobook team to know how all the made-up creatures' names are said and abide by his pronunciation.

And then, I googled why. Turns out Christopher Evan Welch passed away from lung cancer. I am so sorry to have lost such an amazing narrator. This series just won't be the same.

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Ok, so Alice is in this to be the bad-ass. She go's into the Dark to get a blade as well as fighting again old enemies who Alice help kill - who want her dead. Oh, and apparently Alice has to be sacrificed for reasons of unneeded-ness and to make this series come out as a story of a romantic tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. And spoiler alert - not even close to it. Oh and I'll come back to THIS point later!!!!!

This series has fallen so far down at this point that I'm crossing my finger that the LAST book will at least be 3 stars worthy because if not I just wasted so much time in this series since book 6 to now!!!!!

SO much unnecessary filler has been put in this series with no need to, the only reason its their is to extended the series out for more book installments! But I would have wanted to pay full price for less books with a more focused story with no drag or repeated dialogue, than paying less money for each book for more books with so much drag and leaving me to beg for this to be over and where I'm starting to dislike or already dislike my favourite characters. At the end of any book series or standalone's - I want to feel left with wanting more, more about the characters, the world and/or law of the book/s. Not because the author hasn't given the readers enough in their books but because we want to see more - because the author gave themselves and their audience their all: gave their heart and soul! That's what I love about books and writers!

She meets Pan and makes a deal with him. Okay... Then meets Thorne who offers to help her through the different domains and then betrays her just because, and then because she later feels bad for it she comes back to help her. Okay....... And Alice knows that each time she uses her magic that it takes her closer to being a malevolent witch. Okay, I'll bring up why this plot point is useless as well, and she now is more closer to being an evil witch at the end of the book and it was all for nothing!!!

And we get flashbacks too: In the first book the author wrote that Alice was a witch who is a young innocent, who is unwillingly forced to do what her guardian Bony Lizzie says. Where she is still learning about her abilities and to control her powers, and from out of nowhere in this book we learn that she actually knew everything about her abilities and was able to use it long before meeting Tom. WHAT THE f*ck!!!!!!!

And in the end it turned out Alice risked her life and soul for nothing, as well as the weapon she was supposed to get from the depths of hell and risked her life for - was for nothing, it was not needed. Alice went to her fathers realm and fought for her life through the whole book for a weapon that was NOT going to help them kill the Fiend and was just there to slow down and extend the plot! That's all.

Excellent penultimate book in the Wardstone series...set up nicely for the 13th (?) & final book!

Was a little slow to start, a bit 'samey' for the first few chapters, until it started delving into Alice's history & her life before she met Tom & the Spook. Alice has always been one of my favourite characters in any series, but in this book I just wanted to give her a big hug for the childhood she never had, and promise her all the bad stuff has gone away. But I can't, and it hasn't. This latest offering didn't suffer from not having Tom & the Spook in it, for flashbacks re-visited Mother Malkin, Boney Lizzie & a cameo from Grimalkin, and the reappearance of Thorne who made a short debut in 'I am Grimalkin'. Once it got going it was worthy of 5 stars, but had to lose one due to the slow start.

I was lucky enough to meet Joseph Delaney a few years back and chatted to him regarding the series (was around the time of Book 8) and he had no clue where the series was leading to, that it just evolved as it went - all I can say is, evolution rocks!

Will be very sad to read the last book and hope the upcoming film based on 'The Spook's Apprentice' (titled 'The Seventh Son', I think) does the series justice!

Another great story!

Because of my schedule, I ended up listening to it more than reading it and I loved the narrator's way of telling the story. It was like having Alice directly telling her story to me. I also loved the witches accents :)

80% flashbacks, 20% Alice being thirsty, 400 pages of worldbuilding again

Nice to get to know more about the background of my favourite character in the Spook's apprentice series. The witches are refreshingly creepy and cruel, compare to other more recent books with the "nice poor witch look" that are popular. Also in here you got Alice who are a reminder that all doesn't need to be evil. These cruel ones are more a reminder how they where seen back in the days. A easy quick read in the UK hardcover version. Feels good to return and soon finish this long series. Creepy and good for kids as well as adults.

