This book had more action than usual and it was very fast paced. Tom travels to Greece and we learn about some of the creatures in that part of the world. I would have liked to know more about them, or maybe had Tom talk with the local Spooks (I can't remember what the actual term is) more, but he didn't, so we don't. This entry in the series felt a bit less satisfying. I have trouble visualizing what's going on when there's a lot of action so that could be why. ( )

Despite Alice's training as a witch, she is Thomas Ward's friend. So even after Alice had been banished by the Spook and had returned to Pendle, Tom missed her. The Spook however would no longer tolerate Alice and her connection to the dark, his greatest fear was that Tom would be turned to the dark, therefore giving the Fiend unspeakable power. But not even the Spook can stop the dark from reaching his own home.

Tom's Mam has returned to the County seeking help in her homeland of Greece. After having enlisted the aid of the Pendle witches, Alice among them, Mam seeks out the help of the Spook, Bill Arkwright and her son Tom, who would never refuse his Mam. Although Bill Arkwright also agrees to accompany Mam and the witches to Greece to fight this great evil, the Spook refuses to sacrifice his principles by working with the enemy.

The Spook’s Sacrifice takes Tom to Greece, where lives will be lost, secrets revealed and the dark makes a powerful win. But as Tom is tempted ever closer to the dark through secrets and lies, and even after the greatest battle against the dark has been fought, there will be a terrible price to pay, and Tom will make the biggest sacrifice of all. The dark has never been more frightening in this, the most thrilling tale in the series yet. ( )

It seems that Tom Ward is going through the same stuff over and over again. Every time the book starts at a good pace, than something comes up and the Spook and his apprentice fall into some trouble without prior warning. Then, after a long sequence of events consisting capture, rescue, a run-for-life, mistrust, Alice saying the same stuff over and over and the Spook rejecting it over and over, the trio somehow manages to survive. And of course, at the end, the lingering question is still the same, whether Alice should be trusted or not.

Honestly, the first book was such a delight, but now this series is just getting repeatative. Tom isn't even my favourite character anymore. Even in the last book, Grimalkin stole the show.
But since this is my first fantasy series and I can't just give it up, I have to read all of it. Which seems more like a task rather than a pleasure activity. ( )

As the Spook's apprentice, Thomas Ward's first duty is to protect the County from ghosts, boggarts, and other dangerous creatures. But now his mother has come back from her homeland to seek his help. One of the most dangerous of the old witches, Ordeen, is about to return to earth, bringing with her suffering and devastation. Tom's mother has mustered a powerful army—including Tom's friend Alice, the Pendle witches, and the assassin Grimalkin—to confront Ordeen. If Tom joins them, the Spook will refuse to take Tom back as his apprentice. What sacrifices will be made in the battle against the dark? ( )

I can't quite put my finger on it, but the first four books of The Last Apprentice were non-stop entertainment for me. I can find no flaws with them, considering the age-group they were written for.

The fifth book brought all that to a halt and, even being a very short kid's book, was a bit of a struggle for me to get through, and the thing is I can't even put my finger on why.

This book brought back more of that intangible element that I loved about the series in the first place, but not enough to warrant a higher rating, seeing as how probably eighty percent of my enjoyment came from the last seventy pages or so. Everything leading up to that felt like a slog.

that being said, it does set up a lot of things and I'm hoping book seven will be better. ( )