The Spook's Revenge

The final book in The Wardstone Chronicles packs quite a punch as it sets about delivering on many of the strands that have been seeded throughout the sequence.  Prophecies, foretellings and curses set out in previous books come to the fore in this novel and tie together building a monumental climax to what has felt an important series that has reimagined legend and lore. The Spook’s nemesis, the witch Grimalkin, makes her return and is plotting to resurrect the Fiend as Samhain approaches Likewise, witch-child Alice Deakin, one of the most intriguing characters in the series has made her allegiances and so the lines are set for an epic battle between good and evil made all the more chilling by a warning that should this initial battle be won then a far more deadly threat will be unleashed upon the world.

Delaney focuses very solidly upon action and the endeavours taken to overcome the various manifestations of fear and evil that he constructs with such prowess. This may leave some feeling that the tumultuous events of the story and the effects on characters are not fully exploited. The series has always chosen to allow readers the room to emotionally respond to its events without guiding or manipulating that through its construction. The mainstay here has always been the acquisition of learning and the craft of its application and this final novel is a complex and impressive exploration of some of the consequences that arise from this.