This book was a vast improvement over the last book in the Last Apprentice series. Tom Ward is now the Spook of Chipenden since his mentor John Gregory's demise, and is generally thought to be young and inexperienced. In reality, he is depressed and lonely. A girl named Jenny comes and wants to be his apprentice. Tom eventually capitulates when she is by a Kobalan mage, and he sees evidence of her gifts as the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. Jenny, Tom, and the witch assassin, Grimalkin, head north to gather intelligence about the growing Kobalan menace. Tom is railroaded into a fight to the death duel with a Kobalan champion, and the unthinkable happens. Please hurry along with the next book. Delaney continues the tales of Tom Ward in this new series in which Tom is now the Spook and no longer the apprentice. It's interesting to see him in this new role and I like that Grimalkin has a large role in the story, but there are a few things I wasn't crazy about. This is the first book where I feel that Delaney has ended on a true cliffhanger. I would have preferred a tidier ending. Also, the woodcuts that have always lended the books a delightfully creepy feeling are gone. I'm missing those a bit too.
What do You think about Tom New Series Book 1 (2014)?
An excellent start to the "new" series...i will continue to die a little inside until book 2!
—Darren
Really liked the earlier series, but this one just didn't work for me.
—Roary