The penultimate book! I was really looking forward to having an Alice centric book, but was suprized at how much was set in the past. Even so, it was a good read. Looking forward tot the conclusion!

Review to come.

It makes more sense after reading the last book.

When Joseph Delaney began branching off, and writing some books in the Last Apprentice series focusing of characters other than Tom, I was a bit skeptical. As it happens though, I might like them best. 'Alice' is told, obviously, by Alice, Tom's best friend. The story jumps back and forth in time. We learn about her past and how she grew up with Bony Lizzie and then, in the present, how she is trying to complete the task she was given and retrieve the last dagger Tom needs for the ritual to banish the fiend forever.
Alice has always been one of my favorite characters (second only to Grimalkin, her book was also my favorite in the series), so I was happy that she should finally get her say. I look forward to the next and, if I read correctly, sadly last installment in the series, Book 13.

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

Ich musste einfach mal wieder 5 Sterne für ein Spook's Buch vergeben, zumal der Band komplett aus Alices Sicht erzählt ist. Man erfährt nochmal einige Dinge aus ihrem Leben, von denen man vorher nichts wusste, was ich sehr spannend fand. Die Rückblicke zwischendrin waren nur manchmal etwas verwirrend.

Oh Alice, honey!

I really enjoyed this one! Alice is one of the most interesting characters and I had fun following her while reading this book. The middle part of the book is a flashback that I feel goes on for too long, but it does link back to events that are happening now/may possibly happen in the future.

Full review: https://girlswithguns.org/alice-by-jo...

While an enjoyable and fast-paced read, one issue I had was the lack of any real escalation. When they finally arrive in the throne-room, what they face hardly feels like the final boss it should be. But my main complaint came at the end, when it appears – pending the 13th and final volume – that the entire exercise proved unnecessary. Alice seems to have risked her life and soul for no real purpose. If I’d been her, I would have been more than a bit miffed at getting what’s not much more than a “Thanks, but we’re going in another direction” for her efforts. On that basis, this is probably a book where you should probably enjoy a gruesome and chilling journey, instead of the rather underwhelming final destination.

After a loooong break I decided to jump back in and finish this series so slid back in where I had left off. Alice is book 12 in Joseph Delaney's middle grade/YA 'Spook's' series, The Wardstone Chronicles, and this book centres entirely on Alice (no surprises there🤣).
I thought I would enjoy a book devoted to Alice much more than I did. The first 80 or so pages were a bit difficult to get into but it all picked up nicely after that. There is nothing wrong with the story, it was more that I missed Tom and The Spook's presence.
Overall an enjoyable read but one of the slightly weaker books of the series, I think.

J'ai adoré ce tome ! J'ai beaucoup aimé être du point de vue d'Alice pour avoir son avis véritable sur les derniers événements. Je l'ai trouvée très courageuse, elle a beaucoup grandi dans ces derniers tomes et cela se ressent.
Néanmoins le point de vue de Tom me manque un peu !

Least favorite. Between random twists in the story and flashes to the past that lasted too long to remember what was going on in the present I was annoyed. It wasn’t bad necessarily, just extremely irritating to me.

Alice est moins intéressante à suivre que Tom je trouve mais ce voyage dans l’obscur n'en reste pas moins passionnant. Encore une fois un livre que j'ai adoré !

It took sooo lonnnngggg to finish this book. I loved the “I Am Grimalkin” filler because it was so action packed. This book had so much lull in the middle it was beyond ridiculous. There was like 10 chapters on ONE backstory. Had that one backstory been 2-3 chapters long it could’ve been a much better book. I did enjoy the description of the different domains & how the beings of the dark “survive”. I was absolutely elated to see Thorne again!!!

This book is filler and provides some background. I am a huge fan of the series so I loved it but if your not a super fan this might not be for you.

