Grimalkin the Witch Assassin (Book 9) - The Last Apprentice

Book nine of the Spook's/Last Apprentice series. (There will be thirteen in all.)

The first eight books of this series were narrated by Tom Ward, the titular Last Apprentice, who has a voice clearly his own. It is more clear that it is his and not Delaney's when one reads this ninth book, which is narrated by Grimalkin. Her voice is terser and more matter-of-fact than Tom's.

Grimalkin is the great witch-assassin who first attempted to slay, then allied herself with Tom against the Fiend, the Devil, the Father of Lies. In this volume, she is fleeing from the Fiend's minions, who want her badly because she carries his head in a sack. To keep it from them she will do anything, pay any price - but she does not anticipate the price she will, in fact, pay. Many die to keep the Fiend's head safe, including people Grimalkin would gladly have saved.

Narration by Grimalkin is appropriate for this story. Tom Ward is offstage (except for a brief appearance near the end) and would never know the story.

The question is, whether the story need be told at all, or if it is filler to reach the goal of thirteen books? I think there's some of that, but the different point-of-view also serves to fill out the imagined world significantly. It's no worse than the middle volume of many trilogies, at that.

If I have an actual complaint, it is that, at the end, Grimalkin suddenly slips into summary. I suppose that this is appropriate; what she summarizes is slaughter, and this is, after all, a young-adult novel. To wallow in the details would not be "age appropriate." But I think another solution could have been found, and that Delaney should have found it.

Do not even come near this book, the biggest.............in the world Joseph Delaney the author builds up a very sweet love relation between a young boy and a girl, truly this relation is what set this series apart from other books in the same genera, we can find plentiful of witches, demons and battles in other fantasy books, but the relation between Tom and Alice the two main protagonists of this series is what made this whole series very special, and guess what happens in the final book, Alice simply leaves Tom and goes with another man simply because they locked eyes and discovered they were meant for each other, so after 5 years and 13 books Alice simply leaves Tom whom she was madly in love with and shacks up with a dark mage, sharing bed with him, kissing him in front of Tom, and causing great permanent harm to her best friend Grimalkin, and directly contributing to the situation that had Gregory Tom's Master, teacher and friend die....and the reasons that the author provides for this are as flimsy as his ethics as an author, he probably felt the heat after all the backlash from fans, but no matter what he pulls out of his......to try to redeem the story-line and to also try to remove his foot from his mouth it will never work, personally as a reader i can never forgive the Character Alice nor can I forgive the author’s blunder....there are tons of books out there that will give a good measure of bitter reality , if that is what all the fans wanted then they would have went for those other books, but we remained faithful to this series because it gave us a break from the actual hellish reality that we live day in and day out, sadly the author Joseph Delaney did not remain faithful to his fans, story Characters or even himself, choosing to sell out and ruin the ending with a "Game of Thrones" like twist at the end.....but if that is what we wanted or needed we wouldn't have stuck around for a 13 book series, to finally be mocked by the rude and cruel since of humor that Mr. Delaney has displayed…….
Summary: best aspect of the book the love relation between the two main protagonists is permanently ruined and damaged in the final book which also permanently changes the tone of the whole series from a sweet coming of age, first love, friendship and perseverance to that of a smutty cheesy soap opera...will not buy any more books from this awful Author

I was a little disappointed when I read on Joseph Delaney's blog that The Last Apprentice series (or, it's known in the UK, the Wardstone Chronicles) are coming to an end. After book 14, the series will be over for good. There's no indication at this time if Delaney will ever return to the world of The County, or even what he will do next, but the ending of this amazing series promises to be incredible.

In book 9, Grimalkin the Witch Assassin, we take a little bit of a detour from the main story to learn more about the deadly Grimalkin. Through Grimalkin's eyes, we learn about her unique role in the witch world, her attempt at having an apprentice of her own, and the heartbreak and sacrifice that comes from being Grimalkin. Most importantly, readers get a unique perspective on the witch assassin and what the world of The County means to her.

I really did enjoy hearing the story from Grimalkin's prospective, and all the amazing action and unique mythology that I've come to expect from Delaney. For the first time, readers were really able to dig into her and start to see a completely different side of the witch assassin we thought we knew. I will admit that it did bug me somewhat that this was pretty much a side story, not really a meaningful advancement of the plot, but it was so much fun to read that it almost didn't matter.

Though the plot feels as though it is moved forward somewhat, I still left like this was more of a side story. But don't get me wrong, it was a well worthwhile side story for Last Apprentice fans.

I am powering through this series have read books 1 through 10 in the last two months. Very entertaining and easy to get into. I enjoy the first person aspect of this series it is written in way that makes you feel as if you are the main character and not in the fashion of the story being told by a third party I love this style.

Grimalkin, besides Tom, is my favorite character in the Last Apprentice. Everything she does in this book is extremely awesome, and I can't wait to read more about her. Keep care of the Fiend's head, Grimalkin.

great book, great series. to help with the confusion, "i am grialkin", that is a differen version. not u.s. make sure you purchase the"last apprentice" series. the "spook" books are the same, but are for a different country. hope this helps.
keep them comimg joseph delaney.

Unfortunately Joseph Delaney doesn't live up to Arrasmith's skills. This single story has been going on since 2005 and it needs to come to an end. I entirely believe that Delaney chose to write from Grimalkin's perspective because he's running out of ideas. The books is filled with unimportant scenes, narratives, and characters that make no real difference on the tale as a whole. It's a classic case of dragging on to get more money out of the readers and it has no place in the art that is writing. This story as a whole would have made an epic trilogy, a good double trilogy, but it only makes a for a mediocre one when your hitting 11 to 12 books... Read full review at theofficebooks.blogspot

Grimacing, the witch assassin, is a dark witch who battles the Fiend. together with Tom, the Spook and Alice, she is taxed with ending his old on the world. she carries his head with her as she flees the pursuit of a deadly enemy and wherever she goes, others pay a terrible price. but she is strong and fearless and has powerful friends. she will prevail...right?