Thoughts on The Spook
This post is part of Agora Road's October 2024 Travelogue.
The Spook (aka The Last Apprentice in the USA) is a book series written by Joseph Delaney. It is about a young boy being trained to fight monsters in a grimdark medieval fantasy world. Back when I was in high school, this series was very popular. Each time I went to the library, someone else had always taken the book I was looking to read. I still somehow managed to read the serie. I shared the consensus that this was a very good book serie.
The last time I read those books must have been in 2017, maybe 2018. As Halloween approaches, I decided to re-read the series to see if it still holds up.
For starters, I always liked the cover of those books. They have a distinct style that feels very "pristine" for lack of a better word. I think that this style is meant to evoke the classic depiction of a magic grimoire.
Some editions abandon this style to instead adopt a full-page artwork. Don't get me wrong - those artworks are still great, but it certainly makes the books stand out less.
A chapter header from The Spook's Apprentice
Another thing I like is how all chapters have a small abstract artwork made with negative space. As far as I know, this is the only book series to do this and I think this is a nice touch.
The first thing that immediately struck my attention is how detailed the description of the protagonist's life is. It feels like as if someone who actually experienced medieval times wrote this. I am guessing this has something to do with the other being born in 1945 - having experienced a world that was less technologically advanced combined with a passion for history.
I have consumed plenty of medieval fantasy media in my life, but The Spooks feel the most grounded. The world-building has a distinct feel to it. This is likely because it heavily borrows from real life myths and legends which lend themselves to be somewhat plausible.
Another thing I like about that this series is that it is set in the real world and does not shy away from interacting with religion. It is heavily suggested that Christanity is wrong in The Spook's world. There is a hilarious scene where a priest says a sermon to a goblin in an attempt to ward him. The goblin did not care and it went terribly wrong for the priest. I commend the author for touching on a subject many wouldn't touch with a 10-foot stick. I figure that those books must have been quite controversial in the US.
Something else caught my attention. Perhaps this is just me doing some sort of projecting, but the protagonist appears to be somewhat autistic. He is someone who struggles to understand the world and people constantly get angry at him for asking too much question or when he justifies this action. The job of a spook could be seen as an analogy for how people view autistic people - no one wants to be around them. I doubt this is some sort of "hidden meaning" or whatever - I simply suspect that it is possible that the author was an undiagnosed autist that subconciously wrote about his experience. Perhaps I am reading too much into it.
Despite being technically children's books, The Spook still remains a good series. I must admit that I have not finished rereading the entire serie yet. I recall the story taking a somewhat strange turn near the end, but nothing too off-putting. I would highly recommend that you check it out.
Written by manpaint on 04 October 2024.