3.5

#girlboss

Book Review

Title: Spook’s: Alice (The Wardstone Chronicles Book 12) by Joseph Delaney

Genre: Young Adult, Dark, Fantasy

Rating: 4 Stars

It has been a long while since I read Slither’s tale, book 11 in this series but with only two books left in the series I decided to jump back in and finish it after recapping my reviews. So at this point, Alice is in the dark looking for the last of the hero blades which needs to be used to stop the Fiend once and for all and she is also prepared for the horrific ritual that needs to take place. Meanwhile, Grimalkin in on the run with the head of the Fiend and she encounter Slither in the previous book so I am hoping both make an appearance to cap off the series. Tom Ward is also torn about what he is going to have to do to Alice to stop the Fiend but he is also dealing with the responsibility of being a full time Spook since he has taken over from John Gregory after the events of book 10. Things kick off with a bang as Alice enters the dark through Pan’s domain since he helped her escape before and after explaining why she is there he agrees for her to use his domain as an exit point but there will be a price to pay and Alice agrees. Shortly after entering the dark she realises that she is being hunted by the kretch. She is temporarily able to distract the kretch long enough to come across Thorne who helps Alice as she has been waiting for her. Thorne deals with the kretch but this sets Tanaki, the kretch’s father upon them and they find some refuge for the time being but they are going to be hunted relentlessly by their enemies while they dwell in the dark.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Thorne guides Alice through several different domains while they are being hunted and they eventually come to the one that the newly dead arrive in and one Thorne had to previous escape. During these travels Thorne explains a lot about the rules of the dark to Alice and in this domain the dead are hunted for blood as that is the currency of the dark and while Alice can’t be targeted because she is alive, Thorne can. They need to find the door that leads to the next domain and it turns out to be inside the basilica which means there will be a lot of enemies waiting for them inside. Thorne suggests finding some of the friends and allies that Alice has in the dark and leads her straight into the hands of Betsy who most certainly isn’t a friend and it seems that Thorne has betrayed Alice and by extension Grimalkin which is something she would never do so I am curious to see what the reason behind this is. Here we get some backstory on Alice and her history from her perspective and we learn about the time that Bony Lizzie took her to kill a spook named Jacob. We can already see that this point Alice has extraordinary talents for a witch but doesn’t share the darkness or the cruelty that Bony Lizzie tries so hard to install in her.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Alice is still recounting her life with Bony Lizzie before she met Tom Ward. After killing the old spook Lizzie finds a strange leather egg hidden in his house and both she and Alice can sense the power it contains but Alice also knows that the egg is extremely dangerous. As Lizzie took the thumb bones of the dead spook she can summon his spirit which she does in order to find out what the egg is and what is can do but the spook says nothing even when Lizzie torments him using her dark magic. However, the next night Lizzie tries again only to realise that the spook has broken free from the limbo he was trapped in and gone to the light meaning she can’t summon him anymore. Angry that the information has been taken from her she sets out to find someone else who can tell her about the egg and takes Alice with her to see the hermit Judd Atkins pointing out along the way the homes of John Gregory and Bill Arkwright and all three of these men are characters we have come to know and love throughout this series and I am still sore about Bill and those loveable dogs. I am not sure how much longer we are going to spend in the past as Alice in the present has less than four months to find what she needs and return to the above world but she knows that time passes differently in the dark so she basically has no idea how much or how little time she has and whether or not she will be in time for the ritual at all.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Lizzie has learned that the egg can grant her power but only with a full coven to do the spell and the sacrifice of seven children. Lizzie doesn’t want to share this power with the Pendle witches so immediately looks to the water witches which seem to have a lower intelligence and be more animal like so easier to control. The water witches have a keeper named Betsy Gammon who isn’t a witch herself but has learnt how to control them and stop them from attacking her. Lizzie offers her and the water witches a share of the power if they help her and Betsy agrees even though Lizzie and Alice know only the holder of the egg will get power so I can see this going badly. As the water witches and Lizzie gather children ready for the full moon Alice is torn because she knows being a part of this would turn her into a dark witch but she doesn’t have the power to stand against Lizzie or escape from her, we have to remember it was Tom that helped Alice escape Lizzie in the first place and she couldn’t have done it without him. Alice is given the task of feeding the children but she goes above and beyond making them as comfortable as she can and getting to know them in the hopes that something will go wrong with the spell or be able to find a way to free the children before the sacrifice but I don’t see how that is going to be the case.