Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed The Last Apprentice: I Am Alice (Book 12) on + 2527 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is the twelfth book in The Last Apprentice series by Delaney. The thirteenth (and final book) Fury of the Seventh Son, will come out in the US in April 2014.
This book is all about Alice and is told from her point of view. While Alice is away from Tom she goes on a hunt for the Dolorous dagger. This is one of the three daggers needed to make the final sacrifice that will destroy the Fiend once and for all, it is also the dagger that will be used to sacrifice Alice and cut out her heart. When Alice first enters the Dark she thinks it will be a friendless journey, thats when she meets up with Thorne who offers to assist her. Together they face some of Alices most feared enemies.
The story goes back and forth between the present and Alices past. When Alice encounters someone in the Dark that she has a past with, the story diverges for a bit to tell the tale of Alices past. This was interesting since much of Alices past has remained a mystery throughout the series.
Through most of the book all I could think was poor Alice. She has a very heartbreaking past and as we learn about her upbringing my heart went out to her. This girl has got to have the worst luck of any heroine I have ever read about.
Then you get to the present and Alices journey through the Dark. Poor Alice has to face things no one should have to face. She has to face enemies that shes already vanquished and deal with their hatred for her part in their deaths. Things just get worse and worse for her as the book goes on.
Then you remember that she is doing all of this to retrieve a dagger that will be used to maim and kill her as a sacrifice to destroy the Fiend. It makes you even sadder. Thats not to say that this is an especially depressing read. It is one of the darkest book in the series. However, Alice faces her miserable circumstances with a surprisingly practicality and a resilient attitude. She is incredibly brave and incredibly determined to not succumb to the Dark.
We also learn a lot more about how truly powerful Alice is and how that is a danger to her heart and soul. She is one powerful witch and we see it in this book.
The book ended at a good spot, but right at the end Grimalkin shows up and throws one heck of a twist into the story. Its another one of those oh my god! poor Alice! moments. There is a lot of wonderfully creepy artwork throughout just like in previous books.
The only thing that bothered me throughout the book is that Alices accent seemed to come and go without rhyme or reason. Also while I enjoyed hearing Alices story, I really really want to get to the final battle between all of characters and the Fiend. I feel like the progress of the overall series has slowed to a crawl.
Overall I loved this book. It was wonderful to see things from Alices perspective, to learn more about her past, and follow her through her quest into the Dark. We learn a lot about Alice and...man has this girl gone through some horrible trials in her life. This whole series is incredibly well done and highly recommended to those who love dark fantasy. Its a very well done fantasy horror for the middle grade and older age set.
This book is all about Alice and is told from her point of view. While Alice is away from Tom she goes on a hunt for the Dolorous dagger. This is one of the three daggers needed to make the final sacrifice that will destroy the Fiend once and for all, it is also the dagger that will be used to sacrifice Alice and cut out her heart. When Alice first enters the Dark she thinks it will be a friendless journey, thats when she meets up with Thorne who offers to assist her. Together they face some of Alices most feared enemies.
The story goes back and forth between the present and Alices past. When Alice encounters someone in the Dark that she has a past with, the story diverges for a bit to tell the tale of Alices past. This was interesting since much of Alices past has remained a mystery throughout the series.
Through most of the book all I could think was poor Alice. She has a very heartbreaking past and as we learn about her upbringing my heart went out to her. This girl has got to have the worst luck of any heroine I have ever read about.
Then you get to the present and Alices journey through the Dark. Poor Alice has to face things no one should have to face. She has to face enemies that shes already vanquished and deal with their hatred for her part in their deaths. Things just get worse and worse for her as the book goes on.
Then you remember that she is doing all of this to retrieve a dagger that will be used to maim and kill her as a sacrifice to destroy the Fiend. It makes you even sadder. Thats not to say that this is an especially depressing read. It is one of the darkest book in the series. However, Alice faces her miserable circumstances with a surprisingly practicality and a resilient attitude. She is incredibly brave and incredibly determined to not succumb to the Dark.
We also learn a lot more about how truly powerful Alice is and how that is a danger to her heart and soul. She is one powerful witch and we see it in this book.
The book ended at a good spot, but right at the end Grimalkin shows up and throws one heck of a twist into the story. Its another one of those oh my god! poor Alice! moments. There is a lot of wonderfully creepy artwork throughout just like in previous books.
The only thing that bothered me throughout the book is that Alices accent seemed to come and go without rhyme or reason. Also while I enjoyed hearing Alices story, I really really want to get to the final battle between all of characters and the Fiend. I feel like the progress of the overall series has slowed to a crawl.
Overall I loved this book. It was wonderful to see things from Alices perspective, to learn more about her past, and follow her through her quest into the Dark. We learn a lot about Alice and...man has this girl gone through some horrible trials in her life. This whole series is incredibly well done and highly recommended to those who love dark fantasy. Its a very well done fantasy horror for the middle grade and older age set.
This is a book I waited for, but had mixed feelings about. The story is great. The conflict with the characters is hard to come to terms with.
Alice discovers she is the most powerful witch in the county. She's Tom Ward's friend and love. The ritual that must be performed to rid the world of the "Fiend" requires a sacrifice. Alice must go to the world of the "Fiend" to collect the blade that is needed to destroy him. She learns a great deal on this journey. She also knows the price of the ritual. Is she willing to do what must be done? Is Tom willing to sacrifice the one thing he loves? Why hasn't Tom told Alice what he must do?
Alice discovers she is the most powerful witch in the county. She's Tom Ward's friend and love. The ritual that must be performed to rid the world of the "Fiend" requires a sacrifice. Alice must go to the world of the "Fiend" to collect the blade that is needed to destroy him. She learns a great deal on this journey. She also knows the price of the ritual. Is she willing to do what must be done? Is Tom willing to sacrifice the one thing he loves? Why hasn't Tom told Alice what he must do?
