Name: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Date: 11.01.12
Link:
Hmmm where do I start? I decided to give this book a shot, since I had
per-ordered it and got it free. It looked pretty interesting and the
reviews were promising. I eventually dived head on and got sucked in.
The writing is easy and flows well. It's the First person POV, in the
voice of the young protagonist Tom, therefore it is pretty easy to read
for a child. The story was good but something was lacking. Every buildup
ended on a rather dull crescendo, but it did nonetheless, grip the
reader all the way. It IS too scary for the younger spectrum age group, I
have to admit that much. As an adult I find some of the things highly
disturbing, worst yet for a child. Age is subjective though, so in all
fairness, it should be okay for the slightly older ones.
The one thing
that soured this book for me, was a somewhat misogynist undertone. I was
actually sad that it changed my feelings about the book as I read on,
because I really wanted to totally love it! But there were some
instances where it was not even subtle enough to get lost in the
riveting reading itself. Suffice to say, I do believe that the series is
promising and it is an entertaining read. There is room for improvement
in character & plot development. I think the author got a bit
sloppy with the story's linkages and tie ins and of course, in the
'sexist' commentary. I know the roles of men and women are indeed based
on some reality, but it should not be so blatantly put forward in such
an accepted way in a novel that's targeted at children.