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, we finally get to see the conclusion of Alice’s tale in the past as she encounters the Fiend for the first time although unknowingly and he awakens her latent power. This gives Alice enough power and confidence to defeat the water witches and put Lizzie out of action for now but she can’t kill her because they are family. She frees the children and gives them the means to return home with the exception of little Emily who she takes home herself. Emily’s mother isn’t right after her run in with Lizzie and Alice uses her magic to heal her even though she wasn’t sure it was possible. Alice’s encounter with Betsy isn’t good been as Alice drowned Betsy in order to free the children and escape before she learnt that using that power would bring her closer to the dark. Thorne eventually returns for Alice because she regrets her decision to betray her for the chance of a second life but it means they are both targets as they head for the basilica. Once there they are attacked as it is feeding time again but Wynde, one of Tom’s lamias who died defending Malkin Tower comes to their aid and leads them to another entrance on the roof and she and Thorne descend into the basilica to find the final dagger and get Alice home once and for all even though she hasn’t forgotten the fate that awaits her when she returns.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Thorne and Alice move through the basilica but it isn’t long before they walk into a trap that they seemingly have no way out. Alice has to come face to face with Lizzie, Mother Malkin and Tusk once more after helping in the deaths of each of them by helping Tom and Mr. Gregory. They are both greatly outnumbered and there is a demon with them who seeks to know why Alice is in the dark and torments her with things it knows she fears but Alice doesn’t break, not once. Eventually Thorne gets an opening to cut the thumbs from the demon and it releases its hold on the gate for Alice and Thorne to dive through it into the domain of the Fiend. They face a new challenge her as the domain of the Fiend is vast and finding the throne room isn’t going to be easy and things become even worse when they are confronted by Morwena, another of the Fiend’s children. Things don’t seem to be going well in this fight when a ton of skelts come to their aid and Alice realises they might be divided like the witches and when one is trying to get them to follow it, Alice does. The skelt leads them to the throne room where the dagger Alice needs is but it is being guarded by Raknid, a creature that Alice has faced before during her Testing and she isn’t happy to be meeting it again as spiders is one of her biggest fears and I sympathise with her.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, Alice faces Raknid again for the final hero blade and knows she has to use her power in order to defeat the spider demon. She does this and claims the blade but on the return journey she feels herself beginning to get weaker and weaker and knows she has to return to the above world soon. They face one final challenge before getting back to Pan’s domain and that is Tanaki but Alice makes easy work of him. Alice is sad she has to leave Thorne behind after all the girl has done for her but she knows one day she might see Thorne again. Pan agrees to send her home in exchange for help, help with what and when is unknown but Alice has no choice but to agree. Upon returning before she can even go to Tom she encounter Grimalkin who tells her she has found another way to destroy the friend using the most powerful grimoire, the Doomdryte. Alice knows she can use the spell by using her own magic to boost her concentration but she also knows it will push her mark to become a full moon and she will be bound to dark forever without feeling. Alice decides to take this chance because despite everything Alice doesn’t want to die and Grimalkin fears that Slither’s kind will burst free from the north and heads their way in the future so they have to plan for that as well. Overall, I really enjoyed Alice’s story but I felt that too much time was spent in the past and the action in the present didn’t get the time it deserved but I am excited to see what the final book in this series has in store for me before moving onto the two companion series.

alice 🙏🙏

4.5 stars.
Alice literally fights her way through hell in this one. I'm giving it 4.5 stars because she is one of my favorite characters (next to Tom, of course, and Grimalkin) but a revelation at the end made me say out loud "You have got to be sh*tting me." And even thought it was kind of good news, I think that should have been Alice's response too.
I hope the last book in the series wraps things up in a satisfying way. I've really enjoyed the series even though there were a few bumps along the way. (Book #11, specifically. Still annoyed by that one.)

4.5 stars. This was amazing. I love Alice and I love seeing from her point of view. We learn a lot of her past and what she and lizzie did. We also follow her way through the dark. One more book without Tom. But it's okay. We had Alice. She is so amazing. Soon I will read the last book. I'm not ready.